Narrative Coaching: The Definitive Guide to Bringing New Stories to Life

Play helps people of all ages learn how to interact with their environment, activate more of their whole mind, experiment with new ways of seeing themselves and being seen by others, create their own knowledge of the world, and shape their space in it.

is not about taking the person or the conversation somewhere with your questions, but rather using your questions to make the most of each and every moment.

One of the unique features of narrative coaching is that we inquire into, not about, people’s stories to keep the conversation in the present moment as much as possible. This is because it is often more productive to ask questions that increase coachees’ awareness of what is already present than to ask questions that introduce more information into

The aim, as with the work itself, is to help you become more astute in observing what is true right now before trying to change anything.

I’ve appreciated coaching’s focus on leveraging strengths rather than trying to fix weaknesses.

People change as a result of shifts they make as: 1. Author of their stories so they can Cope at new levels (Situate phase) 2. Actor in stories with others so they can Connect in new ways (Search phase) 3. Agent in narratives around them so they can Create new options (Shift phase) 4. Activist for better narratives so they can Contribute to new out

Narrative coaching is a semi-structured process in which you can use people’s own stories to help them move through transitions and bring about desired changes.

Think of coaching as serious play. Be willing to tackle more serious issues and play as an artist would with his materials. Notice when you remain too serious when a freer approach is called for or divert the conversation away from the real issue when a more serious approach is called for. Be willing to compassionately challenge people

Narrative coaching involves working with people to reconfigure how they define themselves, narrate their experience, and live their lives.

Reflecting on a challenging conversation or situation: 1. What did you observe? (describe it as a reporter would) 2. What were you telling yourself at the time? (story) 3. What does this say about how you see yourself? (identity) 4. What did you do as a result? (behavior) 5. What happened in the end? (outcome) Rewinding the story to achieve a diffe