ChatGPT Prompts for Coaches

Help me create a structured discovery session framework for a new coaching client.

Client type: [life coaching / executive coaching / health coaching / career coaching]
Session length: [60 / 90 minutes]
My coaching niche: [describe your specialty]
Client's initial stated goal: [what they said when booking]

Design a discovery session framework with:

1. **Opening (5 min)**: 2-3 rapport-building questions that go beyond small talk and reveal values
2. **Current Reality (15 min)**: Questions that map where the client is now across key life/work dimensions — avoid surface-level answers by including follow-up probes for each question
3. **Desired Future (15 min)**: Vision-casting questions that help the client articulate what success looks and feels like — include sensory and emotional anchors
4. **Gap Analysis (10 min)**: Questions that identify the specific obstacles, limiting beliefs, and skill gaps between current reality and desired future
5. **Commitment Check (10 min)**: Questions that assess readiness to change, willingness to be uncomfortable, and ability to invest time/energy
6. **Next Steps (5 min)**: How to co-create the coaching agreement and set expectations

For each section, provide:
- 3-4 primary questions
- 1-2 follow-up probes for when the client gives a vague answer
- A red flag to watch for that signals deeper work is needed
- A transition sentence to move naturally to the next section

Create a complete goal-setting workshop I can run with my coaching clients.

Coaching context: [1-on-1 / group / corporate workshop]
Client profile: [describe your typical client]
Time available: [60 / 90 / 120 minutes]
Common goals your clients have: [list 2-3 themes]

Design a workshop that uses multiple goal-setting frameworks layered together:

1. **Values Alignment Exercise (15 min)**: Guide clients to identify their top 5 values, then rate how aligned their current life is with each (1-10). This becomes the foundation for goal selection.

2. **Dream Dumping (10 min)**: Timed brainstorm where clients list every goal without filtering. No judgment, no prioritization yet.

3. **Goal Filtering Matrix (10 min)**: Score each goal on: alignment with values (1-5), excitement level (1-5), impact if achieved (1-5), feasibility in 90 days (1-5). Keep only the top 3.

4. **SMART+ Goal Refinement (15 min)**: Take each goal through SMART criteria plus: emotional WHY, potential obstacles, support needed, and identity shift required ("Who do I need to become?")

5. **90-Day Milestone Mapping (15 min)**: Break each goal into monthly milestones, weekly actions, and daily habits. Include lead indicators (actions) and lag indicators (results).

6. **Accountability Architecture (10 min)**: Design the check-in cadence, progress tracking method, and "if-then" recovery plans for when they fall off track.

Provide specific facilitator instructions, time cues, and handout content I can give clients.

Design a weekly accountability check-in framework for my coaching clients.

My coaching style: [direct / supportive / challenging / collaborative]
Client's current goal: [describe the goal they're working on]
Session format: [in-person / video call / voice message / text-based]
Session length: [15 / 30 / 45 minutes]

Create a check-in structure that covers:

1. **Celebration First (3 min)**: Questions that surface wins — even small ones. Include prompts for clients who say "nothing happened this week" to reframe progress they're not seeing.

2. **Scorecard Review (5 min)**: A simple tracking template with 3-5 key metrics or habits. Design a scoring system that's honest without being demoralizing. Include a "consistency score" that rewards showing up even when results are slow.

3. **Obstacle Autopsy (7 min)**: When commitments weren't met, guide the client through: what happened, what they told themselves about it, what they'd do differently, and whether the obstacle reveals a pattern. Avoid letting this become a shame session.

4. **Energy and Motivation Check (5 min)**: Questions that gauge emotional state, burnout risk, and whether the goal still resonates. Include a "recalibration" option for when the goal needs adjusting without it feeling like failure.

5. **Next Week's Commitments (5 min)**: Help the client set 2-3 specific, time-bound commitments. Each must include: the action, the day/time they'll do it, and what success looks like.

6. **Coach's Observation (3 min)**: Space for me to reflect back patterns I'm noticing across sessions.

Also include: a "stuck session" variant for when the client shows up with zero progress three weeks in a row, and a "breakthrough session" variant for when they've exceeded expectations.

Create a guided limiting beliefs exploration exercise I can use with my coaching clients.

Client context: [describe the area where the client feels stuck]
Presenting symptom: [what the client says the problem is — e.g., "I can't seem to get promoted" or "I keep self-sabotaging"]
My coaching approach: [CBT-informed / NLP-based / somatic / narrative / eclectic]

Design an exercise with these phases:

1. **Surface the Belief (10 min)**: Use a "sentence completion" technique — provide 10 unfinished sentences like "I can't because___", "People like me don't___", "Money is___", "Success means___". Include domain-specific stems related to their stuck area.

2. **Trace the Origin (10 min)**: Questions that gently explore where the belief came from without becoming therapy. Include guardrails for when the conversation approaches trauma territory and how to redirect appropriately.

3. **Reality Test the Belief (10 min)**: A structured inquiry process:
   - What evidence supports this belief?
   - What evidence contradicts it?
   - Would you say this belief to someone you love?
   - What does this belief cost you annually in money, relationships, or opportunities?
   - Who benefits from you holding this belief?

4. **Reframe and Replace (10 min)**: Guide the client to craft a new belief that is: believable (not just positive affirmation), evidence-based, action-oriented, and slightly uncomfortable (growth edge). Create a "belief ladder" with 3-4 steps from old belief to new belief.

5. **Integration Practice (5 min)**: Daily micro-practices to reinforce the new belief — journaling prompts, behavioral experiments, and pattern interrupts for when the old belief surfaces.

Include a disclaimer about scope of practice boundaries between coaching and therapy.

Design a comprehensive life design exercise for my coaching clients that goes beyond a traditional vision board.

Client type: [individual / couple / corporate team member]
Time horizon: [1 year / 3 years / 5 years / 10 years]
Format: [in-session guided exercise / homework assignment / workshop activity]

Create a multi-dimensional life design exercise:

1. **Life Audit (15 min)**: Rate satisfaction (1-10) and importance (1-10) across 8 dimensions: career, finances, health, relationships, personal growth, fun/recreation, physical environment, community contribution. Plot on a radar chart. Identify the 2-3 dimensions with the biggest gap between importance and satisfaction.

2. **Future Self Interview (15 min)**: Guide the client through a visualization where they meet their future self who has achieved their vision. Provide 10 specific interview questions to ask this future self, including: "What did you stop doing?", "What scared you most?", "What was the turning point?"

3. **Reverse Engineering (15 min)**: Work backward from the vision:
   - Year [X]: What's true about your life?
   - Year [X-1]: What milestone did you hit to get there?
   - 6 months from now: What's the first domino that starts the chain?
   - This month: What's the one thing that would create the most momentum?

4. **Anti-Vision (10 min)**: Describe in vivid detail what life looks like in [X] years if nothing changes. This creates emotional urgency that complements the positive vision.

5. **Identity Blueprint (10 min)**: Define the identity shifts required — "I am someone who___" statements that bridge current self and future self. Include daily practices for each identity statement.

Provide both a digital and physical activity version, with specific materials needed for each.

Help me design and price my coaching packages strategically.

My coaching niche: [describe your specialty]
My experience level: [new coach / 2-5 years / 5+ years / established authority]
My certifications: [list relevant certifications]
Current pricing (if any): [what you charge now]
Target client income range: [approximate range]
Hours per week I can dedicate to coaching: [number]
My annual income goal: [target]

Design a 3-tier coaching package structure:

**For each tier, specify:**
- Package name (aspirational, not generic)
- Duration (number of weeks/months)
- Session frequency and length
- What's included between sessions (Voxer access, email support, resources)
- Bonus materials (workbooks, assessments, templates)
- Specific outcomes the client can expect
- Price point with justification
- Payment plan options
- Ideal client for this tier

**Pricing psychology:**
- Which tier is the "anchor" designed to make the middle tier look like a deal?
- What's the price-to-value ratio for each tier?
- How does my pricing compare to the market range for my niche?
- What justifies premium pricing beyond session count?

**Business math:**
- How many clients at each tier do I need to hit my income goal?
- What's my effective hourly rate for each tier (including prep and admin time)?
- What's my capacity ceiling — how many total clients can I serve well?

Also include: a strategy for raising prices with existing clients, and a founding client discount structure for launching new packages.

Create a comprehensive progress assessment framework I can use at the midpoint and end of a coaching engagement.

Coaching engagement length: [number of weeks/months]
Client's primary goals: [list 2-3 goals set at the start]
Assessment point: [midpoint / final / quarterly review]
My coaching methodology: [describe your approach]

Design an assessment that measures:

1. **Quantitative Progress (measurable outcomes)**:
   - Create a scoring rubric (1-10) for each original goal
   - Define what a 1, 5, and 10 looks like for each goal specifically
   - Track lead indicators (behaviors/habits) separately from lag indicators (results)
   - Calculate an overall "progress percentage" that accounts for goal difficulty

2. **Qualitative Progress (internal shifts)**:
   - Self-awareness gains: What does the client now see that they couldn't before?
   - Behavioral changes: What new habits or patterns have emerged?
   - Belief shifts: What limiting beliefs have been addressed?
   - Emotional resilience: How has the client's response to setbacks changed?
   - Decision-making quality: Are they making choices aligned with their values?

3. **Coaching Relationship Assessment**:
   - What's working well in our coaching dynamic?
   - What would make our sessions more valuable?
   - On a scale of 1-10, how challenged do you feel? How supported?
   - Is the pace too fast, too slow, or right?

4. **Forward-Looking Section**:
   - What's the next-level goal now that this baseline has been established?
   - What's the biggest remaining obstacle?
   - What support do they need going forward?

Include a client self-assessment form and a coach's assessment form to compare perspectives. Provide a template for a written progress report I can give clients.

Design a complete group coaching session plan I can facilitate.

Group size: [number of participants]
Session length: [60 / 90 / 120 minutes]
Group type: [mastermind / skill-building / accountability / support]
Session theme: [describe the topic for this session]
Platform: [in-person / Zoom / hybrid]
Group stage: [just formed / established / mature / final sessions]

Create a session plan with:

1. **Pre-Session (before the call)**:
   - Pre-work assignment (5 min max for participants)
   - Question or prompt to post in the group chat before the session
   - Tech and environment checklist for the facilitator

2. **Opening Ritual (5-10 min)**: A consistent opening that builds psychological safety and transitions people from their day. Include 3 options: a check-in question, a brief mindfulness moment, or a themed icebreaker.

3. **Teaching Segment (15-20 min)**: Framework or concept delivery with:
   - The core idea in one sentence
   - A relatable story or example
   - A visual or model they can reference later
   - One actionable takeaway even if they zone out for the rest

4. **Hot Seat / Peer Coaching (30-40 min)**:
   - Selection process for who gets the hot seat
   - Time allocation per person
   - Structured format: situation (2 min), what they've tried (1 min), specific question (1 min), group input (5 min), commitment (1 min)
   - Facilitator interventions for when the group gives advice instead of coaching

5. **Integration and Commitments (10 min)**:
   - Each person shares their #1 takeaway and #1 commitment for the week
   - Accountability pairing system

6. **Closing Ritual (5 min)**: Consistent closing that creates anticipation for the next session.

Include facilitation notes for managing dominant participants, drawing out quiet ones, and handling emotional moments in a group setting.

Create a comprehensive client onboarding questionnaire and welcome experience for my coaching practice.

My coaching niche: [describe your specialty]
My coaching style: [describe your approach]
Engagement length: [typical duration]
Tools I use: [Zoom, Notion, Google Docs, scheduling tool, etc.]

Design a two-part onboarding system:

**Part 1: Pre-Session Intake Questionnaire**
Create 20-25 questions organized into these sections:
- **About You**: Background, current situation, and context (5 questions)
- **Goals and Vision**: What they want to achieve and why now (5 questions)
- **History**: What they've already tried, previous coaching experience, what worked and didn't (4 questions)
- **Working Style**: How they learn best, communication preferences, what motivates them, how they handle feedback (4 questions)
- **Logistics and Expectations**: Availability, commitment level, what success looks like for this engagement (3 questions)
- **Wild Card**: 2-3 unexpected questions that reveal personality and values (e.g., "What would you do with an extra hour every day?" or "What's a belief you've changed in the last 5 years?")

For each question, note whether it should be: multiple choice, short answer, scale (1-10), or long-form response.

**Part 2: Welcome Experience**
- Welcome email template with personality (not corporate)
- "What to expect" document covering: session format, between-session expectations, communication boundaries, cancellation policy
- First 48 hours: What the client should do before the first session
- Quick-start guide to any tools or platforms they'll need

Make the questionnaire professional but warm — it should feel like the coaching has already started.

Create an enhanced Wheel of Life assessment tool I can use with coaching clients that goes beyond the basic version.

My coaching focus: [life coaching / executive coaching / wellness coaching / career coaching]
Client demographic: [describe your typical client]
How I plan to use it: [discovery session / quarterly review / workshop activity]

Design an upgraded Wheel of Life assessment:

1. **Customized Categories (8-10 spokes)**:
   Suggest categories tailored to my coaching focus. For each category, provide:
   - A clear definition so the client knows exactly what they're rating
   - 3 sub-dimensions within the category (e.g., "Health" breaks into physical, mental, energy)
   - A "what 10/10 looks like" description to anchor the scale
   - A "what 3/10 looks like" description to calibrate the low end

2. **Scoring Method**:
   - Current satisfaction score (1-10) for each category
   - Importance score (1-10) for each category — not all areas need to be a 10
   - "Trend" indicator: improving, stable, or declining over the past 3 months
   - "Energy" flag: which categories drain energy vs. generate energy

3. **Analysis Framework**:
   - Calculate the "alignment gap" between importance and satisfaction
   - Identify the "keystone category" — the one area that, if improved, would positively impact the most others
   - Map interdependencies: which categories are connected?
   - Highlight the "energy equation" — are there more draining areas than energizing ones?

4. **Action Planning**:
   - For the top 2 priority areas, generate 3 specific actions each
   - Identify one "quick win" that could improve a score by 1-2 points this week
   - Create a 90-day focus plan that addresses the keystone category

5. **Comparison Template**:
   - Format for comparing current assessment to previous ones
   - Celebration prompts for areas that improved
   - Curiosity questions for areas that declined

Include a script for walking a client through this assessment in session, with timing for each section.

Generate a library of powerful coaching questions organized by situation and purpose.

My coaching style: [describe your approach]
My coaching niche: [describe your specialty]
Client situations I encounter most: [list 3-4 common scenarios]

Create a categorized question bank with 8-10 questions per category:

1. **Opening and Rapport**: Questions that create psychological safety and invite depth from the first minute. Include variations for new clients vs. established relationships.

2. **Deepening Awareness**: Questions that move clients from surface-level understanding to genuine insight. Focus on questions that reveal blind spots without creating defensiveness.

3. **Challenging and Stretching**: Questions that push clients out of comfort zones respectfully. Include "permission to be direct" phrasing and softening language for sensitive topics.

4. **Future-Focused**: Questions that shift energy from problem-dwelling to possibility-creating. Avoid toxic positivity — include questions that honor difficulty while building forward momentum.

5. **Pattern Interrupts**: Questions for when a client is stuck in a story loop, complaining without action, or intellectualizing instead of feeling. These should be surprising without being jarring.

6. **Values and Identity**: Questions that connect daily decisions to deeper purpose. Help clients see how their choices reflect (or contradict) who they want to be.

7. **Accountability Without Shame**: Questions for following up on commitments that weren't kept, without triggering defensiveness or people-pleasing responses.

8. **Closing and Integration**: Questions that help clients consolidate learning before ending a session, ensuring insights translate to action.

For each question, note:
- When to use it (what cue from the client triggers this question)
- What to listen for in the response
- A natural follow-up question

Help me design a structured coaching program curriculum that I can sell as a signature offer.

My coaching niche: [describe your specialty]
Target client: [who this program is for and what they're struggling with]
Desired transformation: [where clients start vs. where they finish]
Program duration: [8 / 12 / 16 / 24 weeks]
Delivery format: [1-on-1 / group / hybrid with self-study modules]

Create a complete program curriculum:

**Program Overview:**
- Program name (3 options: aspirational, descriptive, and metaphorical)
- One-sentence promise
- 3-5 program pillars or phases
- Prerequisites or ideal starting point for clients

**Week-by-Week Breakdown:**
For each week/module, provide:
- Theme and focus area
- Learning objective (what the client will understand)
- Behavioral objective (what the client will do)
- Session agenda outline (30 min teaching + 30 min coaching application)
- Homework assignment (20 min max per week)
- Resource or tool to provide (worksheet, template, assessment, reading)

**Program Arc:**
- Weeks 1-2: Foundation and assessment (where are you now?)
- Weeks 3-6: Core skill-building and belief work (the heavy lifting)
- Weeks 7-10: Application and real-world practice (implementation)
- Weeks 11-12: Integration, celebration, and next steps (sustaining change)

**Program Materials Needed:**
- List every workbook page, assessment, and template I need to create
- Prioritize which materials are essential vs. nice-to-have for the first cohort
- Suggest which materials can be adapted from existing frameworks vs. need to be original

**Launch Strategy:**
- Beta cohort approach: how to fill the first group at a reduced rate for testimonials
- Pricing recommendation for beta vs. full-price cohorts
- 3 ways to validate demand before building all materials

Include a client journey map showing the emotional arc — when clients typically feel excited, overwhelmed, stuck, and breakthrough.