Up until this year, many of us probably hadn’t engaged in any remote interactions for work or to seek services. We were used to seeing people face to face for appointments or meetings, and using phone or video calls to catch up with friends and family for enjoyment. The covid pandemic this year has totally changed this behaviour, and now using phone or video calls has become the norm for many people to connect with businesses and their services.
Health coaches however are used to using phone or video to connect with their clients. Wellcoaches began training health and wellness coaches 20 years ago through telephonic classrooms, and telephonic coaching is the norm for many of their graduates.
Remote coaching can also be called online coaching, or virtual coaching. It is similar to the terms used in healthcare such as tele-health or tele-medicine. Coaches can connect with their clients with or without video by phone or through Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.
There is plenty of evidence that tele-medicine can be effective in delivering remote interventions. In one example, activity-based training for survivors of stroke proved to be as helpful when delivered via tele-medicine as when offered through in-clinic programs (Cramer et al. 2019). Also a recent article in JAMA Neurology suggested that accelerated delivery of remote care for people with chronic conditions was a silver lining of the COVID-19 crisis (Bloem, Dorsey & Okun 2020).
As a therapist and coach, I have worked both face to face and remotely with many clients over the years. I thoroughly enjoy meeting people in person, however I have been reflecting recently on the benefits and challenges of both types of service delivery. The more I work with clients over the phone, the more I value this approach and now prefer this as a way of serving my clients. Clients have also commented that if they were initially sceptical of coaching over the phone, they now much prefer this way of connecting. They comment that it is less intrusive of their time, that sessions feel more productive and they really enjoy our calls and feel energised and inspired afterwards. One client made the interesting comment that if she goes to an appointment and then has to drive through town, do other errands and drive home, she has then lost the positive feeling from the session and almost forgotten what her intentions were. However once she began coaching over the phone, she felt she was able to immediately implement what she had been learning as she was in her environment and could take action straight away. She is now a firm believer of phone coaching and raves about the benefits.
I have summarised the benefits of remote coaching into 4 C’s:
Convenience
For a start there is no need to get in the car and drive. This saves a lot of time and the planet! It is much easier to schedule and fit in a call around other activities. It allows flexibility so both the client and coach are not required to be based in one location. Coaching can continue even if you are not at home. There is no need to get dressed up so you can wear your slippers if you like. The time on the phone is purely dedicated to coaching which enables other activities like worksheets, etc to be done outside of the session. Finally, remote coaching allows you to find a coach that is the exact fit for what you need and this may not be possible in the location where you live.
Cost effective
There is no need to be paying for travel or parking or for your time to get to an appointment. For the coach there is no need to hire a room and pay for any expenses associated with this. Therefore the cost of the coaching session is going directly into the coach and their expertise and experience.
Communication
Remote coaching sessions actually allows for deeper coaching to occur. There are less opportunities for distractions from the environment and other people which encourages greater focus and concentration on what is being said. Less time is spent on the ‘fluff’ that happens at the beginning and end of a face to face session yet there is still the ability to create trust and rapport and have some fun, through being mindful, warm and non-judgemental. Listening is enhanced when this is the main sense being used so the coach and client can focus deeply on the message. The coach can listen to more than just the words spoken and hear pauses, intonation, and emotion through the voice. Remote coaching also enables the coach and client to take notes that doesn’t impact on the flow of the session.
Confidential
And finally remote coaching allows for total confidentiality. Calls over the phone are 100% private, and some video-conferencing platforms are more private than others. Clients feel more comfortable in their own environment and the perception of distance in the interaction can facilitate a more open disclosure.
Coaching remotely requires both the client and coach to be prepared. I send my clients a check sheet so that they are ready for our calls which means we can get the most out of every minute. I suggest my clients sit somewhere comfortably as calls can be anywhere from 30mins to 75mins. They should have a drink of water with them and make sure their room is free of any other noise or distractions so turning the radio off and closing the door. I encourage my clients to do a transition activity of breathing or mindfulness so that they are ready to move from what they were doing, to being fully focussed to talk with me.
If you are interested in finding out more about remote heath coaching and how it might benefit you, I would love to hear from you. Be in touch today.
Bloem, B.R., Dorsey, E.R., & Okun, M.S. 2020. The coronavirus disease 2019 crisis as catalyst for telemedicine for chronic neurological disorders. JAMA Neurology, doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1452.
Cramer, S.C., et al. 2019. Efficacy of home-based telerehabilitation vs in-clinic therapy for adults after stroke: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurology, 76 (9), 1079–87.