Except it wasn’t summer vacation, it was coach training
I have never ever had a teacher ask me to write an essay about my summer vacation. In eighth grade, my teacher, Mrs. Creel had us create an entire book about our life. It was a full year project. We even bound the book and everything. I received an A- because I couldn’t figure out how to press a flower! Or more correctly, the flowers kept getting moldy. I gave up. I still have the book 30 years later. Producing this book is one accomplishment of which I have always been very proud and the closest I ever got to a summer vacation essay.
Listening Skills are very Important
Another project I am embarking on is learning how to be a coach. I attended Baraka Institute’s CORE trainingwhich is a Coaching Communication Mastery & Life Mastery program. So why did I take four and a half days out of my busy schedule to do this? Here’s why: you have to get 100 hours of coaching under your belt at a minimum to become accredited. That’s a lot of hours! This means a lot of listening.
Listening is one of the most important skills you can have interpersonally
You also have to become really good at reading body language – another important skill set as a business owner. Finally, you learn how to make stronger connections with people which can also help me as a business owner not to mention personally.
Becoming a better communicator
Bottom line, I want to be a better communicator and learning how to be a coach is all about effective communication. Coaching is about asking questions and getting the client to answer the questions that need to be understood in order to be an effective communicator. It is also about learning the right questions to ask.
Backtracking isn’t the same as a trackback
This class was exhausting and energizing at the same time. Lots of one-on-one communication with your class mates, lot’s of listening and back tracking what the other person said. (Not to be confused with a trackback when you blog. Back tracking is paraphrasing what the other person said.) It also makes the person you are listening to feel heard. How many times have you thought you understood what was being said only to find out later you were wrong?
So what am I learning from this experience?
- I am learning how to make deeper more meaningful connections with people.
- I am learning how to ask better questions.
- I am learning to back track to make sure I understand the people to whom I talk.
If we all follow these principles, the world would be a better place through richer, fuller communication.
