Last updated on Jun 8, 2024

What rapport-building questions can you ask to build trust with coachees?

Building rapport with coachees is a crucial skill for executive coaches. Rapport is the foundation of trust, openness, and collaboration that enables effective coaching. But how can you establish rapport with your coachees, especially if you are meeting them for the first time or working remotely? One of the best ways is to ask rapport-building questions that show genuine interest, empathy, and curiosity about your coachees. In this article, we will explore what rapport-building questions are, why they are important, and how to use them in different coaching scenarios.

1 What are rapport-building questions?

Rapport-building questions are open-ended questions that invite your coachees to share more about themselves, their goals, their challenges, and their preferences. The purpose of these questions is not to interrogate or judge, but to create a positive and respectful connection. Rapport-building questions can cover a variety of topics, such as personal background, professional experience, motivation, values, expectations, and feedback. Some examples are: what inspired them to pursue their current role or career path? What are the most rewarding or challenging aspects of their work? How do they like to learn and grow as a leader? What goals or outcomes do they hope to achieve through coaching? And how can you best support them as a coach?

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Denise Jeffrey

Founder of AI Business Dynamics | Executive AI and Digital Leadership Coach | Management Consultant | AI Content Creator | Keynote Speaker
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I find that going freestyle in my interactions with clients offers a more transparent and honest way of connecting. This approach allows the conversation to flow naturally, helping me to better understand their unique needs and perspectives. I believe that relying on pre-prepared questions can sometimes be too rigid, potentially missing out on deeper insights. By engaging more openly, I can build stronger, more authentic relationships with my clients.

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2 Why are rapport-building questions important?

Rapport-building questions are important for a successful coaching relationship as they demonstrate genuine interest and care for your coachees, allow you to understand their perspectives, needs, and preferences, and encourage them to open up and express themselves. Additionally, rapport-building questions help to stimulate your coachees' thinking and reflection, as well as reinforce their strengths and achievements, ultimately boosting their confidence and motivation. By using rapport-building questions, you can create a safe and supportive coaching environment that fosters self-awareness and readiness for change.

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Ezethu Mfono

Resident Teacher at Nova Pioneer
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This is thought provoking because I had never seen building rapport as something that can be narrowed down into goal orientated questions. This would be helpful especially if coaching a lot of coachees.

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3 How to use rapport-building questions in different coaching scenarios?

Rapport-building questions can be used in various coaching scenarios, such as the initial coaching session to get to know your coachee and set the tone for the coaching relationship, the regular coaching sessions to explore progress and challenges, and the final coaching session to review achievements and feedback. You can adapt your rapport-building questions to suit the context, purpose, and personality of your coachee. For instance, you may use more personal or informal questions with a more outgoing or casual coachee, or more professional or structured questions with a more reserved or formal coachee.

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Jessica Fearnley

#LinkedInTopVoices2019 Entrepreneurship & Small Business | 🎧 Hosts Seven Figure Consultant Podcast | Business Coach | Helping 6 Figure B2B Consultant Women Get To 7 Figures ON YOUR TERMS By Working Less & Earning More
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Rapport-building questions in coaching is quite a skill because in normal conversations we would look for commonalities and create connection around the things we have in common. In a formal coaching relationship we are not necessarily looking to divulge our personal circumstances in the same way, although sharing some details about ourselves from time to time can help the coachee to feel understood if they are feeling vulnerable. One of the magical things about coaching is that it is actually quite rare for people to be asked in detail about their life story, their experiences, their values. In getting into the detail this is often a very nurturing experience for the client and something they enjoy.

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4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Debeshi Chakraborty

Leadership-Coach-ICF PCC-Gallup Certified | Board Member ICF Delhi | Executive & Group Coaching,Business Storytelling & Strenghts Workshops,Leadership Development-High Potential | Ex Fortune400 |UCL Commonwealth Scholar
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Rapport is a feeling, experienced with trust and safety. As an ICF-PCC coach, providing a safe space is embedded in our core competency, which we demonstrate for more than 500 hrs of coaching to be certified. How this space is created? It is contextual and there is no law around it but end of the day, if we put a camera in any such situation, one will see the coach being present, listening, and curious while having a very open conversation maintaining confidentiality.

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Steven Lane

I help leaders, executives and professionals to significantly improve their mindsets, change their subconscious blue print and be more successful and happy in their professional and home life.
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I think sometimes coaches put too much emphasis on asking clever questions. There is of course a role for questions to build rapport, but we know from psychological studies that there are other powerful ways of building rapport - many of them are the non verbal cues that reflect our inner state. So ask yourself what a coachee wants to feel/pick up from you at the beginning of a session. This might include: my coach is interested in me, they are curious, they are non judgmental, they are authentic, they are professional and know what they are doing etc. So, I ensure that I authentically shift myself into those mindsets from the outset. The questions then arise out of the energetic dance with the coachee.

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What rapport-building questions can you ask to build trust with coachees?

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1 What are rapport-building questions?

2 Why are rapport-building questions important?

3 How to use rapport-building questions in different coaching scenarios?

4 Here’s what else to consider

Executive Coaching

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What rapport-building questions can you ask to build trust with coachees?

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1 What are rapport-building questions?

2 Why are rapport-building questions important?

3 How to use rapport-building questions in different coaching scenarios?

4 Here’s what else to consider

Executive Coaching

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