Discovery Session: Using Picture Cards with a Potential Coaching Client

The first touch point with a potential coaching client is very important. Coaches will want to leave a good and lasting impression, therefore making ways to make it a worthwhile and memorable encounter. In this (often free) first call with the client, creating an experience is usually a more successful strategy than pitching one’s competencies and CV as a coach—as American poet Maya Angelou nicely represents in this quote:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This “Discovery Session” allows you, as a Coach, to innovate and use picture cards to get to know a potential coaching client’s current phase in life and their ideal future. Additionally, it brings to light their desired collaboration with you. This method is tailored for virtual meetings using icebreaker.online as a phone- or video call is the usual setting for the first encounter. However, it could be easily adapted for in-person meetings featuring metaFox deep pictures card sets that combine 52 evocative picture cards in one postcard set.

• Make the get-to-know or “Discovery session” a memorable encounter.

• Show the client through an experience how self-discovery and envisioning can look like with you as a coach.

• Set-up icebreaker.online. In this online session, you will be using one of 3 deep picture sets, all available in the Web App: "ORIGINAL", “Doorway Effect”, and “Growing Together”.

  • To use these card sets online, log in to your icebreaker account. Here, you can choose which card sets you will be using for the session and “save for later”.

  • For on-site sessions, the card sets are available for purchase on metaFox.eu.

1. Introduction with client.
   Introduce yourself and let the client introduce themselves. Ask them to describe their life currently.

2. Choose a theme for the session.
   Depending on the theme and focus you would like to set for the session (e.g., based on the previous knowledge you have about the client's situation), choose one or possibly several of these picture card sets on the icebreaker App (or the paper cards if you are working in-person):

   • deep pictures set "ORIGINAL": Explore the client’s future vision with a prompt like: “How does the ‘potential you’ look like?”

   • deep pictures set “Doorway Effect”: Use this set if the client is going through a change, using a question like: “What door are you going through during this phase?”

   • deep pictures set “Growing Together”: Use this set to give focus on the relationship between you and the client: “What is your vision for our work together?” Ask follow-up questions like: “What do you fear might happen in the process?”

   • For each question, guide the client in choosing a picture card representing their answer. In the Web App, there is an option to allow the client to choose two picture cards. You may explore the topic in depth by asking open-ended follow-up questions about the chosen picture(s), such as:
   
   
   • What detail catches your eye the most?
   • What does it represent to you?

3. Close the session for the day.
   Wrap up the session by summarizing the discussion with the client. This will bring clarity to the session and help identify ways to move forward with the newly built relationship.