In my previous post, we talked about about how to start a client listening conversation, and ensure the interviewee is comfortable talking to you. In this article, we’ll look at how to probe for improvements and ideas, as well as closing the conversation in a way that leaves everyone confident about what happens next.
You’ll see a picture of a diagram in my notebook outlining how this works. Today, we'll focus on the three points on the right.
3. If it doesn’t come up naturally, you’ll follow the interviewees general description of the organisation's performance by asking “what went well” and “even better if” questions.
“So is there anything [organisation] do really well when you work together? Anything they could dial up, improve, or do differently?”
If they offer improvements, ask “so what would it look like if they got it right?” This is based on another coaching concept of away/towards – bringing a tangible thing to move towards, rather than bringing complaints or things to stop doing.
4. If you’ve handled their responses by listening to understand, rather than listening to reply (another coaching concept - thank you Jane Adshead-Grant), you’ll have built up trust and can move to less tangible, more future focused input.
“What advice do you have for [organisation] in working with you going forward?”
“What ideas do you have for things [organisation] could think about on your behalf?”
“How do you see your relationship with [organisation] evolving in the future?”
5. Finally, you recontract, share next steps, and offer thanks.
“I’ve really appreciated your openness and honesty in this conversation. My intention is to summarise this and share these notes with [person you know in organisation] and the team. Are you happy that I do this?”
If not, be clear about what you’ll treat carefully:
“That point about X was pretty sensitive, so as we agreed I’ll approach it [like this].”
“Thank you for your time today. I am sure [person] will follow up on the points you’ve offered. Let me know if anything comes up that you wish you told me. Goodbye.”
If this piques your interest and you want to know more, book a free 30minute call with me.