When coaching, finding the right question at the most appropriate time is both a skill, as well as an art. Even with the daily pressures and tight schedules, there are still some baseline facts you always need to know in any situation to ensure the guidance and advice you offer is relevant and valuable. Here are 10 questions you can use in practically every conversation.

1. What is the outcome you’re looking to achieve here?
2. Can you share the specifics of what’s going on?
3. What have you tried so far?
4. How have you handled something like this before? (What was the outcome?)
5. Why do you think this is happening? (What’s another way to look at this/respond? What else can also be possible/true? What assumptions could you be making here?)
6. What’s your opinion on how to handle this? (EVERYONE has an opinion. Seek to understand theirs first.) If I wasn’t here, what would you do to achieve/resolve this? If we were to switch roles, how would you handle this? What ideas do you have? What’s another approach that may work (which you haven’t tried yet?)
7. What’s the first thing you need to do to (resolve/achieve this)? (What would that conversationsound like when you talk with……? TIP FROM THE COACH: Coach The Message! The Big Miss for managers is stepping over the myriad of opportunities to coach your people on their message, their ‘languaging,’ their communication.)
8. What resources do you need? (Who else do you think needs to be involved in this? How else can I support you around your efforts to complete this?)
9. What are you willing to commit to doing/trying/changing (by when)? If you couldn’t use that excuse anymore, how would you move forward?
10. When would it make sense for us reconnect to ensure you have achieved the result you want?