To support what we are doing, I will take photos of the scenes as they develop and include these in your confidential Coaching Report following this session. This means that you don’t have to think about remembering each step or insight. Is this OK with you?
A more in-depth explanation of reframing and its role in coaching can be found in Chapter 4: ‘Breaking Free: Unlocking Doors with Deep Reframing’ by Richard Haggerty.
THE 7 STEP PHYSICAL METAPHOR TECHNIQUE
Step 1: Elicit challenge and outcomes
With frames properly established, you can now take time to identify the challenge and outcomes.
You are specifically looking for:
• The challenge they have now
• Why it is a problem for them (the stress, emotion, difficulty etc.)
• The impact and consequences of this challenge on the client, on other people and within the organisation.
At this point, we want the client to connect to their challenge in a way that motivates them to want to move away from the potential consequences and create a better future. If there is no emotional connection to the challenge, there is unlikely to be any motivation or energy to work with it now, or at a later stage.
Take some time to research further and ask:
• So, what’s the challenge you wish to work on?
• How is that a challenge for you? And for others?
• What is this preventing you from doing?
• What are the consequences of the challenge?
You only need to get clients connected to the feelings and thoughts of the impact of the challenge briefly. Note down any emotionally charged phrases or ‘hot words’ they use that encapsulate the challenge for them. Pay attention to the client’s physiology when in the challenge state. You can use these later in the session to test for change.
The next step is to ‘break state’ so the client can come out of the challenge state. In other words, it is important to change the topic and ensure that your client is now focused on something totally different from the challenge. (Let’s move to the next stage now and consider your outcome.) Take responsibility for ensuring that they are at ease now. They should be breathing comfortably and not stuck in a negative or frustrated state.
Make it clear that this part is finished by ‘outframing’ the challenge, I understand where we will be starting now. Let’s park that challenge for a while. This allows you to move cleanly on to eliciting outcomes.
Eliciting outcomes
Ask: What is the outcome you wish to achieve?
The aim of having an intention at this point is to establish a direction towards an outcome. This may however change and shift as the client becomes aware of new possibilities, insights and perceptions.
Establishing outcomes helps a client’s unconscious mind to begin the work of looking for, anticipating and expecting something different. If the challenge was not having a motivated workforce or a team that does not communicate well (e.g. if working in silos), the outcome needs to be structured in the positive. It could be as general as:
• Find at least three ways (systems) to encourage all our teams to work together
• Define ‘good communication’ and get agreement from all our teams
• Establish steps to motivate teams and ways to test their effectiveness within the next six months.
Achieving outcomes
The outcome frame is very powerful. You can increase its potency naturally by asking for the evidence of success at the start. This will help the client focus more specifically on the outcome, what it will look like, and possible subsequent actions to achieve it.
• How will you know you have achieved this outcome?
• What will you see, hear and feel that will let you know you have achieved it?
• What won’t be happening that demonstrates progress has already been made?
• What are some of the visible and tangible signs that you are on track?
• Once you are making solid progress, how will you be feeling differently about the old challenge? What lets you know you are at that point now?
Step 2: Explain the PMT process
At this point, explain the Physical Metaphor Technique. Give enough details about the initial step to get the client engaged. Tell them they will be creating a specific kind of scene: a diorama (three-dimensional ‘metaphor’ model) that represents the challenge, with objects that symbolise elements, themes and people within that scene. Using these objects they will move towards identifying a range of new options and strategies for achieving their outcome.
Use the environment
Ask the client to choose a physical space in the room within which they will work with their challenge. You may wish to suggest a space they can use, for example a desk top, table, rug or floor area. Let them know that this space is going to be special for the purposes of applying the PMT.
Once selected, invite the client to pick out a selection of different objects from around the room and bring them back to the chosen space. Please look all around this room. Look everywhere. Look at your desk. Look inside the cupboards. Look inside your jacket pocket. Look inside your bag / purse / wallet. Pick out a selection of objects and bring them back to your chosen space. You may also use Post-its and other paper to write on and place within the scene as well as, or instead of, objects.
The coach must never touch the objects or pick them up at any stage in the process. You can only refer to them. This is to ensure that the client retains full responsibility throughout the process and any decisions, or choices, that come from it. We want to communicate non-verbally, This is your plan. You are resourceful and can generate new scenarios and possibilities based on this wider perspective.
The essence of the PMT is to facilitate a process where the client is proactive, feels able to take full responsibility and is therefore empowered to try new things.
Step 3: Create establishing scene and ask orienting questions
Client creates establishing scene
Feed back a brief summary of the challenge from step #1 and ask the client to use any objects they have collected to create a representation of the challenge, thus creating the starting point for the scene.
• Use any of these objects to create a scene that represents the challenge for you as you perceive it right now. Discard objects, or go and collect additional objects, at any time. There is no right or wrong way to do this. You decide what fits and what doesn’t. This is your own creative space. Experiment with this initial scene until it feels right to you.
• I will be silent some of the time, and, at other times, I may ask questions about what is going on. Please
