One Powerful Question Per Session (and How to Land It)
Design one question from their last sentence. Don’t spray twelve.
Twelve clever questions is a quiz. One question from their last sentence is coaching. Steal the words.
How to Land It
- Write down their last concrete phrase. Not the story. The phrase.
- Turn it into one question that asks for a decision or a distinction.
- Ask it once. Wait seven seconds. Do not decorate it.
Example: they said “I keep almost sending it.” You ask: “What would ‘sent’ cost you that ‘almost’ doesn’t?” Then stop. This is not the discovery script. It’s the hour. Track the question in progress notes so you don’t invent a new one next week. The Labor Day note can wait. This can’t.
How to Steal Their Language
Write the phrase before you rewrite it. If the question uses a word they never said, you imported a framework. Delete it.
Where Coaches Break
- Stacking a second question because the first one was good.
- Using a canned “powerful questions” PDF. Their language isn’t in the PDF.
- Asking while looking at the clock. They can hear that.
The 3-Minute Action
Open tomorrow’s last note. Circle one phrase. Put it on the agenda.