Simplifying Coaching: How to Have More Transformational Conversations by Doing Less, 2nd Edition

Table of contents


Chapter 1: It’s a Journey
Chapter 2: Simple Listening: Notice don’t diagnose
Chapter 3: Simple Beginnings
The First 5 Minutes
Where are we Heading?/ How Will You Know?
Chapter 4: Simple Questions
Chapter 5: Simple Exploring
Chapter 6: Simple Endings
Chapter 7: Presence, Partnership and Power
Chapter 8: Simple Conversations in Real Life
Chapter 9: The Journey Continues

This book is for anyone who wants to have more impactful conversations, whether you are a coach, a leader, a manager, or someone who simply wants to help others feel heard. It shows how doing less enables the other person to do more of their own thinking and find new insights. Claire Pedrick’s approach brings coaching back to what matters most: listening deeply, being present, noticing what is happening, and getting quickly to the heart of the conversation without relying on models or complex techniques.

Simplifying Coaching, 2nd edition challenges the belief that more tools create better coaching. It helps you work with simplicity, confidence, and maturity, integrating what you already do naturally. This revised edition includes a new chapter on deeper partnership and coaching maturity, offering fresh guidance for coaches at every stage of their development. Whether you are new to coaching, returning to it after losing confidence, or experienced at a senior level, this book supports you in creating conversations that are more effective and collaborative. You will learn how to:

• Do less so your companion can do more
• Notice and say what you see instead of following the story
• Rightsize a conversation with one simple question: What is your question for today?
• Put boundaries around a conversation to make it more effective
• Sit and speak in ways that encourage genuine partnership
• Develop deeper partnership and coaching maturity
• End any conversation in collaboration

Practical and accessible, this book is written for practising coaches but is valuable for anyone who has conversations with people. By simplifying your approach, you amplify your impact.

Claire Pedrick is an MCC Master Coach and Coaching Supervisor with over 15,000 hours of experience. Author of Simplifying Coaching and The Human Behind The Coach, she hosts "The Coaching Inn" podcast. Claire received the 2022 Outstanding Contribution to Coaching Award from Henley Business School and a Points of Light Award from the UK Prime Minister.