One challenge of taking an intense class like Coach Training EDU’s 1.0 Wellness Coach Training is truly internalizing the information and understanding it at a deep level. With the scope of the curriculum, we would dive into one topic during one class session, explore it and practice it, and then by the next class session we would be on to the next topic. This was of course expected and necessary, and met the expectation of getting a lot of material out of the class. However, by the time we arrived at say session 17, it would be difficult to remember what we had studied and learned during session 5.
As almost three months have past since completing the course, I’ve been thinking about how I soaked up the information and how I’m continuing to learn it. Here are three ways I’ve been trying to internalize what we learned:
1) Review Your Notes
Along with preparing that week’s reading, I found it helpful to go back and review notes from earlier class periods throughout the course. Sometimes, that only served to remind me how much I still didn’t know about coaching. However, more often than not, it was an “oh yeah, I forgot about that technique, that’s really good,” or “hmmm, that concept we learned about way back on the 2nd night really connects to this new technique we’re learning about now.” As I’ve prepared for coaching sessions with some of my first clients, a similar review process has proved useful once again. I’ve now even created a master list of all the techniques from the course that I can browse through in less than five minutes.
2) Practice, Practice, Practice
Of course, probably the most helpful way of learning all this information is to practice it. The practice sessions during class and my practice clients really allowed me to integrate the information while I was in training. Now, those first ‘real’ clients I’m talking with challenge me to stay on my toes and really utilize the techniques and concepts I learned in my training. Having someone who is paying you for your services, and who is expecting quite a lot out of you, sharpens the learning curve.
3) Connect with Your Classmates
Maybe the most unexpected way of learning the material has come from collaborating with my classmates since the class culminated. I’ve traded coaching sessions with two classmates, and we always make a point to spend part of those catch-ups just talking through how coaching is going, what we’re learning, and what we’re struggling with. It has been a great way to process the learning out loud and to internalize the material.
In conjunction with that, we’ve been also working on a blog series that dedicates one article to each of the eight Wheel of Life categories. Writing through each of these concepts has given me a closer look at what clients might deal with or need to examine as they use the tool to contemplate their own balance and life. I think processing some of the other course materials through writing would be equally as effective for better understanding those concepts.
Most importantly, while I think all three of these approaches are strengthening my coaching, this process, along with my coach training, is making me a better person.
-Matt Gray