Illuminated: 3 Listening Skills That Help Clients See Themselves
- Cindy Hosea
- May 30
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 15
Listening is one of the most fundamental—and most underestimated—skills in coaching. At its simplest, listening looks like giving full attention to another human being. But in coaching, it is so much more than that. We listen not only to the words, but to the tone, the energy, the pauses, and even the silence.
Through training, many coaches learn about the levels of listening—from focusing on our own perspective, to deeply attuning to the client, to sensing the broader field of what’s emerging. These levels of listening create the foundation of presence.
But here’s the key: deep listening is only the beginning. Once you hear what is alive in the moment, the question becomes: What do you do with it?
This is where the next layer of Co-Active Coaching skill comes in. Because listening is not the goal—it is the gateway. What makes coaching transformational is how we use what we hear to forward the action and deepen the learning.
In this article, we’ll explore three advanced listening responses that help coaches move from presence to impact:
Articulating What’s Going On
Clarifying
Meta-View
Together, these skills bring sharper awareness, help clients move through fog and complexity, and open the way for those lightbulb moments when a client finally sees themselves clearly.
