So, you’re excited to become a life coach and even booked your first coaching client. What happens next?
It’s time to prepare for your first life coaching session.
Life coaching sessions are the core of your coaching practice. That’s when clients get to really know you and learn from your approach.
It’s when you work your magic. Figuring out where your clients are at and where they want to be.
For me, this is when your deep listening skills really show. It sounds simple but it goes beyond just hearing the words. You need to notice the fears, beliefs and patterns your clients have so you can truly understand and help them.
Techniques and tools can be learned. But the ability to be present with someone… That’s something that makes a good coaching session.
I’ll help you get there with this guide.
Let’s talk about how to prepare for a life coaching session, its structure and components. You’ll even get a checklist and a template you can print for future sessions.
What Is a Life Coaching Session?
A life coaching session is a focused, goal-oriented conversation between a coach and a client.
Your goals as a life coach is to:
- Ask powerful questions so clients uncover what they really want.
- Guide clients how to map out action steps and move forward.
- Teach clients to overcome limiting beliefs that get them stuck.
- Become an accountability buddy that keeps them on track.
- Introduce coaching tools that cater to their unique challenges.
What does a life coaching session look like?
Life coaching sessions vary from coach to coach. It varies, especially depending on your niche. Here are example scenarios that can happen during life coaching sessions for different types of coaches:
- Career coaching: Your client just got passed over for a promotion. You break down what went wrong, role-play their next conversation with their manager, and map out a clear 30-day action plan to improve visibility at work.
- Business coaching: Your client hasn’t been able to reach their monthly targets, but they don’t exactly know what went wrong. Help them get clear by diving deep into the different moving parts of their business. Then build a solid process for assessing and pivoting goals.
- Health and wellness coaching: They missed workouts for two weeks. You analyze why, create a realistic meal and movement schedule, and practice a quick morning routine together so it sticks.
- Relationship coaching: They’re struggling with the dating scene. It’s the third date they’ve been on, but they’re no closer to meeting a match. Help them identify their patterns and what they can do to build meaningful connections.
- Confidence coaching: Your client was tasked to speak in front of a crowd for a local event. Support them by shifting their mindset about this challenge. Help them practice their communication skills and build their self-esteem.
What Is a Good Life Coaching Session Structure?
A powerful life coaching session is built on a clear, simple structure. When you have things planned out, you make sure that conversations stay productive.
Here’s a common coaching session breakdown:
- Opening (5-10 minutes): Greet, connect, and establish rapport.
- Reflection (5-10 minutes): Review action steps from the last session (if any).
- Goal-setting (5-10 minutes): Define what today will look like. Ask your clients, “What do you want to achieve by the end of this session?”
- Coaching proper (30-40 minutes): Dive into the heart of the session to explore challenges and uncover new insights. Use coaching tools like active listening, open-ended questions and constructive feedback.
- Planning (10-15 minutes): Get clients to commit. Develop an action plan on how they’ll achieve their personal and professional goals.
- Closing (5-10 minutes): Close the session with reflection prompts and set expectations for the next session
These timings vary depending on your coaching offer. You could limit sessions to an hour or go for intensive and longer schedules.
5 Life coaching session formats
There are many different formats for a coaching session. It depends on how many participants you’re meeting and how you’d like to meet them.
Here are the most common session formats:
- In-person sessions: You meet clients face-to-face at a designated location. With this setup, you control the ambiance and how to gain your client’s focus.
- Online sessions: You host your sessions over video conferences (my personal go-to) or phone calls. This makes sessions more flexible for both of you.
- Hybrid sessions: You blend in-person and virtual meetings to create more immersive experiences.
- One-on-one coaching: You meet with one client at a time and give personalized coaching experiences.
- Group coaching: You meet multiple participants at once, talking about a common theme. Perfect for building communities and peer support.
Life coaching group sessions vs. one-on-one sessions
Let’s take a closer look at two of the most popular life coaching session formats, and see how they compare.
One-on-one life coaching sessions:
- Give clients a unique coaching journey specific to what they’re looking for.
- Have more flexibility in each session, since you can adapt to your clients’ needs.
- Build stronger coach-client relationships.
- Typically costs more since you’re giving exclusive access to you.
- Limits your ability to scale your coaching business (you’re tied down by the hour).
Group coaching sessions:
- Involves three to eight participants for small groups.
- Calls for a more general kind of content than personalized ones.
- Great for pooling ideas, sharing insights and achieving common goals.
- Meet more people without spending more time and burning out.
- More affordable for clients compared to private coaching.
Life Coaching Session Example by Niche
To bring these ideas to life, let’s look at a few real examples of different coaching session types. These show how the process, tools, and approach can fit any client or niche.
Christian life coaching session
Best for: Clients who want to deepen their faith and build Christ-like relationships
A Christian life coaching session focuses on spiritual growth, faith-based goal setting, and aligning life choices with biblical values.
You can explore concepts like forgiveness, identity, and purpose, using scripture-based coaching techniques.
Business coaching session
Best for: Entrepreneurs or leaders who want to develop business strategies and improve team performance
You guide clients through roadblocks and growth opportunities.
For example, a client struggling with team productivity might map out roles, set SMART goals, or run a quick SWOT analysis to decide the next steps for their company.
Health coaching session
Best for: Clients who want to boost their physical and mental well-being
As a health coach, you help clients build better routines for exercise, eating, stress management or sleep.
Career coaching session
Best for: People wanting to make shifts in their professional life
You’ll guide clients through career crossroads. That includes starting a new position, looking for a new job, getting promoted or planning an exit from a current position.
You provide clarity, actionable steps, and accountability to help them move forward.
How Much Does a Life Coaching Session Cost?
Life coaching session costs can vary widely depending on your life coaching niche and your experience.
Hourly cost typically ranges from $65-$125 per session for general life coaching. For other niches, here’s how much you can charge:
- Health and wellness coaching: $75-$200 per session
- Career coaching: $100-$500 per session
- Executive coaching: $200-$500+ per session
You can also offer monthly life coaching packages if you want to offer other life coaching services with more value but a higher price.
Life coaching cost per session
Your rates will influence how much you offer life coaching sessions. Here’s the average cost per session for coaches with different experiences:
- Beginner coaches: $50-$100 per session
- Experienced coaches: $100-$200 per session
- Corporate coaches: $200-$500+ per session
How to Prepare for a Life Coaching Session
Preparation makes you stand out when starting your life coaching business. Just by taking a few simple steps before your coaching sessions, you can make a difference in your client’s personal growth journey.
Here are seven steps to get you started:
- Refresh and get clear: Review your client notes and goals from previous sessions.
- Set a clear intention: How do you want the day to go? Think of your goals as a coach too. Something like “help clients feel empowered to take the next step”.
- Ready your toolkit: Prepare any coaching tools or activities you want to use.
- Fix your setup: Check your tech and your connection if you’re a life coach online.
- Prepare your area: Create a distraction-free space to keep you focused.
- Reflect: Think about your coaching style and how to best support the client today.
- Keep improving: Work on your session structure based on previous feedback.
Life coaching first session questions to ask
In your first coaching session, key questions can help clients open up and clarify their goals.
Ask your clients:
- What brings you here today?
- What would you like to accomplish with coaching?
- What result are you trying to achieve?
- What are the main challenges you are currently facing?
- What are your core strengths and values?
- What has worked for you before?
- What have you been trying?
- What are your expectations of me?
Remember: This first session isn’t about “fixing” anything. It’s about listening deeply, asking the right questions, and helping them access their own clarity and power.
Life coaching session plan (Checklist)
Making plans for your coaching sessions? Check that you have all bases covered with this list.
Your life coaching session plan should have:
☐ Session objectives or agenda
☐ Session structure or flow
☐ List or copies of any coaching resources or tools
☐ Coaching techniques or frameworks to use
☐ Reflection questions to ask clients during the wrap up
☐ Evaluation questions to get feedback
☐ Plans for the the follow-up session
Know what else clients expect from life coaches with this guide.
Printable Life Coaching Session Plan Template
Session templates give beginner coaches the structure and confidence they need. It also helps you keep things consistent and high-quality.
Whether you’re new to coaching or want to structure your client journey, using a template helps you deliver a powerful life coaching session every time.
Life coaching session template for beginner coaches
Here is a session template you can print and fill in for every client you meet:
| Agenda | Details |
| Client’s name | |
| Session date and time | |
| Main goal | [The #1 focus for the day] |
| Opening | [Personal check-in, highlights, wins or challenges recently] |
| Review | [What happened since the last session? What actions were taken or milestones were reached?] |
| Exploration | [What mental roadblocks are they facing? What new beliefs or solutions can help them overcome these?] |
| Action plan | [List down steps to take before the next session] |
| Assignment/s | [Any resources, tools or activities to assign] |
| Next steps | [Details about the next session] |
| Reflections | [Client’s final thoughts] |
| Notes | [Your own thoughts about the session or things to remember for next time] |
How to Conduct a Life Coaching Session
It’s finally time to meet your client. No need to panic or feel overwhelmed.
The key to effective coaching is just to do what you do best and connect in the most authentic way possible. Here are eight steps you can follow:
- Set the tone: Start on time and lead your client towards your shared objective.
- Create a safe space: Build a connection early and make the client feel welcome.
- Get on the same page: Recap the last session’s actions and what’s happened since.
- Get focused: Confirm the goal for the session. Clients may face new situations that need more attention.
- Dig deep: Ask powerful questions to uncover challenges and limiting beliefs.
- Make plans: Help your client think of what to do and commit to concrete action items.
- Recap everything: Summarize the discussion and clarify next steps.
- Leave a good impression: Close on an empowering, positive note, thanking the client for their openness and effort.
10 Best practices to apply during life coaching sessions
You don’t need special powers or mind-reading abilities to have a great life coaching session. It’s all about really listening to your clients and getting the support they need.
Here are some best practices you can apply:
- Stay curious, not prescriptive: Ask open-ended, exploratory questions instead of telling clients what to do.
- Keep clients motivated: Focus on their strengths and what they’re doing right to help them see their progress.
- Don’t go for the one-size-fits-all approach: Use coaching tools and techniques that match your client’s goals.
- Stay present: Be grounded in the moment with your client. They can tell if you’re distracted or not really locked in.
- Find comfort in silences: You don’t always have to keep talking. Sometimes, clients just need someone to listen.
- Assess your client’s readiness: A good coach knows if their clients are really set for accepting change. They might tell you they are but you’ll know if they actually will take action.
- Get clients to commit: Let them own their journey. Their success isn’t up to you. They have to do the work.
- Check in on energy and emotions: Being aware of your client’s changing states helps you adapt the flow of your sessions.
- Keep notes: You don’t have to remember everything that happens in a session. Just record important details so you can track your client’s progress.
- Get feedback: Ask clients what they appreciated the most and what needs more work. The more you improve your methods, the better your session become.
Read about life coaching statistics to get ahead of the industry and get updates.
What to Do After a Life Coaching Session
The work doesn’t stop when the session ends. Keep up the momentum and prepare for your follow-up session.
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Write a quick summary: Note down your client’s insights and the commitments you agreed on during the session.
- Reach out: Send a follow-up email, encouraging them for their progress. Include instructions for their next steps or an assignment they have to complete.
- Give reminders: Notify them of the next session details and how to prepare.
- Do some self-reflection: Think about what worked and what you’d change next time.
- Keep learning: Sharpen your skills and look for new tools or techniques that will benefit your client in future sessions.
- Review your own performance: Look at other aspects of your coaching business that you can still improve. Better systems, better formats, better frameworks… There’s always something to improve.
Every Session Counts
At the heart of a powerful life coaching session is a coach who cares. Cares enough to prepare and think about structure. To listen and give clients what they need.
With clear templates, guided questions and a good plan, you’re set to empower clients and help them achieve meaningful results.
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Download my free Blueprint to Become a Highly-Paid Coach Today.
