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Oct 12, 2026 11 min

When A Structured Coach Meets Emotion

from Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Hosted by Michelle Burkhard

What happens when the person you’re coaching suddenly starts crying, gets angry, or simply stops talking? Even a capable coach can have that moment of, “Oh my gosh, what do I do now?” In today’s episode, Michelle explores what happens whenemotion meets the Structured Coach. Frameworks and processes can be incredibly helpful, but sometimes our desire to get back to the structure is really about making ourselves more comfortable. Emotion doesn’t automatically mean something has gone wrong, and it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve wandered outside the boundaries of coaching. Sometimes the tears are not interrupting the coaching.They are part of it. The challenge is learning to stay present without panicking, fixing, rescuing, or rushing the person toward a solution. Questions or comments? I’d love to hear from you! [email protected] Want to grow your confidence, skill, and capacity as acoach? The next Coaching Academy begins in January. Learn more and join us at CA.GrowBy1.com. Reflection Questions What happens inside you when a coachee becomes emotional? When have you used a coaching framework to ease your owndiscomfort with emotion? How might moving too quickly toward solutions affect thecoachee? What would help you pause and stay steady before asking your next question? How could you make room for emotion while keeping thecoaching process available?

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