What are the distinctions in the coaching processes?

In the field of coaching, the way in which people interpret reality is inseparable from the type of actions we take to transform it. Taking this into account is essential to be able to adapt well to day-to-day challenges, both in professionally as well as personally, and both individually and in our relationships with the rest.

This is where the concept of coaching distinctions becomes important.; In this article we will briefly see what they consist of.

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What are the distinctions in the world of coaching?

The task of defining the term "distinctions" pertaining to the context of coaching is not easy, but it can be summarized this way: a distinction is the formulation of alternative conceptual frameworks from which we perceive things and extract different interpretations. For example, some fundamental distinctions can be: "wants and needs", "self-esteem and love", "alert and alarm", and so on.

Thus, taking into account that there are these different ways of seeing things helps us to consider whether the perspective from which we interpret our reality and the challenges and problems that exist in it is the most appropriate and constructive.

That is why in coaching it is common to work on reflections about the different distinctions that we use in our lives, or the that we could be using to more easily find a way to intervene in problems, needs, and opportunities for growth. This implies expressing different mental frames through words that we believe are key in a given context, and proceed to specify its meaning beyond conventional definitions or "Officers".

And it is that no matter how much dictionaries try to "fix" the definitions of words, just like static elements preserved in a museum, the nature of language means that in practice the way in which we rely on words relies on the dynamism and flexibility of those meanings. After all, the implications of the same term vary depending on the context in which we are, our objectives, and the philosophy or relationship of concepts from which we analyze things.

Although we do not realize it, at all times we are actively working (although, at the same time time, semi-unconsciously) in the interpretation of the reality that surrounds us and of us themselves. This process of extracting meaning from the world and the events that happen in it is carried out through abstract thought linked to language; It is the use of specific terms embedded in grammatically consistent formulations as we are capable of elaborating very abstract thoughts, unlike other animals.

However, thinking through language is a double-edged sword- Helps us articulate complex concepts and draw conclusions by combining ideas with great ease, but sometimes we rush by assuming the meaning of each word... and we fall into errors that we could have avoided by modifying our way of conceiving things.

How do they influence us?

These are some of the main ways in which the distinctions of coaching affect our lives.

1. They make the search for solutions more flexible

Getting stuck in a very rigid definition can lead to dead ends. Conclusions that are correct from the point of view of logic can be errors if we do not question the premises from which we started.

2. Help prevent polysemia problems

Sometimes we make mistakes because we do not realize that, when addressing a problem and trying to solve it, We rely on words whose meaning oscillates depending on the situation, without our realizing it.

3. They allow us to argue better

Because if we take into account the distinctions we can detect dialectical traps and fallacies such as that of the "castral mota"), we can enhance our expressive, argumentative and persuasive skills.

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4. They help us rethink our goals

Give the distinctions we can reformulate and rethink practically anything: not only the "how", but also the "why". In this way it is easier to remedy basic errors.

Are you interested in learning more about the subject?

If you want to know more about how the distinctions of coaching are and how they can be used, you may be interested the book "Coaching distinctions: building ourselves through language", from the publisher LID. It is a choral work in which more than a dozen members of EEC Alumni, the community of learning of the European School of Coaching, and whose coordinator is Silvia Guarnieri, Founding Partner and Academic Director of EEC. This book is intended for both coaches and people without prior training in the field of coaching. You can get it here.

Bibliographic references:

• Hamblin, Charles Leonard (1970). Fallacies. London: Methuen Publishing.
• Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980), Metaphors We Live By, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.