Now we have learned to make powerful observations and to ask powerful questions, and the missing link here is making powerful requests. This will sound familiar to you. To make a powerful request, you want to be in-tune with the speaker and be able to hear them at a very deep, connected level, and certainly, you should be ready to make a request that will move the other person forward, a request that is a lot bigger than the other person is ready or prepared for. And then, as always, be ready for whatever response comes back to you.
Powerful requests have a purpose, and the purpose is usually to make the other person stop and allow them time to get very clear on what’s fact, what’s not fact, and how they might move forward to leap through the critical gap. When a speaker chooses to act upon a powerful request, he will usually make great progress in moving forward towards the other side of the critical gap. Powerful requests are always about taking action and are always way larger than the speaker can imagine.
I like to pose a powerful request that is much larger than my clients think that they can possibly do. Why? Because as human beings, we tend to put ourselves down and think we can do less instead of more, and so a powerful request is a way of saying, “I believe you can do more. I can see that you can do more. I maintain that you can do more, and I want you to do more.” So, go do more!
One of my clients is a Sales Manager, and he wanted to increase the amount of contracts for his company by six. I wasn’t willing to accept that he would only be able to increase it by six, because six is what he had achieved the year before, and he kept telling me he wanted to do better than that. One of his critical gaps was that he had very low self-esteem about his own abilities, but I knew in my heart, and I believed, and it was my truth that he could do way more if he would just let go and do it. So, when he said, “Well, I would like to have six new clients.” I said to him, “I would like to request that you have ten new clients.” This was way bigger than he envisioned, way bigger than he imagined, and it allowed him to leap
forward through his critical gap, and work through his self-esteem issues as well as creating more income for himself.
Powerful requests open the door and the mind to greater possibilities, greater ideas, greater magnitude of what can be done, greater expansion, and greater vision. Whenever I make a powerful request, I know that it lets people see that I believe in them, very often more than they believe in themselves. It lets them see that I expect more of them than they expect of themselves, and that I want, and envision, and hold in my belief system for them that they will achieve what it is they want.
One of the other wonderful things about powerful requests is that they actually can make other people feel very happy, bring them a great sense of joy and delight, and put a smile on their faces. For example, many years ago, when I was starting my coaching practice and really working hard to be with my clients and still marketing to attract new clients, I was feeling great pressure about not having enough space and time just to “be.” Simply, to be. And so what I decided to do was take one hour off every Friday and just take great care of myself, be it to meditate or take a walk. And I remember this brilliant coach that I was working with, who I’m honored to work with at Comprehensive Coaching U, said to me, “Terri, I want you to take off one day a week.” I recall thinking he must be out of his mind, and then I got this huge grin on my face and I actually remember laughing and saying, “Wouldn’t that be joyful?” So then I felt lighter about it and thought well, maybe I could do that. After that, possibilities began to open up and pretty soon, low and behold, I started to take off half days. For the last year and a half to two years now, I have taken off more than one full day a week and my business is larger and more profitable than ever before. So, thank you, Coach.
Let’s listen in again on the session with our Doctor friend:
Coach: So what I’m hearing is that you are willing to take a look at how you can have a medical practice and perhaps not be the marketing guru of getting patients. Is that right?
Client: Well yes, because what I really want is a great medical practice. I just want to arrive in the morning and have a room full of patients to take care of and make them well.
Coach: Great! So I’d like to make some requests here, and anytime that I make a request, you can accept it, you can deny it, or we can negotiate it. Would that work for you?
Client: Okay.
Coach: Okay, great. So, the first request is that you take some time in the next couple of days and really envision, I mean deeply envision, get it in your mind, your brain, in your body, in your heart, and your gut, what it would be like to have a perfect day as a physician. Just perfect. You would be doing what you love, with your patients, you would feel like you were a wonderful doctor and were accomplishing all the things that you want to accomplish. Would you be willing to take on that request?
Client: I could. It would be a stretch from where I am now.
But I would be willing to do it.
Coach: Notice that with coaching, I’m always going to request that you stretch. Are you willing to go there?
Client: I could do that.
Coach: Great! And the second request that I have is that you sit down and make a list on your computer, or in a journal, or meditate and come up with a list of all the things that are going right, day-to-day, in your work. Every single thing.
Client: I have some really good patients. I love being able to help them. I truly love being a doctor and enjoy medicine. I feel great when I’ve been able to help someone.
Coach: Great! I’m sure you’re doing a wonderful job. I want you to really get turned on to what’s going right. So my request is that you shift your focus
and really take some concrete time to look at what’s working. Would you be willing to do that?
Client: I suppose I could.
Coach: This “suppose I could”… is there something holding you back here?
Client: No, I just see so many problems that I don’t know what to do about it.
Coach: Great, let’s let go of the problems, that’s another request. Just let it go. Let it go to the Universe for right now and let’s just put our focus for right now on what’s working. We’ll deal with the other stuff.
You’re willing to do that?
Client: Okay.
Coach: Great.