I was going to skip writing this one. There are already a hundred "prompts for coaches" articles online, and most of them are embarrassing. You know the type: "Act as a seasoned executive coach and provide a comprehensive framework for my client's leadership challenges." That'll produce 600 words of consultant-speak that you'll paste nowhere.
So I kept putting it off. Then I was sitting with a colleague over coffee last month and she asked if I could just text her the prompts I actually run. I started typing them out and got to about number nine before I realized this was already an article.
Here's the thing I should say up front: I use Claude, not ChatGPT. My setup has a name (Margaret, long story) and it knows my practice, my voice, my frameworks. But every prompt in this list works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, whatever you have. The model matters less than the structure. I'll say "Margaret" when it's natural, but read that as whatever tool you're using.
Also: these are prompts for the work around the session. Notes, prep, proposals, the administrative layer that sits around the actual coaching. None of these go into a session. The session belongs to the client and to you. These prompts handle everything else so you can show up to that session ready.
I'm not going to give you 47. Here are 12 that do real work, with the full text.
---
First, a word about context files
About half of these prompts reference a client context file. If you don't have one of these yet, build one. It's a plain text document for each client that contains their background, their stated goals, the themes that keep coming up, relevant history, and anything else you'd want to read before a session if you only had five minutes.
I update mine after every session. Thirty seconds of notes. That file is what lets Margaret produce a prep brief that's actually about this client, not a generic "here are leadership development themes to explore" summary. Without it, you're asking AI to prep you for a session it has no context for. The output will reflect that.
---
The 12 prompts
1. Session prep brief
Requires: client context file + any notes from the previous session.
This is the one I run most often. Monday morning, before my first client, I generate prep briefs for everyone that week. Takes about four minutes total.
You are helping me prepare for a coaching session. I am an executive coach. Here is my context file for this client: [PASTE CONTEXT FILE] Here are my notes from our last session: [PASTE PREVIOUS SESSION NOTES] Our next session is [DATE]. Produce a prep brief with: - A 2-3 sentence summary of where we left off - The 2-3 themes most likely to come up based on what they're navigating - One question I should hold in mind going in (not to ask necessarily, just to carry) - Any commitments they made last session that I should follow up on Write this as a working document, not a report. Short paragraphs. Things I'd want to know if I was reading this at 8:55 AM before a 9:00 AM session.
The "one question to hold in mind" instruction is the one that surprised me. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it consistently surfaces something worth bringing into the room.
---
2. Post-session note synthesis
Requires: your raw session notes (they can be messy).
This is the context sandwich approach I've written about elsewhere (see the session notes template if you want the full structure). You give it your messy notes, it produces something you'd actually want to file.
I am an executive coach. Here are my rough notes from a session I just completed. They are messy, abbreviated, and in no particular order. Do not clean up my voice or add coaching frameworks I didn't mention. [PASTE RAW NOTES] Synthesize these into a session summary with: - Main topics covered (bullet list, brief) - Any significant moment or shift I noted - Client's stated commitments or next steps - My own observations as coach (only if I explicitly noted them) - One thread to carry forward to the next session Keep the language close to what I wrote. Do not interpret or theorize beyond what I've given you. If something is ambiguous, leave it ambiguous.
That last instruction matters. Early on I kept getting summaries that were too tidy, too resolved. Real sessions aren't resolved. They end mid-thought half the time. I needed it to hold the ambiguity.
---
3. Pattern detection across session logs
Requires: multiple session notes from the same client (3+ sessions recommended).
Run this every quarter or when you sense something recurring but can't name it.
I am reviewing several months of session notes for a coaching client. I'm looking for recurring themes, patterns, or stuck points I might be too close to see. [PASTE 3-6 SESSION SUMMARIES, LABELED BY DATE] Review these and identify: - Any theme or topic that appears in 3 or more sessions - Any language the client uses repeatedly (exact phrases if you notice them) - Any type of situation where they seem to get stuck - Any pattern in how they describe their relationships with authority figures, peers, or direct reports - Anything that strikes you as notable that I haven't explicitly named Do not interpret why the patterns exist. Just name what you see.
I've had this surface things I'd noticed but hadn't articulated, and a couple of things I hadn't noticed at all. It's not a replacement for your own observation, but it's a useful second pass.
---
4. Coaching proposal first draft
Requires: notes from your intake or exploration conversation.
I used to spend two hours on proposals. Now I spend twenty minutes. This gives me a decent skeleton I then rewrite in my own voice.
I am a solo executive coach writing a coaching proposal for a prospective client. Here are my notes from our exploratory conversation: [PASTE INTAKE NOTES] Draft a coaching proposal with: - A brief framing of what they're navigating (2-3 sentences, written to them, not about them) - Proposed focus areas for the engagement - Engagement structure (I typically work in 6-month engagements, 2 sessions per month, 60 minutes each) - What they can expect from the process - What I ask of them Write this as a document I'd send to a real person. Professional but not corporate. No bullet-point laundry lists. No hollow phrases like "tailored approach" or "transformative journey." Write it like someone who has done this work for years and knows what this specific client needs.
I always rewrite the opening paragraph. It almost always starts too formally. But the structure is solid and it saves me from staring at a blank page.
---
5. Intake form analysis before first session
Requires: the client's completed intake form responses.
This is the one I most wish I'd started earlier.
A new coaching client has completed an intake form. Here are their responses: [PASTE INTAKE RESPONSES] Before I meet with them for the first time, give me: - What they say they want to work on - What seems to be the deeper concern underneath that (your read, not theirs) - The word or phrase they use most to describe their situation - One thing I should be curious about that they haven't directly named - Any early signal about how they relate to feedback or challenge Be specific. Use their actual words where relevant.
That third point, the word or phrase they use most, has changed how I start first sessions. People tell you a lot in how they describe their own situation. You want to already know their language before you walk in.
---
6. Feedback form theme synthesis
Requires: collected responses from your coaching feedback form.
I send a short feedback form three months into every engagement and again at the close. When I have six or eight responses, I run this.
I have collected feedback responses from coaching clients. I want to understand the themes without getting lost in individual responses. [PASTE FEEDBACK RESPONSES, REMOVE ANY IDENTIFYING DETAILS] Identify: - What clients consistently say is most valuable - Where the experience seems to fall short or feel unclear - Any language clients use to describe what changed for them - Anything surprising or unexpected Do not quote anyone directly. Give me themes and patterns.
The last time I ran this I learned that my clients experienced a lot of value in the first session back after a break, something I'd never consciously designed for. Now I do.
---
7. LinkedIn post from a coaching insight
Standalone, no context file needed.
I don't post often, but when I do I want it to sound like me, not like a coaching brand. This prompt has gotten me closest.
I want to write a LinkedIn post based on something I observed in my coaching work recently. Here is the rough observation: [1-3 SENTENCES DESCRIBING WHAT YOU NOTICED] Write a LinkedIn post that: - Leads with the observation, not a lesson or a moral - Stays in the moment of what I noticed rather than zooming out to general claims - Does NOT end with a question asking people what they think - Does NOT list "key takeaways" - Sounds like a person who coaches for a living and occasionally shares a thought, not a brand that markets coaching Length: 100-150 words. No hashtags.
The instruction about not ending with a question is load-bearing. Every AI-generated LinkedIn post ends with "What do you think?" It's a reflex. I needed to kill it.
---
8. Working agreement section
Requires: notes from your first session conversation about working together.
My coaching agreement template has a standard structure, but I write a short custom section for each client about how we'll work together specifically. This speeds that up.
I am writing a per-client section for a coaching working agreement. This section describes how we will work together, based on what we discussed in our first session. Here are my notes from that conversation: [PASTE NOTES] Write a 150-200 word section that: - Describes what this client is working toward in their own language - Notes any specific agreements we made about how to work together (frequency, communication between sessions, etc.) - Is written to them, in second person - Reads like something a real human coach wrote, not legal language and not corporate wellness-speak
---
9. Quarterly client review brief
Requires: client context file and session summaries from the past quarter.
I do a quarterly review with each client, and I prepare a brief in advance so I have a clear picture of where we are.
I am preparing for a quarterly review with a coaching client. I want to walk in with a clear picture of what we've covered and where we are. Here is my context file for this client: [PASTE CONTEXT FILE] Here are session summaries from the past three months: [PASTE SUMMARIES] Generate a quarterly review brief with: - What they came in working on versus where we are now - The main themes from this quarter - Any shifts in how they're describing their situation or their goals - What I'd say is unfinished or still worth exploring - A suggested focus for next quarter based on what I've observed Write this as prep for me, not as a document to share with the client.
---
10. Referral follow-up email
Requires: a few notes about who referred you and your conversation with the prospective client.
This is a small one but it saves me more mental energy than it should. Writing these emails from scratch is tedious and I always undervalue the relationship.
I had a referral conversation with a prospective coaching client. The referral came from [NAME/DESCRIPTION OF REFERRING PERSON]. Here are brief notes from the conversation: [PASTE NOTES] Write: 1. A subject line for the follow-up email (3 options, each different in tone) 2. A follow-up email that: - Thanks them for the conversation without being effusive - Names one specific thing we discussed (use my notes) - States a clear next step - Is under 150 words - Does not sound like a business development email Write it like an email from a real person, not a template.
---
11. What's the actual topic under what they're saying
Requires: a few notes about what your client told you they want to work on.
I run this for new clients and occasionally when something feels off in an ongoing engagement.
A coaching client has told me they want to work on [STATED TOPIC]. Here are the specifics of how they described it: [PASTE THEIR WORDS OR YOUR NOTES FROM THE CONVERSATION] Without overinterpreting, give me: - What they seem to be managing under the stated topic - Any tension or contradiction in how they've described it - What type of coaching engagement this might actually call for (skill-building, transition support, identity shift, relationship navigation, etc.) - One thing I should stay curious about This is prep for me. I'm not looking for conclusions. I'm looking for useful questions to carry into the work.
I want to be clear that I don't take this output as truth. I take it as one way of reading the situation. Sometimes it's way off. When it's on, it's useful exactly because it says the thing I was half-thinking but hadn't let myself think all the way.
---
12. Client-readable progress summary
Requires: session notes and client context file.
A few of my clients like a periodic summary of what we've been working on, framed in a way they can share with their sponsor or use in their own reflection. This is not the same as session notes. Different audience, different purpose.
I want to write a progress summary I can share with a coaching client. This is not a session log. It is a reflection of what we've been working on and what has shifted. Here is relevant context: [PASTE CONTEXT FILE AND RECENT SESSION SUMMARIES] Write a 300-400 word summary that: - Is written to the client in second person - Captures the arc of the work without clinical language - Acknowledges what they've navigated and what they've built - Names what's still in progress without framing it as deficiency - Sounds warm and direct, not evaluative Do not use the words "growth," "journey," or "transformation." Do not tell them what they learned. Describe what you observed.
That last instruction is the one that matters most. The difference between "you developed stronger presence in difficult conversations" and "you came in leading with data and left leading with questions" is significant. The second one is something they can hold.
---
A few things I've learned about prompting in general
Context is almost everything. A prompt with zero context about your client will produce something generic. A prompt with two pages of context will produce something you might actually send.
Specificity beats length. "Write a summary" is worse than "write a 200-word summary, second person, no clinical language." The constraints are how you get what you want.
Read the output and then ask for what's missing. The best version of these prompts isn't usually the first pass. Margaret usually gets me 70% there. Then I ask for a sharper version of one section, or different language on something that landed wrong.
And the last one: these prompts work for the work around the session. I want to keep being clear about that because I think there's a pull, especially when the tools are good, to start wanting AI in the room. That's not what any of this is for. What coaching requires, that particular quality of full attention, the ability to sit with discomfort and not rush to the next question, the read on what isn't being said, that's not in the prompt library. These prompts just mean you show up to the room ready for it.
The thing I'm still working on is the quarterly review brief. I haven't found a version I fully trust. It keeps being slightly too optimistic, the AI equivalent of a good performance review. Real quarters have messy spots. I'm still iterating.