Dealing with customer misconceptions with Ask-Offer-Ask

You’ve probably been in this situation before: you’re leading a team or meeting with a client one-on-one, and they share a fact that just isn’t true.

“I can’t eat carbs because of my diabetes.”
“I avoid fruit because all that sugar makes you fat.”
“I don’t lift weights. I don’t want to get bulky.”

Engaging clients in a collaborative relationship can happen quickly and easily during just a few coaching sessions. When a trusted coaching partnership is established, there is a high level of comfort and familiarity between coach and client. This strong bond has many benefits, but it can also present some challenges.

The more connected your customers feel with you, the more likely they will feel safe enough to share what they’ve heard and learned. In other cases, even younger clients may share strong feelings as they verbally process what they hear and believe from other sources. Ultimately, coaches want to be effective guides who empower clients to move into the maintenance stage of change. As your clients become more independent and confident, they may begin to conduct their own health research and may be excited to share information with you and even question the information you share if it is different from what they have learned from other sources. This is good!

But it can also put you in the position of having to correct misinformation.

When you discover that a customer is relying on incorrect information, this situation must be handled delicately. You have an ethical responsibility to correct misunderstandings with your clients and share neutral, evidence-based information and resources, with permission.

Fortunately, strategic use of it PADDLES interview skills and evidence–based coaching skills enablesmall you to keep professional communication with yof our customers in response to these challenges. It is critical that you keep the correction reflection in a difficult position in these situations. You non they want to create defensiveness or resistance or otherwise shame your customer when correcting misinformation.

Let’s look at a process that can help correct misconceptions while we’re at it it is based on the value of inquiry, the spirit of motivational interviewing and, more specifically, the ask-offer-ask approach.

Consider these five steps:

• Step 1: Make a statement of appreciation such as, “Thank you for bringing this matter up.”
• Step 2: Acknowledge that there is conflicting information: “Information on this topic can be conflicting and confusing.”
• Step 3: Ask permission to provide additional evidence by saying, “There is some reliable, science-based information that you might find interesting. Would you like me to share it with you now?”
• Step 4: With permission, offering the right information in a factual, unbiased manner. This means avoiding pronouns and imperatives that suggest the information is directly related to the needs of the client’s personal situation (eg, research shows…., science says…, this study finds…, evidence reports…, the American Heart Association recommends…).
• Step 5: Please an open-ended question to invite the client’s feedback on the information shared. “What do you think of this information?”

It is also a good idea to offer your customer resources where they can check the correct information themselves if they are interested. This could be looking at a website together during a coaching session, providing them with resources to take home or emailing later after a coaching session. The ask-offer-ask process then continues with the next “ask” in the next training session. For example, “I shared some information from the American Diabetes Association about how carbohydrates affect your insulin levels via email last week. What questions do you have after reading this article?”

Let’s look at this process again and connect a scenario about a client who shares his concerns about lifting weights.

Customer: “I don’t lift weights. I don’t want to get bulky.”

Coach: “Thanks for sharing. Looks like you’re thinking of ways to exercise that make you strong and lean.”

Customer: “Yes, I want to be fit and thin. I’m walking now, but I’m not sure what else I can do.”

Coach: “Think of some exercise options you could add to your routine that will build a fit, lean physique. Would it be okay if I shared some information on strength training?”

Customer: “Please.”

Coach: THE World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 150 minutes per week of averagevery vigorous physical activitytogether with muscle conditioning of all muscle groups a minimum of two days a week. These kinds of high schools box contribute to strong, but not bulky, muscles and provide numerous health benefits. Identity happy to send you more information in this if you would like.

Customer: “I’d like to read more. I didn’t realize incorporating weights was recommended.”

Coach: “Great, I’ll send you some additional resources. What do you think of this information so far?”

Customer: “I’m glad there are ways to lift weights that won’t make me look really bulky. Can we talk about some of those options now?”

Coach: “Naturally…”

Final Thoughts

When you rely on open-ended questions, reflection, and respectful debriefing skills, you honor client autonomy, stay within the scope of Health coaching practice, and empower the client to make science-based choices. Using question-offer-ask is a collaborative way of sharing information with clients to explore what they already know about a topic from their own experience and frame of reference, and to share relevant additional information when given permission. Effective coaches can use this technique to navigate client misconceptions while reducing defensiveness and maintaining client autonomy.