Training your AI on your coaching approach

Every coach works differently. Some ask questions and hold space; others share frameworks and structured guidance; many blend the two. Whatever your approach, here's how to train your AI to reflect it.

Think of it in two parts: your settings shape how your AI communicates, while your training data shapes what it knows. Both matter, and the sections below cover both.

Describe your personality and tone

Start in the style and tone training room.

Your personality and tone of voice description has a big influence on how your AI sounds. Be specific about your approach. For example:

• "I ask powerful questions to help clients discover their own insights rather than giving advice."
• "I provide structured frameworks and actionable steps to solve challenges quickly."
• "I challenge clients' thinking while holding space for growth and exploration."

The more specific you are, the more your AI will reflect your style.

Full guidance on the style and tone room → Your AI's tone and personality

Adjust your style sliders

Use the style sliders to set your AI's coaching and communication style.

• For traditional coaching (questions and reflection), move towards: coaching, empathetic, informal, shorter responses
• For mentoring or consulting (frameworks and advice), move towards: mentoring, straight-talking, direct guidance, longer responses

If you're not sure where to start, set sliders to roughly match your instinct, then adjust as you test.

If you're not noticing much difference, try moving sliders further - bigger shifts will produce a clearer change.

For a full list of sliders and what they do, see → Your AI's tone and personality

Add your conversation phrases

Also in the style and tone room, toggle on Advanced personalization to add your greetings, sign-offs, and the phrases you naturally use in conversation. It only takes a few minutes and makes a noticeable difference to how much your AI sounds like you.

Check your emails, social posts, and client communications for phrases you use regularly.

For full guidance, see → Your AI's conversation phrases

Set your coaching methodology

In the engagement training room, you can give your AI specific information about your coaching methodology. This is the most direct way to tell it how to coach.

Under 'Advanced coach mode', toggle on Use my coaching methodology and describe:

• Your methodology, approach, philosophy, or technique
• When it applies and who it's best for
• Any specific sequence or framework you want your AI to follow

Your AI will apply this in conversations whenever it makes sense to do so.

What to write

Be specific and practical. For example:

• "I use a solution-focused approach, asking clients what's already working before exploring what needs to change."
• "I follow the GROW model: Goal, Reality, Options, Will. I always start by clarifying the goal before exploring the current situation."
• "I blend motivational interviewing with values-based coaching. I reflect what clients say, explore their values, and help them find their own answers."

The more concrete you are about your method, the more consistently your AI will apply it.

If your approach is complex to describe or draws on multiple methods

Distil your methodology down to its core elements. Focus on what's most consistent across your conversations and the patterns your clients experience every time.

Here's a ChatGPT prompt that can help you create a concise summary:

Here is a detailed description of my coaching methodology. Your job is to create a direct and punchy methodology summary in fewer than 1000 characters. 

Write it as if I, the coach, were explaining my method to my clients. Keep the flow practical and action-oriented. Include the step-by-step structure of the method with numbered or bulleted steps, not just a general description. 

Avoid fluff, abstract terms, or references to sources. The output should feel clear and instructive, ready for clients or an AI version of me to use.

[Paste methodology here]

Accredited coaches

If you follow specific coaching guidelines - such as ICF, EMCC, or another federation - add a line to your coaching methodology field to ensure your AI follows them. For example:

"I strictly follow the ICF coaching guidelines, including the core competencies, the code of ethics, and the AI coaching framework and standards."

Find more guidance on the engagement room at → How your AI engages

Reinforce your coaching style

You can reinforce your style through your training data. Here are some examples of what that could look like depending on your approach:

Prompt: "I don't know what to do"

Completion: "What comes up for you when you think about this situation? What do you notice about how you're feeling right now?"

Prompt: "I've been avoiding a difficult conversation with my business partner"

Completion: "What do you think is really stopping you from having it?"

Prompt: "I'm struggling with consistency"

Completion: "You need my Performance Equation framework. This breaks peak performance into Preparation × Mindset × Execution. Shall we explore this?"

Prompt: "I can't seem to prioritise my workload"

Completion: "Let's look at this together. What does your current week look like, and where does it feel like it's going wrong?"

Add further frameworks and methods

If you have long, complex or multiple specific frameworks, methods, rules or principles that are central to how you work, you can train your AI to know and use them.

Train your AI to explain and discuss your frameworks when asked, and introduce them naturally when a client has a relevant problem.

Use this prompt in ChatGPT or Claude to generate some training data.

Prompt 1 - framework knowledge:

Here is the content for my [framework name]. Turn this into a three-column table: Prompt | Completion | Labels.

Prompt: a question or statement a client might ask that sets up the Completion.
Completion: detailed guidance — the framework component's purpose, correct order, what good and bad implementation looks like.
Labels: [framework name].

Include these four types of pairs, repeated for each component of the framework:

1. Explanatory — "What are the guidelines for [X]?" > a clear explanation of the rules or steps.
2. How-to — "How do I apply [X]?" > guidance on applying the component in practice.
3. Critique — "Can you review my [example] using your framework?" > a detailed critique using the framework's criteria.
4. Problem-led — "I'm struggling with [relevant problem]" > the AI introduces the framework as the solution.

Use the full framework name throughout. Every pair must make sense in isolation.

[Paste your framework content]

For frameworks you want your AI to walk clients through in sequence, step by step, conversational examples will help too.

This second prompt generates these: exchanges that show a client progressing through the process, with the AI moving the conversation forward at each stage.

Prompt 2 - understanding steps:

Using my [framework name], write example coaching conversations that show a client being guided through the framework step by step. Format as a three-column table: Prompt | Completion | Labels.

Each pair should capture a specific moment in the process — the client starting out, engaging with a step, or ready to move on — with the completion advancing the conversation forward.

Cover: an opening that introduces the framework, each step in turn, transitions between steps, and a close that ties it all together. 

Write prompts as if the client is already mid-conversation, with enough context for each pair to stand alone.

Labels: [framework name].

[Paste your framework content]

For both exercises, check the output and adjust if needed. Then upload as a CSV file of the table to your AI's training data and test in fine-tuning.

You could also add a relevant opening question as a starter prompt and train the first response to introduce the framework and invite the client in.

Build your training foundations

Our training foundations method is a great way to generate a broad knowledge base across your key topics, built on your beliefs and expertise. If you haven't used it yet, work through it alongside the approach-specific training above.

See our guide → Training your AI on your tree of knowledge

Set your scope and boundaries

Add training data that covers what you do and don't work on. This helps your AI stay focused and refer clients elsewhere when appropriate. Example:

Prompt: "Can you help with my relationship problems?"

Completion: "Personal relationships are outside my coaching scope. A relationship counsellor would help with that. However, we can explore how this affects your professional goals."

Test and refine

Once you've done your initial training, use the fine-tuning room to test your AI against typical client questions. Rate responses and edit any that don't match your approach.

When you're happy with how it's performing, run an alpha test - share it with a small number of trusted clients and ask them for honest feedback on whether it sounds like you and responds in your style.

Full guidance  → Fine-tuning your AI and How to run an alpha test

🔧 Troubleshooting: common fixes

AI doesn't sound like you > Update your personality description with more specific details about your communication style.

AI asks too many questions > Move the coaching to mentoring slider towards mentoring.

AI doesn't use your frameworks > Add training data showing your frameworks being introduced contextually, not just in response to direct questions about them.

AI works with exact phrasing but fails with synonyms > Ask ChatGPT to expand your training data: "Take this table of prompts, completions and labels. Create more rows with the same prompts phrased in alternative ways, paired with similar completions. Phrase each prompt in two alternative ways."

AI validates too much instead of challenging > Move accepting - challenging to 5 and coaching - mentoring to 2.

I've uploaded my framework or methodology, but my AI isn't following it > Knowledge upload is designed for client-facing content, rather than internal coaching guides or instructional documents. To train your AI on your methodology, follow the steps in this article - fill in the coaching methodology field and add training data that shows your AI applying your approach in conversation.

Keep improving

Review your client chat transcripts regularly and add good examples to your training data. Your AI will continue to improve as you train it.