As a Coach, long ago I learned that the key tool by far for a coach is Context, from listening to understand the context of someone we are listening to, perhaps to helping them get clear on their context by questioning and probing at different levels of context. It is also important for us to be clear within ourselves on our own context. Context can be applied in almost any environment, including on helping us be clear on the choices we make.
As a simple example, the other evening I went up to central London to meet a friend to catch up. It was a warm evening, so I knew we would both be thirsty. We would also only have an hour and a half at the most before we both had to go back home for other things going on that evening. The pub they chose had a variety of beers from a renowned brewery, Harvey’s. From the information I have given you alone, plus the picture above, can you guess what my context was for choosing that beer?
Take a moment, read back on the clues I gave and study the picture. Got it yet?
Yes, I chose this one because it had a very low percentage ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of 3.0% (beer is often over 5.0%), which meant that two thirsty friends could happily drink several pints (we had three in the end) and then still be absolutely sober to go on with the rest of our evenings.