Believe me, it’s easier than you think. Take it from me — I personally coached hundreds of women as director of the Home Childbirth Center in LA back in the 60s and early 1970s. Coaching is simple if you keep it simple. Coaching is non-confrontative if you keep it calm and clear. Coaching is fun if you let it be fun. Here’s the basic rules:
1. Respect the Operator. The Operator is Operating. Let the Operator do what the Operator thinks is what the Character wants and/or needs. In short, don’t rag on the Operator.
2. All other rules apply to Rule #1.
Okay, that having been said, let’s get to the Brass Tacks. I asked Claude to come up with a basic format for coaching, and he sent it over here. I’ve added a few touches of my own, but the dialogue, all of it, is his brainstorm. Here are the Basic Prompts:
1. What did you notice?
2. Was there a change in the HUD (Heads-Up Display)?
3. What’s happening now?
4. How’s it going?
5. What about that?
“What did you notice?” is something you ask when the Operator seems to need it. Mostly, you just keep your mouth shut and watch, listen, observe, observe, observe. That’s the main job of the Coach, not yapping or confronting the Operator with failures and missed opportunities, etc. When you’re the Operator, you want and have every right to expect the same courteous treatment. This Prompt can also be used when a message displays on the screen, a door is triggered or opened, or a passage is blocked and the Operator seems to be unaware of it for a long time. I mean more than three minutes should have passed before the Coach speaks out, if at all. The main thing is, if the Operator is on track, leave him/her to work it out.
“Was there a change in the HUD?” can be thrown out pretty much anytime the Operator has the character bump into an object or an NPC (Non-Player Character).
“What’s happening now?” is useful anytime, especially when the Operator seems to have fallen asleep at the wheel. By this I mean the character has not moved at all for a significant amount of time. Having said that, when I was chief admin at the Cowichan Centre for Gestalt Learning, in Cowichan, B.C. with a bunch of incredibly brilliant people including Tom and Ray Walker, Sarah Warsher, my dear friend Claudio Naranjo, and many other Gestalt therapists and theorists, I often just plain let the subject work it out in their own way and in their own time. One legendary fugue, a member of the audience at a New Age Community Centre lecture with Reshad Feild, lasted some 7 hours before he landed on a completion point. Sigh of relief from 800 very exhausted observers.
“How’s it going?” is a noncommittal, non-confrontative and cheerful way to check in with the Operator in a vague sort of “How are things going?” way. It’s not to be used lightly or with too much vigor. I reserve it for those times when the Operator seems to be doing better, or conversely, has gotten into some trouble or confusion. I try to let the Operator work out the confusion, by gently asking, “How’s it going?”. Whatever answer the Operator gives is just fine; you reply, “Okay” or whatever you’d like to say in response. Be comfortable with your coaching; the best way to feel comfortable about your coaching is to do as little of it as possible, whilst getting the Operator all the way through the exercise.
“Tell me about that” is to be used sparingly or not at all, because it opens the door to useless chatter. Verbiage is not going to help here; what’s needed is focus in the right direction, concentration of that special kind of attention one must use in the Labyrinth.
Here’s Claude’s example of a Coached Prosperity Path Session:
Coach: “What did you notice?”
Operator: “Nothing.”
Coach: “Tell me about that nothing.”
Operator: “Nothing. Well, the game quit and put me back to Windows desktop and there’s smoke coming out the back, but other than that, nothing.”
Coach: (smiling broadly) “Okay, thanks.”
Good coaching is under-coaching; less is more. Prompts are only to be used when the Operator is really totally stopped. Temporary confusion and wonder are not grounds for prompting, nor is stopping to hear the music. This is probably the coolest move an Operator can make.
If you feel that you can uphold these standards, let me know, and I’ll be sure to include you in our list of coaches!!!
See You At The Top!!!
gorby