What this lab actually is
This is hands-on coaching practice. Every skill shows up first as a short comic with a cast you get to know: Sabrina chasing her next goal, Big Jon carrying the people he provides for, Kev hunting for the strategy that finally works. You see it done first, then you take the chair and try it on a client who talks back, until the move feels like yours.
The framework isn’t the point. It’s something you absorb until it becomes part of how you naturally coach, and then you trust it enough to be fully present with the person in front of you, because that’s where the real impact happens.
You practice the two bookends some coaches rush: opening a session with a clear, shared agreement (TIME), and closing one so the client leaves with their own insight named and owned (RIC). You learn the structure so it becomes part of your own coaching DNA, and once it’s yours, you’re free to just coach.
What you’ll practice
- Opening with TIME: surfacing the real topic, why it matters now, and what success looks like
- Closing with RIC: helping the client reflect, integrate, and complete on their own terms
- Planting the seed: the warm recap, then the open question that lets the client gather the insight and carry it out the door
Who this is for
This is for coaches who want to sharpen their craft, especially around the moments that open and close a session.
- If you are working toward a credential and you want more reps before you record, this gives you a place to practice the open and the close until they feel steady.
- If you are already an experienced coach and you want to take a peek at a deeper level of the work, this shows you the move past good, the one that hands the insight back to the client.
- If you are early in your journey and you just want to see it done and try it yourself, this shows you how, one comic and one practice client at a time.
However you came to coaching, if you want your openings and endings to feel intentional instead of rushed, you are in the right room.
“I got really sucked into wanting to help them! The characters feel like real people, and the mentor feedback provided a good blend of positive and constructive feedback. I continued to care about the clients and actually felt really proud for their progress, so the connection there remained for the whole course.”
Kathleen Young, M.Ed., Personal Development and Academic Coach
“What a great resource to not only learn, but to practice opening and closing in coaching, in real time. Reading, watching, actually practicing in this environment is so helpful as a coach, to refresh and sharpen up my skills.”
Stratis N. Christakis, PCC, SHRM-SCP
“This course is structured in a unique way to enable learning and more so retention and application of the learning… I walked away with a deeper appreciation, greater confidence in applying my learnings, and insights that will continue to shape my coaching practice.”
Suresh Ranganathan, Clarity & Conscious Leadership Coach
“This really gave me insight into what I am doing, and what I am missing, or rather, what I am not letting the client see.”
Jennifer Sukola, MA, PCC
A note on credit: The Coaching Comics Lab is a self-paced coaching skills lab. It is not ICF-accredited and does not award Continuing Coach Education (CCE) hours. Its certificate recognizes completion of the practice, not ICF credit. (ICF-accredited CCE hours are offered through The Mentor’s Eye.)