CoachPro Tools
A good coaching session feedback form has two parts: five or six statements the client rates from 1 to 5 (the relationship, the topic you worked on, how much clearer they feel, your approach and their commitment to action) and two or three open questions about what helped and what they would change. Below you'll find both versions ready to copy: the one your client fills in and the self-assessment you complete when the session ends.
Both fit on one page and take about three minutes. What you get back beats "it was a good session": it tells you what to keep doing and what to adjust with this particular person.
What should a session feedback form measure?
Whether a coaching session works comes down to fairly concrete things. The client needs to feel heard, talk about what matters to them, leave with more clarity than they brought in and take away something to do. Ask about those and the answers are useful. Ask about punctuality or whether they liked the video platform and you collect data that changes nothing.
Psychotherapy has a very short scale built on the same logic: the Session Rating Scale (SRS) by Scott D. Miller, Barry L. Duncan and Lynn Johnson. The client rates each session in four areas: the relationship, goals and topics, the approach or method, and the session overall. It is copyrighted and designed for therapy, so we don't reproduce it here. Its four areas still make a good starting point for coaching, though, and the form below covers them with its own wording and adds a fifth area that carries a lot of weight in coaching: commitment to action.
What does the client feedback form look like?
Ask your client to rate each statement from 1 to 5, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 5 means "strongly agree". You can paste the table as it is into a Word or Google document, an online form or a printed sheet.
| # | Statement | What it measures | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I felt heard and respected during the session. | Relationship | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 2 | We talked about what I wanted to work on today. | Topic and goal | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 3 | I'm leaving with more clarity about my situation than when I came in. | Clarity | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 4 | The coach's way of working (questions, exercises, pace) suited me. | Approach | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 5 | I know what I'm going to do before the next session. | Action | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 6 | Overall, this session was useful to me. | Overall rating | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
Then add three open questions. These give you the most to work with, because the number tells you how much and the words tell you why:
- What was the most useful part of today's session?
- What would you change, or what was missing?
- What are you taking away, in one sentence?
If you want one extra question, try "Is there anything you didn't say in the session that you'd like to say now?". Sometimes the important thing shows up right there, once the client is no longer sitting in front of you.
What about the coach's self-assessment?
The second version is for you. Fill it in as soon as the session ends and before you read the client's ratings, so their scores don't color yours. Use the same 1-5 scale.
| # | Statement | What you're checking | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | At the start we agreed clearly on what the client wanted from the session. | Session agreement | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 2 | I talked less than the client and listened without planning my next question. | Listening | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 3 | I asked open questions that led them to think something new. | Questions | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 4 | I didn't give advice or solutions the client hadn't asked for. | Stance | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 5 | We closed with a specific action, with a date, worded by the client. | Close | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
| 6 | I managed the time well and the session didn't end halfway through. | Time | ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ |
And three open questions for yourself:
- At what point did I notice the client really moving forward?
- Where did I rush ahead, lose the thread or follow my own agenda?
- What would I do differently in the next session with this person?
The third one is the most practical. Write the answer in the client's notes and read it before your next appointment. If you also send a summary of what you agreed, the guide to the coaching session recap explains what to put in each section so the client goes back to it.
When should you hand out the form?
Timing changes the quality of the answers a lot. Two options work:
- In the last two or three minutes of the session. Almost everyone answers, because the client is already there. The downside: some people score higher than they feel because you're right in front of them.
- By link, within 24 hours. Answers tend to be more candid and the open responses longer. Fewer people reply, so tell them during the session that it's coming.
Sending it a week later doesn't work. By then the client no longer remembers what helped and answers on autopilot.
You don't need feedback after every single session. A reasonable rhythm:
- The first three sessions, every time. That's when the relationship is settling in and course corrections are easiest. For how to structure the start, see the guide to the first coaching session.
- After that, every three or four sessions, or whenever something important changes: a new goal, a crisis, a new format.
- At the end of the engagement, a broader review that compares before and after. That review looks at the whole process, and the guide to measuring your client's progress covers it.
How do you use the answers without fixating on the score?
One score on its own says little. Look at the trend and at the mismatches. This table sums up the most common patterns and what to do about each:
| If you see this | It probably means | What to do next session |
|---|---|---|
| Low score on "we talked about what I wanted" | You steered the session toward your topic, not theirs | Spend more time on the opening agreement and ask what they want from today |
| High clarity, low action | Understanding without commitment | Close with a small, dated action that the client words |
| All 5s, session after session | Politeness, or a form that isn't sensitive enough | Read only the open answers and ask what they would change |
| Your self-assessment well above their ratings | You see progress the client doesn't feel | Ask what they noticed, without explaining what you saw |
| Overall score dropping three sessions in a row | The engagement has stalled | Revisit the goal with the client before going further |
When a score is low, raise it at the start of the next session. Something like: "I noticed last time we didn't fully get to what you wanted. What was missing?". Asked with curiosity and without getting defensive, this is often one of the conversations that does the most for the relationship. If giving or receiving this kind of input is hard for you, these feedback models for coaching help you structure it.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- A long form. Past ten questions, clients stop reading and tick the first box. Six statements and three open questions are enough.
- Questions fishing for compliments. "What was the best thing about your coach?" gives you nothing to improve.
- Switching scales. If you use 1-5 one month and 1-10 the next, you can't compare.
- Asking and then doing nothing. If a client writes that something was missing and you never mention it, next time they won't bother writing.
- Quoting their words as a testimonial without asking. Feedback is private. To publish it you need explicit permission.
How does this work in CoachPro Tools?
If you manage your clients in CoachPro Tools, you don't need to send the form by hand. With satisfaction surveys that go out automatically when a session closes, marking an appointment as completed sends the survey to that client. Automatic sending is off by default and you switch it on once in your account. Ratings feed the progress chart in the client's record, and only answers from clients who give you permission show up in your Testimonials.
If you'd rather use your own questions, the form builder takes up to 40, with a 1-10 scale, short or long text, multiple choice and yes/no. Responses are linked to the client's record, and you can send the form from that record with their email already filled in. The catalog also includes a post-session Feedback Form and, for the end of the engagement, the Process Satisfaction Assessment, with NPS and ten quality dimensions.
Surveys, forms and client records in one account
The survey goes out when the session closes and the answers stay in each client's record: 30 USD/month, 157 USD/year or a one-time 297 USD.
See plans and pricing →Frequently asked questions
What questions should a coaching session feedback form include?
Five or six statements rated 1 to 5 covering the relationship with the coach, whether you worked on what the client wanted, how much clearer they feel, whether the approach suited them and how committed they are to the agreed action. Then two or three open questions: what was most useful, what they would change and what they are taking away.
Should I use a 1-5 or a 1-10 scale?
For a single session, 1 to 5 is enough: it is quick to answer and each number means something clear. A 1-10 scale gives more nuance when you want to track a trend across many sessions. What matters is sticking to one scale so you can compare.
When should the client fill in the feedback form?
In the last two or three minutes of the session, or within 24 hours, while the conversation is still fresh. If you send it days later, the answers turn generic.
Do I need feedback after every session?
No. It makes sense in the first few sessions, while the relationship is settling in, and after that every three or four sessions or when something changes. At the end of the engagement, a broader review of the whole process is more useful.
What should I do if a client rates a session low?
Bring it up at the start of the next session, with curiosity and without defending yourself: ask what was missing and what would make the next one more useful. A low score you talk about usually strengthens the relationship; one you ignore can end in the client quietly dropping out.
Related resources: Automatic satisfaction surveys · Coaching session recap · Free progress assessment