Support coachees individually in daily life without time pressure and spatial constraints – that’s what online coaching promises. But how does coaching at a distance work? In this article, we show you 5 online coaching formats and provide tips for making the right choice.

You want to start with online coaching but are unsure how to get started? No wonder: Nowadays, there is a huge variety of different formats available for online coaching. To help you choose, we present to you today 5 simple formats for online coaching and give you tips for which situations and coachees they are best suited for:

1. Online Coaching via Email

Email coaching is probably the simplest option. The entry barrier is extremely low: After all, 85% of Germans use the Internet to send emails!

Email coaching is particularly suitable for business coaching when your coachees are very busy time-wise. Many executives, for example, hardly have time for a fixed phone appointment but can quickly check their emails in between.

2. Online Coaching via Video Chat

Video chat coaching is much more personal than an email. The prerequisite is a video calling program, such as Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zoom.

Online coaching takes place via webcam in a virtual meeting room. This gives you the chance to see your client’s facial expressions and gestures – depending on the coaching topic, this can be very valuable! However, you need a fixed appointment for a video chat. This makes this format less flexible in terms of time.

Through video chat, you can also coach your clients personally online from a great distance.

3. Online Phone Coaching

Phone coaching is probably the most common method for coaching at a distance. Phone calls are also possible nowadays over the Internet and thus count as online coaching. Various providers for Internet telephony are available for this.

Phone-based online coaching is somewhat more distant than a video chat due to the lack of a camera. This doesn’t have to be a disadvantage: Especially with sensitive topics or reserved coachees, this distance can help them open up to your coaching.

4. Online Coaching in a Virtual Classroom

Unlike in a video chat, you can actively work with your coachees in a virtual classroom (VC). You can find a comparison of several VC tools here.

Most VC tools offer additional functions like virtual whiteboards or surveys alongside video and audio playback. This allows you to design interactive individual or group coaching sessions. Disadvantage: Virtual classrooms also only work with a time commitment.

5. Online Coaching via Learning Platforms

With special online platforms, you can provide content directly online for your coachees – fully asynchronous, meaning without any time or spatial constraints.

One tool for online coaching offers you and your coachees a variety of media as well as communication and interaction options, for example through quizzes or regular learning impulses.

These and more functions are offered by, for example, blink.it. With the free demo course, you can quickly find out whether a learning platform is the right fit for your online coaching – at the same time, you will receive actual learning impulses to increase your personal productivity.

Good luck with starting your online coaching! 🙂