Coaching & Mindset
How Not to Finish a Client Consultation
In short: Ending a consultation by asking 'is there anything important or concerning we haven't covered?' signals you weren't listening — if a client hasn't shared what matters by the end, your rapport-building fell short, so build the session so they open up naturally instead.
I was told a self-proclaimed industry influencer thinks you should finish a client appointment with:
"Is there anything important or concerning to you that we haven't covered?"
The rationale is that you don't want the client leaving as though they hadn't shared everything. I think it's bad advice, and here's why — "hate" is a strong word, but this matters.
Why the question fails
The message it sends. It tells the client: I've done everything I wanted to do in this appointment — now, what's the important thing to you, in the five minutes we've got left? That's the wrong order of priorities.
It admits your rapport fell short. Your success is built on the rapport you develop in the appointment, and part of that is supporting, challenging and encouraging the client to share everything. (See my Why Why So So work, or catch my rapport talks in the courses.) If the client hasn't told you what's important to them by the end, you either haven't done well enough, or they're not ready to share with you yet.
It ends on the wrong feeling. A client's experience is a collection of feelings — usually a bell-shaped curve of up and down — and that experience shapes their opinion of you and whether they come back. Finish on the right feeling. It's rarely triggered by a question that suggests you weren't listening.
Try saying it out loud. Say the sentence in a way that sounds like you've built rapport and you both sit at the same status level when sharing information. It's hard, because the phrasing works against you.
If you need reminding at all… You're a trainer, coach, therapist. If someone has to tell you that clients hold useful, interesting information — and that this is a side note to the consultation — you might need an industry where you don't work with people.
What to do instead
- Always be "Why Why So So"-ing. Keep drawing out what genuinely matters throughout the session, not at the death.
- Build workouts that elicit feelings — the range required for a full, story-based experience.
- Take SOAP notes per exercise based on the feeling as well as the physical detail.
- Coach so the client opens up every session — use the science of rapport building and the skills of "yes, and", "what if", and "when do you mean this?"
Do that, and you never need a tacked-on question at the end — because the important stuff has already surfaced.
Want to go deeper? All FASTER courses and CPD.
View the course →Frequently asked
What's wrong with asking 'anything important we haven't covered?'
It implies you've finished your agenda and are squeezing their real concern into the last five minutes — and hints you weren't really listening.
Why does rapport matter more?
Rapport is what makes clients share everything; if they haven't by the end of a session, either your rapport-building fell short or they're not ready yet.
How should a session end?
On the right feeling — the client's experience shapes their opinion of you and whether they come back — not on a question that suggests you missed something.
What should I do instead?
Keep asking open questions throughout, build workouts that elicit a full story-based experience, take SOAP notes per exercise, and coach so the client opens up every session.
What is 'Why Why So So'?
John's questioning approach for drawing out what genuinely matters to a client, referenced in his rapport talks in the courses.
