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Script text
[Client Name], today I want to do something a little different from budgets and numbers. I want to go upstream — to the story you tell about money and where that story comes from.
Is that okay?
[Pause for confirmation — this is sensitive territory.]
Cast your mind back to childhood. What are the earliest memories you have of money in your household? It could be a conversation you overheard, a feeling, a moment. What comes up?
[Listen. Don't interpret. Just receive.]
What did the adults around you believe about money? Not what they said — what did you learn from watching them?
[Common patterns: money is scarce, rich people are greedy, we don't talk about money, money causes fights]
What did you decide about money as a result of growing up in that environment?
[This is the core money story. Write it down in their exact words.]
Now — fast forward to today. How is that old decision showing up in your financial life right now?
[Pause. This is often a significant moment — let it land.]
I want to name something: that story made complete sense for the environment you were in when you formed it. It was probably a very smart adaptation. The question is: is it still serving you?
What would someone who had a healthy, empowered relationship with money believe instead?
[Let them generate it — don't prescribe.]
What's one thing you could do differently this week that would be consistent with that new belief?
[Close with one concrete, small action — not an overhaul.]
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 2 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- Client Name
- Common patterns: money is scarce, rich p…
It also contains 6 stage directions in grey. Those are instructions to you, not lines to say out loud — they mark where to pause, listen, or wait for a response.
That timing assumes about 130 words a minute, which is a normal conversational pace. If you are presenting to a room you will likely go slower; if you are nervous you will go faster. Read it aloud once and time yourself before it matters.
When to use this script
Use this to prepare for the conversations you keep handling inconsistently. Discovery calls, first sessions, difficult feedback, and clients who want to quit all recur across a coaching practice, and improvising each one afresh produces wildly variable results. A script is a rehearsal of the structure, not a text to read to a client.
The value is mostly in preparation. Working through the wording in advance means you have already decided how to phrase the hard question, which frees you to actually listen when the session happens.
Making it sound like you
- Turn statements into questions wherever you can. Coaching works through the client's own realisations.
- Prepare the hard question exactly. Under the pressure of a real session, that is the one that gets softened into uselessness.
- Leave deliberate silence in the structure. The pause after a difficult question is doing the work.
- Adjust the language to your modality and your client. Borrowed frameworks sound borrowed.
Reading it out loud
Never read this to a client — use it to prepare, then keep at most a few prompts visible during the session. If the call is on video, keep any notes near the webcam so glancing at them does not read as disengagement, which in a coaching context is more damaging than in most.
More on the setup side: Teleprompter for Webcam, Teleprompter for Laptop, Moving Text for Scripts.
Questions about this script
How long does this financial coach: money story exploration script take to read?
The script runs to about 245 words, which is roughly 1 min 53 sec at a normal speaking pace of around 130 words a minute. Your own pace will vary, so time one read-through before you rely on the number.
What do I need to prepare before using this script?
There are 2 details to fill in: Client Name, Common patterns: money is scarce, rich p…. Enter them in the customizer and the script updates as you type, then opens straight in the teleprompter.
Should I read a coaching script to a client?
No. Use it to prepare and to settle the wording of the difficult questions in advance, then keep only a few prompts in view. A coaching session that sounds delivered rather than heard undermines the relationship.
How do I use notes without seeming distracted?
Keep them minimal and positioned near your camera if the session is remote. A few key prompts you glance at are invisible; a full script you track down the page is not.
