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Script text
[Client Name], last session you mentioned that [The habit — e.g. reaching for sugar in the afternoon, skipping your morning walk, drinking more than you planned]. I want to spend some time on that today, if you're up for it.
Before we problem-solve, I want to understand it better.
When does it happen? Is there a consistent time of day, or a situation that reliably triggers it?
[Explore the cue: stress, boredom, social situation, physical state, time of day]
And when you do [The habit] — what does it give you in the moment? Not in five hours, not tomorrow. Right now, in the moment.
[This uncovers the reward. Don't judge it.]
So here's the pattern as I'm seeing it: when [Cue], you [Routine], because it gives you [Reward]. Does that sound right?
[Pause for confirmation or correction.]
Here's the thing: the reward is real. We're not trying to take it away. We're trying to find another route to the same reward.
What's one thing you could try — just this week — that might give you [That reward] without [The habit]?
[Let them generate the idea. Your job is to listen and refine, not prescribe.]
I love that. Let's make it even more specific: when exactly will you try that, what will trigger you to remember, and what will you do if the old habit shows up anyway?
[Three questions — cue, reminder, contingency plan.]
Perfect. We'll check in on how that went at the start of next session.
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 8 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- Client Name
- The habit
- Explore the cue: stress, boredom, social…
- The habit
- Cue
- Routine
- Reward
- That reward
It also contains 4 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 health coach: habit change conversation script take to read?
The script runs to about 237 words, which is roughly 1 min 49 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 8 details to fill in: Client Name, The habit, Explore the cue: stress, boredom, social…, The habit, Cue, Routine, and a few more. 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.
