Paraphrasingparaphrasing

Paraphrasing is the coach giving back what the client has said in the coach's own words. The aim is not repetition but to test that it has been understood correctly and to clarify a little more what has been said. The sentence 'so what you mean is...' gives the client the chance to hear their own thought from the outside. Even a wrong paraphrase is useful, because in correcting it the client clarifies their intention. A word held up to a mirror often comes back clearer than when first spoken.