A Beginners Guide to Becoming a Social Skills Coach

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How often to do you interact with people on a day to day basis? And of all those interactions, how many actually happen in person?

With the world being more connected than ever, there seems to be no need to meet people to talk to them, to exchange ideas. And don’t get me wrong – I think that’s great. But it definitely does have its downsides.

Today, a lot of people have fallen into the comfort of communicating through emails, messages, and if you can believe it, even memes. This means when they do need to interact with someone face to face, they feel that they’re not as confident doing so.

This can result in anxiety, feelings of inferiority and even depression. But what if I told you that you could be the one to help them get through it and live a happy, fulfilling life. And make money while you’re at it?

I know you’re confused, but stay with me.

What I’m telling you is that in today’s digital age, there is a huge demand for Social Skills Coaches – people like you.

As a Social Skills Coach, you can help individuals gain confidence in themselves, and in turn help them find a social circle that fulfills them emotionally and mentally.

It’s not an easy job. But as you continue reading, if you feel this is the job for you then I can guarantee that you can create a profitable, ever-growing business. And on top of that, you get the satisfaction of having helped someone become the best they could be.

So do you think you have it in you to become a Social Skills Coach? If you think you do, then keep reading. Because I’ll tell you how you can become one, and run a successful business at the same time.

What Is A Social Skills Coach?

When you first tell someone you’re a Social Skills Coach, you might get a few confused looks. After all, people assume that being sociable is how you are, and not a skill you can learn. But as a Social Skills Coach, that is exactly what you do.

It is your job to help people get out of their shell and be more sociable. As you interact with your client, you need to dig into the issues that are holding them back from social success, helping them overcome their anxiety and be more confident.

However, it is important to remember that each person is different, and so are their issues. This means you will need to customize your plans based on their unique goals and purpose, adjusting your practice and skills development sessions based on what’s working and what’s not.

I’m sure you’re wondering why a person would come to a professional like you rather than going to someone like, say their friend. That’s because a friend is either too invested, or not invested enough, to tell them what they’re doing wrong and they most probably don’t have the skills to help your client get over their roadblocks.

But you do, and you can help them improve their social communication so they can form stronger interpersonal bonds, leading to a happier and more fulfilling life.

What Type Of People Hire A Social Skills Coach?

Do you know someone who is nervous at social gatherings? Or someone who just stays in the periphery when there is a group? These just a couple of examples of people who will come to you as a Social Skills Coach for help.

They will generally be people who want to be charming and sociable, but find it one of the hardest things to do. Even when they make friends eventually, they realize that their relationships are mostly superficial. And then they don’t last anyway.

Over the years, they would have spent a lot of time in the fringes of conversation, seen promotions passing them by. Or they’ve just been forgotten when others are making plans because they just don’t leave a lasting impression.

I can guarantee that a lot of your clients would have received advice such as “smile more”, “you just need to get better at listening”, or even “just open your mouth and talk, it’s not that hard. It is easy to give advice when you can’t understand where the other person is coming from, when they’ve never had the feeling of dread when they’ve been in a social situation.

But for the people who will be your clients in the future, it actually is hard. And no one but a Social Skills Coach can really help them make a difference in their lives. That’s you – only you can help make a difference in their lives.

By the time they get to you, your clients will have the self-awareness to know that they want to grow as a person and be more sociable, but they wouldn’t know where to start. They would have already tried talking to friends, family, and anyone else who they think could help, but without success.

But luckily for you, because they’ve spent all this time trying to get to be more outgoing and realize that no one else can help, they will trust and respect your judgement completely.

However, just like the clients of any other coach, it is quite possible that your clients will not follow up with your advice or the challenges you’ve set for them. The most basic reason for that is they’ve been in their shell for so long, it is incredibly hard for them to get out of it.

This means you will have to try even harder than most coaches to keep your clients on the path you set out for them. They’ll need constant calls so you can follow up on where they are on their challenges, whether they’re putting themselves out there, or even something as simple as have they spoken to anyone new lately.

How Can You Become A Social Skills Coach?

While many assume to becoming a Social Skills Coach is as simple as telling people to make eye contact, speak louder and be more assertive, it goes much deeper than that.

As a Social Skills Coach, you need to be able to dig deep into the mind of your client and really understand where their social impairment comes from. Is it a past trauma, is it because of their childhood, or it is simply they haven’t had the chance to socialize much all these years and they just haven’t developed the skill?

To be able to do that needs more than just a natural flair for Social Skills Coaching, though there are many people who practise as one with just that. But I believe that if you’re serious about joining the profession, you need to be follow a credible path into your career as a Social Skills Coach.

And if you believe that too, then here are the steps you need to follow to become a successful Social Skills Coach. So are you ready?

1. Research coach training programs

While a lot of other coaching programs, such as life coaching and fitness training, will provide you with a lot of options in terms of places giving you certified training, it can be harder with getting certified as a Social Skills Coach.

Being a relatively new field, you may find courses that work for you quite rare. Before you begin your search for that perfect program, you need to take stock of a few things.

• What are you hoping to achieve from the program?

There are courses that may offer you the skills you need to become an overall life coach, but you might find that they lack in the specific skills you need to become a successful Social Skills Coach.

So do your research and dig deep into what each course offers until you find one that will equip you with the exact skills you need to become and effective Social Skills Coach.

• How much time are you willing to invest?

If you have the luxury of diving into becoming a Social Skills Coach right from the get go, you’re one of the lucky few. Many new coaches tend to continue working full time while they get their accreditation, and even after in a lot of cases.

Decide how much time you have to invest in your pursuit of your new dream before you choose a course. Some may demand your entire attention while others may let you do the entire course online, at your own time.

And if you do decide to pursue a course that needs you to attend classes physically, you will need to find out how much time you’ll take to travel to the location, the time the classes take, and obviously, the time you actually have to spend.

It can be difficult to manage getting your certification while working a full time job, but if you do your research, you are sure to find one that best fits your needs.

• Does it give you an opportunity to practise?

A good Social Skills Coaching program will give you plenty of opportunities to practise and apply the skills you need to become an effective Social Skills Coach. But that may not be true for every program you may find.

However, without this, you may enter the real world coaching market with the skills you need, not the actual experience you may want to know where to begin and how to become successful.

2. Get your accreditation

Once you’ve found the right program for you, the next step is to dive in and learn as much as you can. While learning never ends, having the right base can ensure that, moving forward, you will grow at a much faster pace and know exactly what areas you need to better yourself as a Social Skills Coach.

3. Get your finances in order

As with most areas of education and certification, the cost of Social Skills Coach training from a good school can put a strain on your finances. However, that does not mean you try to find the least expensive school so you can get your certification out of the way.

As I mentioned, the right program is incredibly important, not just for your benefit, but also because it defines how your future clients see you. And if you plan your finances well, you can ensure that you get the certification you need from the place you want without spending every single penny you own.

But the expenses don’t end there. Once you’ve become a certified Social Skills Trainer, there are a lot of different areas which will require you to spend, the first of which will be creating your own business entity.

This will come with its own fees, and once established, will have its own tax obligation. And if you decide to not work from your own home, you will need to invest in an office space from which to work. Even if you’re working from home, you will still need to set up a computer and phone only for your business, which will come with its own costs.

Finally, you’ll need to set up a website to expand your reach and connect with more prospective clients. A website is important to help you establish credibility and trust, and will be where your future clients will know what you stand for and get in touch with you.

Unless you’re incredibly luck or have had your finances in place for the past few years, it is highly unlikely that you will have enough money for everything right at the beginning. That’s okay.

Just make sure you start saving as soon as your Social Coaching Skills are up and running, and be ready to wait until you have a dedicated set of clients so you can take care of the less important expenses.

4. Get selling

You’re not going to grow your client base without putting yourself out there. And as a Social Skills Coach, you are your own product. This means, networking should come naturally to you and you should exude confidence and charm. But networking isn’t the only way to market yourself.

There are a few things you can do to attract clients and expand your client base:

• Get active on social media channels and create your Social Skills Coach persona by interacting with your friends and family members, helping them out
• Visit coaching conventions to find the best opportunities to learn from other coaches and find ways you can make your own business better
• Collaborate with a local business, such as a gym, and offer your services in conjunction with them
• Give free giveaways, like a brochure, to whoever you meet outlining your beliefs with details on your coaching style
• Create a marketing plan that spans Facebook ads, sponsored blog posts and guest posting on other blogs

All this might seem intimidating, but once you get the ball rolling, you’ll soon realize that running your very own Social Skills Coaching business is as exciting and fulfilling as you imagined. Don’t forget why you wanted to get into it in the first place, and I’m sure you’ll find it as rewarding as you hoped.

How can you become indispensable to your clients?

As a Social Skills Coach, the people you work with and help will become a major source of new clients.This means, if you have the right impact on their lives, you can rest assured that they’ll tell everyone they know how effective you are.

This means you need to make yourself indispensable to them. While that’s easier said than done, there are a few Social Skills Coaching practises you can incorporate in your business right away that will give you the results you want.

• Make sure you clients have clear goals

Before you even give your first piece of advice to improve their social skills, it is important that your client knows what “improved social skills” mean to them. What is it they feel they lack, and where would they like to be once their done?

It is your job to help them set clear, achievable goals from the onset on how how they want to behave socially, and keep revisiting them every 30 days to see how much progress they’ve made.

• Follow up

To truly make a difference, it is important that your clients stay on top of what needs to be done and are consistent. No one can improve overnight, and to see long-lasting change, you need to make sure your client sticks by what they need to do and take action on a day-to-day basis to make a difference in their lives.

• Celebrate achievements

Self-improvement is difficult, especially in the sphere of social skills. There will always be reasons for your client to break away from the program, especially if they expected fast results.

Instead of pushing them harder, find ways to celebrate their little accomplishments. This will keep them motivated to push further and before they know it, what was earlier considered impossible will now become a way of life.

• Insist they keep a journal

You can’t be with your client every second of the day. But it’s important that you’re aware of what they are feeling or dealing with, even when your not around.

Keeping a journal serves a dual purpose. First, it gives your client a chance to address any worries, difficulties or fears that may come up as they are living their day to day lives. Second, it gives you a detailed idea of what they are feeling when they are on their own and away from you.

Putting all these thoughts on paper can also give your client a much clearer perspective on what’s bothering them, allowing them to step back and analyze their own selves in a scientific and level-headed manner.

• Discourage any negative talk

People with social anxiety can fall into a spiral of self deprecation, focussing on their negatives, as small as they may be, and completely disregarding any positives they may have.

This is something you need to nip in the bud because the more this continues, the tougher the battle will be. Rather than letting these negative thoughts run wild through your client’s mind, ask them questions that lead the to a more positive state of mind.

These questions can be tailored to help your clients overcome the specific belief that’s keeping them from becoming sociable, allowing you to target these beliefs and work to eliminate them from their thought process.

Are you still with me? If you are, I think you’re ready to take your first step to becoming a Social Skills Coach. It’s going to be a journey that may not feel rewarding at first, but the first client you help will change that, trust me.

The joy of making a difference in the life of another person is a joy unlike any other, and if you hold on to that feeling, no matter what the ups and downs, you will be able to keep moving foward.

And with every forward step you take, you get that much closer to your dream – running our own successful Social Skills Coaching business. Don’t lose sight of the this and I can assure you that you will find success sooner or later.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)