Life coaching is a deeply rewarding career that gives you an opportunity to build meaningful connections and inspire real change in the world around you. But like any business, it involves a bit of paperwork to keep everything running smoothly.
A solid intake form is an important document you definitely don’t want to overlook. Done right, your intake form will form the foundation of a successful coaching experience.
There are many different ways that you can structure an intake form, depending on your coaching style or specialty. But there is a basic formula you can use to ensure your form covers all the essentials, and we’ll walk you through it here.
What is a life coaching intake form?
At every initial life coaching session with a new client, you'll ask them to fill out an intake form. This form introduces you and the client to each other, laying out goals, expectations, and boundaries right from the start.
Client intake forms include personal information that you'd need in any business relationship, such as the client's full name and contact details. But they also cover more subjective questions like the client's needs, goals, and learning style.
Intake coaching forms are a key part of building trust and rapport with new clients. They give you a foundation of personal knowledge about the client so that you can understand and help them better. They can also help you to maintain professional relationships by setting clear expectations with clients right away.
Key components of an effective coaching agreement
A coaching intake form doesn’t have to be lengthy to be effective! While there are some essential components you’ll need to ensure you have a complete picture of the client, the intake form is still just a starting point. You’ll undoubtedly learn more as you work with the client and nurture that relationship.
But asking questions that align with these eight sections can help you and your client get off on the right foot.
Basic client information and contact details
Start with basic information to stay in touch with your client: their name, phone number, email, and preferred contact method. It's also a good idea to request emergency contact information, just in case.
Remember that since this is your client's personal information, you'll need to store it securely. So it’s important to stay up to date on privacy laws where you live to make sure that you're in compliance.
Coaching goals and expectations
This next section is vital for two reasons. First, when you know your client's goals, you can tailor coaching sessions to their needs. Second, when you lay out clear expectations, they understand what the coaching relationship will be like. It reduces the risk that clients will be disappointed by their coaching experience.
But you'll need to get specific — most people find it difficult to answer a broad question like "What are your goals?" without some guidance.
Instead, you might try narrowing it down by:
- Asking about short-term versus long-term goals
- Asking about both personal goals and career goals
- Asking clients to define what success means to them
It's also helpful to ask clients if they have any previous experience with coaching services. If they're new to coaching, then you can explain your methods to them. If they're already familiar with coaching, then you may want to ask about their experiences to see if your expectations are on the same page.
Current challenges and obstacles
Now that you know where your clients want to go, it’s time to check in on where they already are. This section of the intake form helps you learn more about the client's current situation. In other words, what fears, worries, and challenges stand between them and their goals?
Once again, you'll need to give clients some structure so that this question is easier to answer. You could try:
- Asking open-ended questions, such as "What is your biggest challenge right now?"
- Asking about any past efforts to face those challenges and what has or hasn't worked
- Asking clients what they think is holding them back
You'll use this information to develop a personalized coaching plan that meets clients where they are, guides them past obstacles, and helps them achieve their goals.
Personal values and motivators
Imagine that you're working with a career coaching client. Their goal is a big promotion, but they're feeling held back because their boss doesn't always notice their hard work.
There are multiple strategies that you could suggest — but if they aren't in line with the client's values and motivations, they probably won’t be very effective. For example, someone who values work-life balance likely won’t be open to a strategy of getting to work early to impress their boss.
The more you can tailor your coaching to each client’s unique situation, the better the results will be. Understanding your client's values and motivators before you start working together helps you build a strong foundation to base your guidance on.
That said, it can be hard to define our personal values and understand what motivates us. Sometimes, we aren’t really sure ourselves. So scenario questions like these can help you uncover what your client truly values:
- If you had to give up one major aspect of your life — your career, your relationships, your personal freedom, or your hobbies — which would be the hardest to lose, and why?
- Imagine you just received an unlimited amount of money. You never have to work again. How would you spend your time, and what would you pursue?
- Think about the last time you felt completely fulfilled and proud of something you did. What was it, and what about it made you feel that way?
During your training and certification, you'll also create your own set of values as a life coach. These won’t — and shouldn’t be — in perfect alignment with every client, but it's helpful to understand your own position to keep internal biases and preferences from bleeding over into your coaching practice.
Lifestyle, habits, and routines
Next, it’s time to get into the everyday details of your client's life. Understanding their routines, habits, and stressors will help you create an action plan that's tailored to their personal experiences.
The goal is to understand what normal, everyday life looks like for them, so you might ask about:
- Morning and evening routines
- Work-life balance
- Sleep habits
- Any habits they'd like to start, stop, or change
Strengths and self-perception
Life coaching is all about empowering clients to make the changes they want to see in themselves. So a big part of that is helping people recognize their strengths, overcome negative self-perception, and cope with change as it happens.
Questions like these are a great place to start:
- What’s something people consistently come to you for advice or help with? Why do you think they see you as the go-to person for that?
- When do you feel the most competent and in control? What specific skills or qualities do you rely on in those moments?
- If you had to teach a masterclass on one thing — not based on credentials, just what you deeply understand — what would it be?
- What’s a trait you have that you used to see as a weakness but now recognize as a strength? What changed your perspective?
When you earn your life coach credentials through the Jay Shetty Certification School, you'll learn how to support clients through the ABC Framework. The framework starts with awareness and accountability of your own strengths and weaknesses, which can help clients embrace change by focusing on their own power.
Preferred coaching style and communication methods
Just like everyone has a learning style, each client will have their preferred communication methods and coaching style. Discovering how to work with a range of different clients is an important part of developing your life coaching skills.
You'll be more successful as a coach when you learn to work with each person's preferences, but you have to learn them first! So your intake form might include questions like:
- How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- Are you more comfortable with structured or flexible activities?
- How often do you like to check in on a goal or project?
- Do you communicate best via email, text, or calls?
As a coach, you also have your preferred style of coaching and communication, and in reality, it may not mesh well with every client. And that’s OK — not every client is right for every coach and vice versa — but it’s important to be able to recognize that upfront.
So it’s a good idea to customize your intake form to match your unique coaching philosophy, methodologies, and communication style. That way, the client also understands what your coaching strategy looks like in practice and can determine whether or not it’s the right approach for them. In other words, the intake form is a two-way street.
Health, well-being, and stress management
Questions about wellness and stress aren't just for health coaches. Whatever your niche is, you can help clients more effectively when you understand their whole selves.
So you might consider asking about:
- Current stress levels and coping mechanisms for stress
- Any health struggles they feel comfortable sharing
- Any significant life transitions that happened recently or will happen soon
Life coaching is not the same as therapy, so it’s important to make sure that you’re not crossing that line and providing guidance on physical or mental health. But you can tailor the coaching process to accommodate a client’s stress levels and general health.
How to structure a professional intake form
Even a basic intake form can involve a lot of information, but an easy-to-follow structure can keep it from feeling overwhelming.
You might start by thinking about the format. Many coaches use digital forms that they send out to clients before the first session. This way, clients can take their time and really think about their answers. It's also easier to store and access the information from the form when you need it.
You can build intake forms in Google Forms, Typeform, or through some coaching platforms. But don’t forget to ensure the form is accessible to all your clients, including people who use assistive technology like screen readers or magnifiers.
Next, you’ll want to make sure the questions are clear, concise, and easy to understand. You can include a balance of structured questions (yes/no questions or contact details) alongside open-ended questions ("What is your goal for these sessions?). If possible, have a friend or family member review the questions to see if there’s any ambiguity that you can clear up.
Whether you're new to coaching or already have an established practice, intake forms can help you to onboard new clients more effectively. And if you're looking for guidance on how to onboard clients and build trust, the Jay Shetty Certification School can help.
Find out more about the Jay Shetty Certification School's program for aspiring life coaches.
Best practices for using a life coaching information form effectively
Before you send out your intake form to clients, use this checklist to make sure that it’s the best it can be:
- Will the answers give you a holistic understanding of who the client is as an individual and how you can help them reach their goals?
- Is the form accessible for those with disabilities?
- Does it work correctly on a range of web browsers, both mobile and desktop?
- Is it easy to read and understand?
- Does it include essential contact information and communication preferences?
- Does it have a balance of structured and open-ended questions?
- Does it offer structure for open-ended questions (for example, breaking down goals into short-term and long-term)?
You'll need to check in on the form occasionally to make sure that it's still functional, up to date and aligned with industry best practices, and relevant to your coaching style. But it's also a good idea to keep client intake forms and refer back to them during your coaching sessions.
Each intake form sets a benchmark for where clients are at the start of your coaching journey together. Over time, you can track progress, review goals, and discuss how the client's self-perception and confidence have increased.
Create a life coaching intake form that sets the stage for success
A life coaching intake form is the first direct contact that most clients will have with your coaching business. It's the foundation of the coaching relationship — building trust, setting expectations, and suggesting a path toward the client's goals.
While your intake form collects basic data like contact details, it should also make clients feel valued and heard. The form should reflect your approach and voice as a life coach. Most importantly of all, it should set the scene for an effective, transformative relationship with each client.
At the Jay Shetty Certification School, we teach coaches how to connect with clients from the very first interaction. Along with proven, evidence-based coaching techniques, you'll learn how to find your audience, onboard new clients, and facilitate real change in their lives.
Find out how we're transforming lives — and ourselves — in the Jay Shetty Certification School.
