All Coaches will experience moments in their work when they feel unsure as to how to move the coaching conversation forward. Coaching sessions can lose their momentum and direction, a situation that often leaves the Coach questioning the effectiveness of their coaching. This dynamic is often the result of incomplete or unclear contracting between the Coach and their client. Advances in our understanding of the intersection of neuroscience and Evidence Based Coaching Practice informs us that when a Coach and their client meet, the brains of both individuals begin to make decisions regarding whether the other is perceived as “friend or foe” within .07 seconds. Thus, it is imperative that Coaches quickly engage in modes of interaction that invite a strong sense of trust, safety and inclusiveness into the room, just the beginning of the larger process of Contracting. This workshop, highly relevant to both Coaches and Coach Supervisors, will explore how Coaches, in their initial conversation with their clients, can utilize cutting edge concepts from the modality of Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ) along with Enhanced Contracting Practices to “have a conversation” about all that will guide their work together. Participants will learn about the dangers of “assuming shared meaning” while having the opportunity to practice “making the invisible, visible.” A series of contracting questions and topics that shine a clarifying light on how to create and hold a safe, trusting and intimate coaching space will be discussed. “The beauty of the contract is that it is both a container and a mirror….It holds both the relationship and the work.” CCEU's: 1.5 Core Competencies Presenter: Keith Greer, L.C.S.W., P.C.C.