The Miracle Question in Coaching
The Miracle Question is a solution-focused coaching technique that invites a client to imagine that their problem has been solved overnight, and to describe in detail what would be different. It moves attention away from the problem and toward a desired future, revealing small signs and first steps that are already within reach. It is a powerful tool when a client feels stuck in problem thinking.
What Is the Miracle Question?
The Miracle Question comes from solution-focused brief therapy and is now widely used in coaching. Instead of analyzing why a problem exists, it asks the client to picture a future in which the problem is gone. A common version is: suppose that tonight, while you sleep, a miracle happens and the issue you came with is solved, but you do not know it yet. When you wake up, what is the first thing you notice that tells you something has changed? The value is not the miracle itself, but the vivid, concrete picture of what the client actually wants.
How the Miracle Question Works
The method moves through three simple stages:
- The miracle - imagine the desired future clearly and describe what is different
- Signs already present - notice where small pieces of that future already happen
- One step higher - identify what one point up on a scale from zero to ten would look like
How to Use the Miracle Question in Coaching
- Ask the question slowly, and give the client time to imagine before answering
- Keep the answers concrete: what would they see, do, and feel, and what would others notice
- Look for exceptions, moments when a piece of the miracle already happens now
- Place the situation on a scale from zero to ten, and ask what one point higher would look like
- Turn that one point into a small, specific first step before the next session
Coaching Questions for the Miracle Question
- What is the first thing you notice when the challenge is resolved?
- Who else would notice, and what would they see you doing differently?
- Where do small pieces of this future already happen?
- On a scale from zero to ten, where are you now?
- What would one point higher look like?
When to Use the Miracle Question
- When a client is caught in problem thinking and cannot see a way forward
- When goals feel vague and need a concrete, felt picture
- When energy is low and the client needs contact with a hopeful future
The Miracle Question in FocusCoachee
FocusCoachee includes the Miracle Question as a coaching method. You can add it directly to a session, and the client stays an active participant: they describe the desired future, note the signs already present, and track the small step that follows. Because the picture is saved, you can return to it in later sessions and measure movement on the scale, so a hopeful image becomes visible progress.
Want to work with solution-focused methods like the Miracle Question? Explore the plans.
FocusCoachee also lets you add your own methods. If you work with a different version of this tool, or have a framework you always use with clients, you can build it as a custom method and add it to any session - just like the built-in ones.
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