7 Life Coach Prompt Templates for ChatGPT (Session Prep, Follow-Ups & More)

The best life coaches show up to every session fully present — not scrambling to write intake questions at 8 a.m. or staring at a blank doc trying to draft a follow-up email at 10 p.m. These seven copy-paste AI prompt templates handle the preparation and paperwork so you can focus on the actual coaching.

---

Why Most Life Coaches Waste 5+ Hours a Week on Prep Work

You didn't become a life coach to write emails and design intake forms. But the admin load is real: new-client onboarding, session notes, follow-up summaries, accountability check-ins, progress reviews — every week the paperwork stacks up.

The problem isn't effort. It's that most coaches have no repeatable system for the writing side of their practice. Every follow-up email starts from scratch. Every intake form gets rebuilt from memory.

That's the exact problem AI prompt templates solve. A good template takes 30 seconds to fill in and produces a first draft in under a minute. The seven templates below cover the highest-friction moments in a typical coaching week — use them as-is or adapt the bracketed fields to your niche and client base.

---

Template 1: Pre-Session Prep Briefing

Use this before every session to get clear on where the client stands and what matters most this week.

Copy-paste prompt:

Act as an experienced life coach helping me prepare for an upcoming client session.

Client name: [Client Name]
Niche/focus area: [e.g., career transitions, confidence-building, work-life balance]
Session number: [e.g., Session 4 of 12]
Last session summary: [Paste 2-3 sentences about what you discussed last time]
Goal they're working toward: [Their stated goal]
What they committed to doing before this session: [Homework or action step]

Generate:
1. Three opening questions that check in on their action step without putting them on the spot
2. Two possible directions this session could go, based on where they left off
3. One reframe I could use if they feel stuck or behind
Keep the tone warm, direct, and non-judgmental.

What you get: A session brief you can skim in two minutes before you dial in — so you show up sharp instead of searching your notes.

---

Template 2: New Client Intake Questions

Stop reinventing your intake process for every niche. This template generates intake questions tailored to what you actually need to know.

Copy-paste prompt:

I'm a life coach specializing in [your niche, e.g., career change for women over 40 / confidence for first-gen professionals / burnout recovery for high-achievers].

Write 8 intake questions for a new client discovery form. The questions should:
- Uncover their primary pain point and what's already not working
- Surface any previous coaching or therapy experience
- Identify their decision-making style (so I can adapt my approach)
- Set realistic expectations about the coaching process
- End with one question that reveals what "success" looks and feels like for them

Use plain, approachable language — not clinical. No jargon.

Worked example (before/after):

Before (generic): "What are your goals?" — gets vague answers, wastes discovery call time.

After (using this template for a burnout-recovery niche): "On a typical Sunday evening, what does your mental state look like heading into the week?" — surfaces the real emotional context in one sentence.

---

Template 3: GROW Model Session Framework

The GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) is the backbone of structured life coaching. This prompt builds a session guide around it in seconds.

Copy-paste prompt:

I'm preparing a coaching session using the GROW model. Here's the context:

Client's stated goal for this session: [e.g., "Figure out whether to leave my job"]
Current reality they've described: [e.g., "Feels trapped, undervalued, but scared of financial risk"]
Time available: [e.g., 50 minutes]

Generate a GROW session guide with:
- 2 Goal-clarifying questions (pin down what success in *this* session looks like)
- 3 Reality questions (explore what's actually happening without judgment)
- 4 Options questions (expand possibilities they haven't considered)
- 2 Will/Commitment questions (land on a specific next action)
- One "emergency reframe" I can use if the conversation stalls

Format as a simple numbered list I can refer to during the session.

---

Template 4: Post-Session Follow-Up Email

This is the one coaches skip most often — and the one that does the most to reinforce breakthroughs and reduce client drop-off.

Copy-paste prompt:

Write a post-session follow-up email for a coaching client.

Client name: [Name]
What we worked on today: [2-3 sentences — key theme or decision point]
Insight or shift they had: [The moment or realization that stood out]
Action step they committed to: [Specific thing they said they'd do before next session]
Next session date: [Date]
My coaching style/tone: [e.g., warm and direct / gentle and exploratory / high-energy accountability]

The email should:
- Reflect back what happened without sounding like a transcript
- Reinforce their commitment without being preachy
- Close with something that keeps momentum without adding pressure
- Be under 200 words

Why this matters: A well-crafted follow-up email is often what a client reads when their motivation dips mid-week. It's a touchpoint that costs you two minutes and pays back in retention.

---

Template 5: Accountability Check-In Message

For coaches who offer between-session support via text, Voxer, or email — this generates a check-in that feels personal, not automated.

Copy-paste prompt:

Write a brief mid-week accountability check-in message for a coaching client.

Client name: [Name]
Their action step from last session: [What they committed to]
Day to send: [e.g., Wednesday]
Channel: [Text / Voxer voice note script / email]
Their personality: [e.g., responds well to humor / needs gentle encouragement / driven by data and milestones]

The message should:
- Reference their specific commitment (not a generic "how's it going?")
- Be warm but respect their time — 3-4 sentences max
- Invite a response without demanding one
- Not guilt-trip them if they haven't done it yet

---

Template 6: End-of-Package Progress Summary

Wrapping up a coaching engagement? This prompt drafts a progress summary the client can keep — and that often leads directly to a renewal conversation.

Copy-paste prompt:

Write an end-of-coaching-package progress summary for a client.

Client name: [Name]
Package length: [e.g., 3 months / 6 sessions]
Their original goal when we started: [Their stated goal]
Key milestones or shifts during the engagement: [List 3-4 specific moments or wins]
Where they are now vs. where they started: [Brief comparison]
One area still in progress: [Something honest they're still working on]

Format as a short letter (not a bullet-point report). Tone: warm, honest, celebratory without being over-the-top. Around 250 words. End with one forward-looking question that plants the seed for continued growth.

This does double duty: it gives the client a meaningful artifact from your work together AND naturally opens the door to "what's next?"

---

Template 7: Niche Content Post (for Client Attraction)

One template for the admin side, one for the marketing side. Use this to generate a social post or newsletter section that speaks directly to your ideal client's current struggle.

Copy-paste prompt:

Write a short social media post (or newsletter intro paragraph) for a life coach in the [your niche] space.

Target audience: [e.g., mid-career professionals feeling stuck / new moms returning to work / entrepreneurs experiencing burnout]
Core pain point to address: [e.g., knowing what you want but not knowing how to start / feeling guilty for wanting more]
Tone: [e.g., empathetic and real / motivating but not toxic-positive / honest and a little wry]
Call to action: [e.g., DM me "clarity" / book a free discovery call / reply with your biggest block right now]

Do NOT use generic coaching phrases like "unlock your potential," "live your best life," or "step into your power." Write like a real person talking to a real person.

---

What These Templates Won't Do

These seven prompts handle structure and first drafts. They don't replace your coaching instinct, your read on the room, or the specific language your long-term clients respond to. Every output needs your 30-second edit pass — the bracketed fields are doing real work, so fill them with actual client context.

The difference between a template that feels generic and one that lands is specificity. The more real detail you put in, the more usable the output.

---

Get 350+ Prompts Built for Life Coaches

These seven templates cover the most common situations. The Life Coach Session Prep Kit goes much further: 350+ prompts organized across session frameworks, client communication, content creation, business development, and niche-specific scenarios — all written for practicing coaches, not for people using AI as their own coach.

Backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it doesn't save you time in your first week, get a full refund.

Get all 350+ prompts for life coaches: https://promptsfor.pro/shop?utm_source=seo&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=life-coach-session-prep-kit&utm_content=templates-listicle

New to AI prompting? Start with the free starter pack — no cost, no obligation, five prompts you can use today.

---

FAQ

Q: Do I need to know how to code or have technical skills to use these prompts? A: No. Copy the prompt, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, fill in the bracketed fields with your client's details, and hit send. That's the entire workflow.

Q: Will AI-generated follow-up emails sound robotic to my clients? A: Only if you use the output without editing it. The template gives you a solid structure and first draft — your job is a quick pass to add your voice and any specific language your client uses. Most coaches spend under two minutes on that edit.

Q: Are these prompts specific to a coaching niche, or do they work across specialties? A: The seven templates above work across niches because they use bracketed fields you fill with your specific context. The full Life Coach Session Prep Kit includes additional prompts designed for common specialties including career coaching, confidence coaching, relationship coaching, and burnout recovery.

Q: Can I use these prompts with clients who are sensitive about AI being involved in their coaching? A: These prompts help you prepare better — they produce your session notes, follow-up emails, and check-in messages, which you then review and send. Your clients interact with you, not with the AI output. Whether you mention using AI tools is entirely your professional judgment call.