Coaching Program Uses Six-Sense Baselines to Match Interventions to Clients

Context

A small practice offering life and performance coaching. Coaches had relied on “close your eyes and picture your goal” and similar visualizations; some clients loved them, others said they “couldn’t see anything” or found them unhelpful.

Challenge

• One-size-fits-all visualization failed for many clients. Those with low visual imagery often disengaged or said the exercise “did nothing.” Coaches didn’t know whether to push through or try something else.
• Goals varied: movement and habit (motor), eating and mindfulness (gustatory/olfactory), confidence before speaking (auditory). Coaches had no clear way to match the exercise to the client’s natural imagery strength.
• Progress was hard to track. Without a baseline, coaches couldn’t tell if “I’m getting better at imagining” was real change or just rapport.

Solution

• The practice added the Imagination Index assessment at intake (with client consent). Coaches reviewed the six-sense profile and noted which modalities were strong or weak for that client.
• They tailored exercises: strong motor imagery got movement and gesture rehearsal; strong gustatory/olfactory got mindful tasting or scent-based anchoring; strong auditory got “hear yourself saying it” or tone rehearsal. Low visual clients got written or verbal alternatives instead of “picture it.”
• They used the same profile as a baseline for later check-ins. Clients could retake the assessment after a few months to see if self-reported vividness or control had shifted with practice.

Results

• Higher engagement in session. Clients who had previously “checked out” during visualization stayed present when the exercise matched their imagery strength.
• Homework stuck better. When “practice imagining your ideal outcome” was specified as “rehearse the feel of the movement” or “recall the taste/smell of a calm moment,” completion and follow-up improved.
• Clients could name what worked. “I’m not a visual person but I can hear it” gave coaches a clear lever; some clients reported progress in goals (e.g. eating more mindfully, speaking more calmly) once the right modality was in use.

Key learnings

• A six-sense baseline beats guessing. Knowing a client’s profile helped coaches choose one or two modalities to lean on instead of repeating visual-only prompts.
• Imagery can be trained, but starting where someone is strong is more effective. Building from motor or auditory imagery often worked better than forcing visual.
• The same profile can support different goals—movement, eating, speaking, planning—because each goal maps to different senses. One intake, many applications.