A case study is a story about a situation or event relating to the objectives of the session or programme. It may be presented on paper, on video or using a personal narration. In coaching, a case study is a useful alternative to discussing the real-life experience of the coachee “ this takes away some of the personal feelings about the situation and may prompt the coachee to think more objectively about it.
The purpose of a case study is to help your coachee to consider how he or she would respond in a certain situation and to put together a logical and objective response. The case study should be adapted so that it is as close to a real-life situation as possible, but so that actual incidents cannot be identified.
Questions to ask coachees when they are working on a case study include:
What was the real issue in this situation?
How could this situation have been prevented?
How would you act in this situation?
What can you learn from this situation to support you in your work?