The Lowe Notation System (LNS)
A shorthand for coach educators
The Lowe Notation System (LNS) is a method of visually representing the performance of a coach (both spoken and unspoken) through the use of letters, numbers and symbols. The basic notation can be augmented with detailed notes as deemed necessary by the recorder.
| Notation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| O | Opening question | "What would you like to talk about today?" |
| P | Powerful question | "How does that relate to your values?" |
| S | Intentional silence | Deliberately leaving silence to allow client to think. Do not score this if the client is clearly just pausing to take a breath before continuing, regardless how long the pause is. (e.g. "I think that I... [long pause]... will do xyz" does not count as a silence) |
| ns | No silence given | Firing a question straight back at the client the second they stop talking |
| C | Closed question | "Is there anything else you could do?" |
| 7 | Clarification or playback | "You said angry, upset and frustrated." (Often followed by P) |
| . | Interjection | "Hmm", "Ahh", "Uh-hu" |
| L | Overly long (usually used alongside another notation, such as P, D, C) | "What else would you like to say about the way that this has affected you and the team, etc..." |
| R | Repeat (used alongside another notation) | (P+R) would denote something like "How is that important to you? How is that important to you?" |
| # | Point of interest (followed by number, which refers to notes underneath notation) | #1 [Underneath the notation: Coach pulled face to show playfulness] |
| + | Two actions together | (P+S) would denote powerful question was followed by intentional silence |
| > | Change of one action to another | (C>P) would denote that the client started to ask a closed question but stopped and turned it into a powerful question. Such as "Is there a...What is the challenge?" |
| ec | Eye contact | Kept eye contact/was present |
| nec | No eye contact | Was not looking at client/not present |
| F | Information gathering question (that is only useful to coach) | "Who is in the room during these conversations?" |
| W | Question beginning with "Why" | Why is that important to you? |
| D | Leading question | What do you think would happen if you spoke to your manager about that?" (when they hadn't mentioned talking to their manager) |
| J | Judgement / Opinion | I think that sounds like a good idea (judgement) That's just who your parents are though (opinion) |
| A | Advice | What about speaking to your manager about that? |
The following notation may be used when observing mentoring (in addition to the above):
| Notation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| M | Offer of mentoring made (and waited for permission to be given) before proceeding to share experience, etc. | Mentor: "I once had a similar problem, albeit under different circumstances, that might be relevant. Would you like to hear about it?" Client: "Yes" Mentor: "When I was at..." |
| Mx | No offer made (or offer of mentoring made but didn't wait for permission) before proceeding to share own experience, etc. | Mentor: "I once had a similar problem, albeit under different circumstances. When I was at..." |
| rc | Resonant choice | "How does that land with you?" |
Text is available under the Attribution-ShareAlike licence 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Thanks to Rafa Ribeiro and Linda Spencer for their contributions to the system.
An example
Here is a (fictional) example of the notation used for a coaching session.
- The session opens with an opening question (O)
- Coach is looking at client (ec)
- Powerful question (P) then asked. Note 1 highlights that the word “overwhelmed” was used by the client previously
- Intentional silence (S)
- Intentional silence (S)
- Powerful questions (P) asked
- Powerful questions (P) asked
- Intentional silence (S)
- The coach replayed the position back to the client (/) followed by a powerful question (P)
- The coach provided a judgement (J)
- Intentional silence (S)
- Coach started to ask a closed question (C) but stopped and made it a powerful question (P)
Humour Notation System
For my doctorate on humour, I wanted to record what the coach and client said during the coaching session. During the Spring of 2024, the Humour Notation System was created. The system contains 3 sections: the cue to the humour attempt, the content of the humour attempt, the response to the humour attempt from the other person.
The Coaching Score
I had been mulling over the importance of time relating to the coaching performance. For most cases, it was sufficient to record what the coach did regardless of timing. However, when writing notations around humour use, it became apparent that timing is very important. Whilst discussing this with a talented concert pianist, it hit me that this could be recorded in the style of a music score.
If you would like to use the Coaching Score, feel free to download your copy here.
