The coaching Dice to liberate the voice of young People

12 Thematic activities to explore, express, understand, and progress

Young people are often going through questioning related to their identity, their relationships, their career path (or ‘future’), their emotions, or their relationship with social media.

However, they don’t always have the words or the confidence to talk about it spontaneously.

The thematic dice is a fun and interactive tool that facilitates speaking up, encourages reflection, and allows for gentle discussion of sometimes sensitive topics. Thanks to simple and concrete questions, it helps young people articulate what they feel, while developing their independence and self-confidence.

Kit objectives

To create a fun and engaging environment to stimulate participation.

• To facilitate the coach’s expression on sometimes sensitive topics.
•  To introduce an element of controlled randomness to bypass blockages or resistance.
•  To encourage reflection and creativity, particularly in group sessions.
•  To explore an issue from different angles, thanks to a six-entry theme sheet.

Pedagogical and relational benefits

• Ritualisation of the introduction to a given subject.
• Valuing everyone’s contribution in groups, even the most reserved participants.
• Simplicity of implementation: one dice, one thematic sheet.
• Versatility: adapts to all types of coaching (individual, group, young people, adults, business).
• Metaphorical or projective approach possible (chance as a revealer or a mirror).

The advantages for the Coach

• A fun and engaging support that quickly captures the attention of young people.
• A structured framework: 12 themes + 6 questions per theme to explore different angles without getting distracted.
• A relational mediator that facilitates speaking and reduces the pressure of a face-to-face setting.
• A flexible tool usable both individually and in groups.
• A dual level of support: detailed sheets to guide the coach and simplified sheets to share directly with the young person.
• An easy-to-implement tool, also ideal for promotional actions such as ‘flash coaching’ at a trade show or event: in a few minutes, the young person rolls the dice, answers one or two questions, and immediately discovers the value of coaching.

Kit contents

• Guide for the coach in Word or PDF version: 29 pages
• Questions to give to the coachee in Word or PDF version: 13 pages

1 Guide for the Coach:

• Tool objectives, pedagogical and relational benefits, and usage precautions.
• Typical session procedure and several usage variants.
• 12 detailed thematic sheets (objectives, benefits, usage situations, precautions, questions associated with the die, debriefing leads).
• Each sheet can be printed separately and personalised with your contact details and logo.

1 File of 12 Sheets to Present to the Young Coachee:

• The 12 simplified sheets contain only the 6 dice questions per theme, in a clear and attractive format.
• Each sheet can be printed separately and personalised with your contact details and logo.

The 12 Included Themes

1. To find motivation for studies
2. To manage stress before an exam or oral presentation
3. To make choices about one’s career path (or ‘future’)
4. To strengthen one’s self-esteem
5. To free oneself from the judgement of others
6. To overcome perfectionism
7. To better navigate one’s relationships with others
8. To find one’s place in a group
9. To learn how to manage social media
10. To manage mental load at sixth form (or college) or university
11. To set a course despite doubts
12. To channel one’s anger or frustration

Make the difference in your coaching!

A ready-to-use, practical tool that is easy to integrate into your coaching sessions with young people, whether in individual support, group workshops, or while running an activity at a careers fair, for example.

Transcription of part of a Student’s Coaching Session Using the Dice 

Context:

I am coaching Julien, a 21-year-old student in his third year of a Law degree. Julien works extremely hard; his social life is suffering as a result, yet he only just manages to pass his exams, most often in the resit session.

• His objective for this coaching is to improve the effectiveness of his learning
• Suspecting an excessive need for perfectionism, I decide to dedicate the last 15 minutes of his second session to the game “A Dice to Liberate the Voice of Young People” using the theme sheet “Overcoming Perfectionism”.

1 – I start by putting him at ease and introducing the game

• Coach: You told me you found it difficult to prepare everything in time for your exams, and that you often feel like you’re never ready. Is that right? 
• Julien: Yes, I spend an incredible amount of time on every detail and I feel like I never do enough. 
• Coach: This is often what we call perfectionism. The idea today is to talk about it differently, in a slightly fun way. We’re going to use a dice: each face corresponds to a question on this theme. You roll it, we find out the question, and we discuss your answer.
• The objective is for you to understand what is happening with you, and perhaps find a more flexible way to approach your work.
• Coach: Do you want to try? Julien nods, amused to see a dice on the table.

2 – Phase of Exploration with the Dice

• Coach: Go on, roll the dice! 1st roll: dice result = 1
• Question n°1: In which area of your life do you feel the most pressure to be perfect?
• Julien : “In my studies, definitely. I’m afraid of submitting work that isn’t top-quality.”
• Coach: And how does that idea of having to be “top-notch” make you feel?
• Julien: It’s exhausting. I spend hours on it, I get lost in it.
• Coach: If you weren’t trying to be perfect, what would change in the way you work? 
• Julien: I would have more time, I would be less stressed.
• Coach: So, a part of you already knows that aiming for “perfect” is costing you energy. 
• Coach: I invite you to roll the dice again.

2nd roll: dice result = 3

Question n°3: How do you react when you see a friend make a mistake or hand in imperfect work?

• Julien: Honestly, I don’t judge them. I tell myself it’s normal.
• Coach: So you seem more lenient towards others than you are towards yourself? 
• Julien: Yes, completely.
• Coach: What stops you from granting yourself the same kindness?
• Julien: “Because I’ve always been hard on myself. If I don’t put pressure on myself, I feel like I won’t make progress.”
• Coach: I suggest we continue this reflection without rolling the dice but by answering question n°5, would you like to?

Question n°5: What could you say to the part of you that wants to do everything perfectly?

• Julien: To relax a bit, that doesn’t need to control everything.
• Coach: Would you like to say that to it in your own words? 
• Julien (smiling): “Thank you, but let me breathe!” 
• Coach: You could even give it a name, if you want… the little inner controller!
• Julien: I think I’m more “The Chief of Details.”
• Coach: Good point! I now invite you to answer question 6.

Question n°6: What would be a small step towards more flexibility or self-kindness this week?

• Julien: Maybe submitting my project report on the scheduled date, even if it’s not perfect. I usually always negotiate an extension with the lecturers.
• Coach: And what would that prove to you if you managed to do it? 
• Julien: That it’s possible to do “well enough” without it being catastrophic. 
• Coach: I hear progress rather than aiming for perfection, is that right? We are nearing the end of our session. If you had to summarise what you are taking away from this little dice game, what would it be? 
• Julien: That my perfectionism exhausts me more than it helps me, and that I can be good without being perfect. 
• Coach: That is a great step forward. And what concrete commitment do you want to make to test this out this week?
• Julien: I will hand in my project report as it is, without spending extra hours on it. 
• Coach: Perfect. And we’ll see together how you felt.