The question I hear most from prospective clients in Birmingham before they book their first session is some version of this: “Can coaching really work over a screen?” It’s a fair question, and I’d rather answer it honestly than gloss over it with reassurances. I’m Olive Pellington, a John Maxwell certified coach with more than ten years of experience working with adults, teenagers, and schools across Birmingham and the West Midlands. My work has been featured in IE Today Magazine and Connections Radio, and recognised on The Sylbourne TV show. I offer both face-to-face and online life coaching, and in this post I want to give you a genuine picture of how online coaching works, when it serves clients well, and when you might be better off sitting in the same room as me. As a life coach in Birmingham who uses both formats regularly, I have a view on this that I hope is useful rather than just promotional.
How Online Coaching Works in Practice
An online coaching session with me runs for sixty minutes, via video call. That’s the main difference from an in-person session: I’m on your screen, not across a desk.
Everything else is the same. Before your session, I review any notes from our previous conversation and any reflections or tasks you said you’d work on. You show up having thought about what you want to bring to the session. We start with a check-in, we work through whatever is live for you, and we close with something concrete — a question to sit with, a small step to take, or simply clarity you didn’t have before.
The structure, the quality of attention, the depth of questioning — none of that changes because we’re on a screen. What coaching depends on is not proximity. It depends on a relationship where you feel safe enough to be honest about what’s actually going on, and on questions that push you to think beyond your habitual patterns. Both of those things are fully available online.
I ask that clients sit somewhere quiet and private for sessions, with a stable connection and somewhere they can speak freely. I do a brief tech check at the start of each new client relationship so we’re not spending session time troubleshooting. After sessions, I send a short follow-up with any key points we landed on. The format is different. The work is the same.
What the Research Says
The ICF 2023 Global Coaching Study surveyed over 14,500 coaching practitioners across 157 countries — the most comprehensive study of the profession to date. One of its most significant findings was the scale of the shift away from in-person coaching: between 2019 and 2023, the profession moved from being primarily face-to-face to largely digital delivery. This wasn’t driven by coaches deciding to work differently. It was driven by client demand and client outcomes.
The pandemic forced a rapid, large-scale experiment in remote coaching. The profession now has years of data on what happened — and what happened was that clients continued to benefit. Coaching outcomes did not collapse when delivery moved online. For many clients, the accessibility improvements that came with remote delivery actually increased engagement and consistency.
This is not the same as saying online is always superior. But it does suggest that the concern about screens being a barrier to effective coaching is, in most cases, unfounded. The format is a vehicle. What matters is what happens inside it.
When Online Coaching Has Advantages
For many Birmingham clients, online coaching is not just “good enough” — it’s actively the better fit.
No commute means more flexibility. A session you can take from your home or office, without travelling to a clinic or coaching room, is a session that fits into more kinds of lives. People with unpredictable working hours, those who work from home, and people who simply find a Tuesday evening appointment hard to protect can often make online sessions work where in-person sessions kept slipping.
Reach across the West Midlands. If you’re in Solihull, Wolverhampton, Coventry, or anywhere else in the West Midlands that isn’t convenient to where I’m based, online removes the geography problem entirely. I work with people across the UK — the quality of coaching doesn’t change based on your postcode.
Caring responsibilities. If you have children or other people depending on you at home, an online session is often easier to arrange than the block of time an in-person appointment requires. You’re available if something urgent happens; you’re also not spending thirty minutes each way in traffic.
Removing the “getting there” barrier. In my experience, the people who most need coaching are often the most stretched — which means the logistical barrier of getting to an in-person session is precisely the thing that prevents them from starting. Online removes that barrier entirely. You don’t have to earn the session by navigating your diary and your journey time. You just show up.
When In-Person Coaching Has Advantages
I’d be doing you a disservice if I only made the case for online. There are genuine reasons some clients prefer, or benefit from, meeting in person.
Some people find physical presence easier for difficult conversations. Sitting in the same room as someone carries a quality of connection that a screen doesn’t fully replicate. If you’re working through something that feels raw or exposing — grief, a major life decision, a crisis of confidence — some clients find it easier to be fully open when they’re physically present with another person rather than managing how they look on a screen.
First sessions are sometimes where this applies most. For clients who feel uncertain about coaching or nervous about the process, an initial in-person meeting can establish trust more quickly. After that, many of those same clients are perfectly happy to move to online.
Preference is also simply valid. Some people work better face-to-face. That’s not a limitation to apologise for. If that’s you, it’s useful information about how you learn and engage, and it’s worth acting on.
I offer both formats and I’m always happy to discuss what makes most sense for where you are. There’s no obligation to choose one and stick with it — some clients alternate based on what’s coming up in a particular session.
Online Coaching for Teenagers: A Note
Parents sometimes ask specifically about whether online coaching works for young people. Based on my experience with teen life coaching, the answer is yes — and in some ways, it works particularly well.
Teenagers are digital natives. A video call is not an awkward or unfamiliar format for them the way it might feel to older clients. Many young people actually find it slightly easier to talk on a screen than in person — there’s a little more psychological distance that can make it easier to start.
There’s also a practical benefit for parents. You can be in the building without being in the room. Your teenager has privacy; you have peace of mind. You don’t need to arrange transport or take time off work, and the session can fit around school, sport, or whatever else is filling their week.
All the same safeguarding standards that apply to my in-person teen coaching apply online. Parental consent is obtained at the start, sessions are structured appropriately for the young person’s age and stage, and I maintain the same professional boundaries throughout.
What to Expect from a First Online Session
Your first session is a chance for both of us to see whether this is the right fit. Here’s what I’d suggest you do to make it work well.
Find somewhere you can speak freely and won’t be interrupted — a room with a closed door, not a coffee shop. Make sure your device is charged or plugged in and your connection is stable. A pair of headphones helps with sound quality. Sit somewhere that feels reasonably private; I’m asking you to be honest about things you probably don’t talk about openly, so the space matters.
At the start, we’ll do a brief tech check and I’ll explain how I work. Then we move into the session proper — I’ll ask you what you’d most like to focus on, and we’ll go from there.
It feels different from a conversation with a friend, even though it might seem similar on the surface. The difference is the quality of attention and the nature of the questions. I’m not trying to make you feel better or share my opinion on your situation. I’m trying to help you think more clearly about it. Most clients notice that difference within the first twenty minutes.
FAQ
Is online life coaching as effective as in-person?
For most clients, yes. The ICF’s research data, gathered across thousands of coaches and clients globally, shows no significant drop in coaching outcomes between online and face-to-face delivery. The quality of the relationship and the quality of the questions matter far more than whether you’re in the same room. Some clients prefer in-person for specific kinds of conversations — and if that’s you, that’s worth knowing about yourself and worth discussing before we start.
What platform do you use for online coaching?
I use video call platforms that most clients already have access to — typically Zoom or WhatsApp Video. You don’t need to download or pay for anything. I’ll confirm the platform when we book and send you a link ahead of your session.
Can I switch between online and in-person sessions?
Yes. Plenty of my clients do this. They might have a run of online sessions and then want to come in person for something that feels particularly significant, or vice versa. There’s no fixed rule. What matters is that the format serves the work, and we can be flexible about that as your circumstances change.
Ready to Start?
If you’re weighing up whether online coaching is right for you, the most useful thing you can do is have a conversation with me first. I offer a free thirty-minute consultation — by video or phone — so you can ask questions, get a sense of how I work, and decide from there.
There’s no commitment involved and no sales pressure. Just a conversation.
You can book that consultation via the contact page, email me at info@ovpcoaching.co.uk, or call 07505 784546. If you’d like to explore what life coaching services are available before getting in touch, you’re welcome to do that first.
And if cost is something you’re thinking about, I’ve written a separate post on how much life coaching costs in the UK that breaks down the numbers honestly.
I look forward to hearing from you.