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Effective Coaching on Mentaline.com

We live in a continuously changing world where we cannot always control the challenges and changes that affect our private life and work. The financial crisis has taken its toll on life and has in particular given us more pressure at work, unemployment and economic problems. These kinds of challenges will easily be a load on our shoulders and therefore it is important to get help with handling them. The bigger the problems become, the harder it is to get back on track.

The way Mentaline brings coaching online
Mentaline.com is actually not specifically about the session between the professional and the customer, but it is about the process that surrounds the coaching. When you choose online coaching through Mentaline.com, you can both save time and gain a greater flexibility. When have you found the right coach it is very simple to choose an available time for the session in the online calendar belonging to the specific coach. The coaches own calendar is synchronized with the Mentaline calendar. When booking, you can choose whether it should be a video session or a physical face-to-face session. The last step is the payment which is done with creditcard. VISA or Mastercard. Besides allowing customers to pay directly by credit card, Mentaline will soon introduce a voucher system in which a company can pay for a certain number of coaching sessions or can create a company account that allows the employees to pay for the sessions with a special code.

Mentaline offers their users excellent opportunities to serve themselves when they have time for it, and the service also includes a reminder of the time of the session by email. You have probably tried to call a coach that is occupied when you call. Then you leave a message after the ‘beep’. Afterwards the coach calls you and now you are not able to answer the phone because of a meeting. Thus, it goes on often for some days to great irritation for both parties. Like most people treasure their online bank and the possibility to pay bills and transfer money themselves, Mentaline also experiences that users appreciate the opportunity to serve themselves at Mentaline.com. For example, it is very simple to move the time of session for both client and coach.

Since Mentaline is a sales platform, it is natural that the price is a competitive factor. You can compare Mentaline.com with Hotels.com where you get to choose between lots of coaches. You can make comparisons of geography, specialties, cost, ratings, and "travel descriptions". It is therefore important for users to rate their coach, so others can make use of their good or bad experience. At the same time the coach can learn from the customer's evaluation.

The rational arguments for video-coaching
There are lots of rational arguments for employers. They save money on transportation and save the time spent on transportation for the employee. One hour of coaching does no longer take up three-hours of work. One must also remember that there is often stress associated with having to transport yourself from one place to another. There can be a lot of traffic or delays in public transportation, which could result in a high level of stress when arriving to see the coach. All you have to do is close the door or enter a meeting-room to conduct a video-session. Furthermore, not having to deal with transport is positive for the environmental accounting.

Coaching becomes more effective with preparation
Most people feel that much of their time in the first coaching session is spent telling the coach about their background, education, jobs, challenges, and family and so on. It is necessary information to have a good conversation and process in the coaching, but if you only have three hours available it can feel like a waste of time. Therefore Mentaline has prepared a schedule containing some basic information about the customer, which makes it possible for the coach to prepare before the first session, so you can quickly get started on the personal development.

Get coaching when you need it
Video-coaching also gives another kind of flexibility. When you do not have to think about transport, it is more natural to hold a short follow-up session with duration of half an hour. In this way, the vouchers last longer and the customer gets a needed boost in between two sessions. You can always visit Mentaline.com and see if your coach is online and available. Mentaline also gives you the possibility to make most use of your time. You can for example talk to your coach, while being on business travel and doing nothing in your hotel room.

Employees abroad are particularly in need for coaching
Gradually, as globalization has made more and more English companies international, it has been normal to send employees abroad. This can result in a form of identity crisis for the employee. One is pulled out of the usual environment, and one must build a life in another culture and with new colleagues. In this situation, many need coaching. It is Mentaline’s experience that foreigners do not wish to talk to a local coach, but is searching for English coaches who have the same cultural impetus for the conversation as themselves.

How does video-coaching work?
Video sessions take place in the same way as regular "face to face"-sessions, except you do not sit in the same room. You can obviously not shake hands, but you can easily greet each other. The image on the screen creates a space that feels real and natural. You can see laughs, smiles, tears, and gestures. It is also possible to show pictures or to “draw and tell”. If you have not tried it, you are probably sceptical, but when you have had your first meeting online you will be surprised by the contact you are able to create,although you never have met in "real life". Mentaline have experienced that those customers, who start with a combination of physical and virtual sessions quickly solely conduct sessions online. On Mentaline.com you use Skype to implement the video session and if you have a good internet connection and a headset with good sound,then you will completely forget that you are not in the same room. When you have a video session through Mentaline.com you must log on to Skype at least five minutes before the session is planned to start. You must also ensure that the connection is in order and that the webcam  and headset works. After wards all you have to do is to wait for the coach to call you. Mentaline recommend that you close all other programs and close the browser. Make sure you are in a room without noise and where no one will disturb you. The room should be well lit so that the image is good.