With so much interest and news about the impact of the metaverse, it’s only natural to wonder what sort of influence this might have on coaching and corporate training. Learning and development (L&D) professionals looking to implement this innovative technology should be questioning if all the hype is valid. Or, if there really is a space for the metaverse to provide impactful solutions.

Most successful training programs involve some level of self-reflection to raise participants’ self-awareness, emotional intelligence (EQ), communication skills and perspective-taking and, not surprisingly, usually require some level of support by facilitators and coaches. Self-reflection and feedback are challenging activities which can really benefit from the involvement of a specialist. This leads many companies to look for innovative technology solutions for their own internal and/or third-party coaches. 

Helpful Definitions

It is worth starting with some definitions. Coaching means different things to different people. Companies and managers frequently misuse the term and conflate it with the giving of advice or guidance or even providing mentoring.

Coaching means different things to different people. Companies and managers frequently misuse the term and conflate it with the giving of advice or guidance or even providing mentoring. The CIPD definition is more helpful and points to a set of generally agreed characteristics: it is non-directive, it focuses on improving performance and development for the individual, it is about work but can include personal aspects too, it can be for an individual and/or a team or group, and it is a skilled activity delivered by people who are trained in coaching skills.

A neuroscientific definition of a coach, outlined in Amy Brann’s book, “Neuroscience for Coaches,” is that a coach is “an expert in facilitating self-directed neuroplasticity,” which references two important aspects: First, new mental connections are being made, and second, these connections (or insights) are “discovered” by the client rather than being taught or told by another.

Defining the metaverse is even more challenging. The term was first used in a science fiction novel in the early 1990s. Some commentators contend that the first example of a metaverse was Second Life (2003), a 3D online virtual world where scenes are created with avatars for mostly social purposes. In this decade, social media giant Facebook even renamed itself to Meta to reflect its (then) strategic ambitions toward virtual world and immersive virtual reality (VR) headset devices. The conflation of metaverse with a particular device type (e.g., usually immersive VR headsets) is common but not altogether helpful. For the purposes of this article, the ‘Metaverse’ is defined as an individual or shared immersive experience in a 3D virtual space where we experience life differently to the physical world. The digital device and “tech” aspects matter, of course, so they will be given separate consideration.

What Do the Metaverse and Coaching Have to Do With Each Other?

While technology like Zoom or Microsoft Teams has connected coaches and participants, the metaverse is becoming a new realm in which coaching can take place.

A key difference between coaching and coaching in the metaverse is the medium of the exchange. Coaching has traditionally relied on the spoken word as its foundation. In a dialogue between coach and coachee, the coach supports the coachee’s thinking by (mostly) asking questions and providing facilitative interjections of a catalytic, cathartic or supportive nature. It is this aspect which makes coaching non-directive. 

With the metaverse, new visual media becomes available to both parties. And this media can be interactive, modifiable and immersive. It can be so powerful an experience that the user can feel fully immersed and “present” in the digital world. This provides the opportunity for a very different coaching experience for both the coach and the coachee.

This immersion is important and relates to another difference between traditional coaching – that of the coaching “space” itself. Coaching in the metaverse typically feels more immersive than coaching delivered using a virtual meeting platform, where the main view for people is the 2D image of the other person’s face staring back at them.

Unlocking the Location Barrier

The ability to choose a “coaching space” is important. In the recent past, many coaching conversations have taken place in boring offices with bland decor or a noisy coffee bar with the risk of being overheard. More recently, talking and staring at each other on a video conference platform has become common practice. By contrast, the metaverse offers different choices of place. 

These spaces can offer a wide range of possibilities, such as serene nature scenes, futuristic cityscapes, or even fantastical realms. When properly designed and using the right technology, these immersive environments can enhance the coaching experience and help create a more conducive atmosphere for growth and exploration. These virtual worlds are often designed using purpose-built gaming engines so that diverse landscapes, woodland, mountain scenes, rivers and lakes, sandy beaches and yes, even offices and desks are all possible.

The metaverse has the potential to overcome geographical barriers, allowing coaches and clients from different parts of the world to connect and collaborate seamlessly. For example, if I want a French-speaking coach who prefers working with groups in (virtual) outdoor mountain scenery, all this is possible without anyone spending money or time travelling!

In the second article of this two-part series, we’ll continue exploring how the metaverse can support coaching.