What, So What, Now What: A Reflective Template

The "what, so what, now what" template is one of the most practical reflective frameworks available. Developed by Terry Borton in the 1970s and later refined by John Driscoll for professional practice, it gives coaches, therapists, and other practitioners a simple three-step structure for turning experience into insight.

If you ask clients to reflect but haven't given them a clear format, this is the one to start with. It works just as well for your own practice.

What Is the What, So What, Now What Framework?

The model breaks reflection into three stages. Each stage answers a different question, and together they move you from description to analysis to action.

Stage	Core question	Purpose
What?	What happened?	Describe the experience factually, without judgment
So what?	Why does it matter?	Analyze the meaning, emotions, and implications
Now what?	What will I do next?	Identify concrete actions or changes

Driscoll's version, sometimes cited as the "Driscoll what so what now what" model, added sub-questions under each stage to help practitioners go deeper. But the power of the framework is its simplicity. You can use it in sixty seconds or spend thirty minutes on it.

How life coaches actually use this template

Most coaches already ask reflective questions. The problem is inconsistency. Some sessions go deep, others stay surface-level, and personal reflection gets skipped altogether. The "what, so what, now what" structure solves this by making reflection repeatable.

After a client session

Take 60 to 90 seconds between sessions and run through the three questions about your own performance. What happened in that session? So what did I notice about my own reactions, the questions I defaulted to, or where the client resisted? Now what will I adjust for next time?

This is not client note-taking. It is reflection on how you showed up as a practitioner.

As a daily check-in

Once a day, run the same three questions on your own state. What happened today? So what patterns do I notice in my energy, mood, or focus? Now what do I need to adjust tomorrow? Even a two-minute voice recording that follows this format produces real data over time.

As a weekly review

Set aside ten minutes once a week to review multiple days of reflection. One day of data is noise. A week of data is signal. This is where the template compounds, because patterns that are invisible day-to-day become obvious over five or six entries.

Driscoll's expanded sub-questions

If the three core questions feel too broad, Driscoll's expanded version adds specificity under each stage:

What?

What happened?
What did I see, do, or hear?
What was my role in the situation?
What was I expecting to happen?

So what?

What feelings did this bring up?
What went well, and what did not?
What assumptions was I making?
How does this connect to anything I already know?

Now what?

What do I need to do differently?
What will I keep doing?
What support or resources do I need?
How will I know if things improve?

These sub-questions are especially useful when coaching clients through the framework for the first time. They turn vague reflection into structured self-examination.

Why coaches who reflect get better outcomes

The International Coaching Federation lists self-awareness as a core coaching competency. Not client awareness. Your own. You cannot reliably detect a client's blind spots if you have not practiced spotting your own.

Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that employees who spent 15 minutes reflecting at the end of the day performed 23% better after ten days than those who did not. Coaches are not exempt from this. The reflection muscle atrophies without use.

A study from APA PsycNet on therapeutic alliance confirms what coaches intuitively know: clients are more likely to adopt behaviors when they perceive their practitioner as genuinely engaged in similar practices.

How to model reflection without oversharing

Modeling does not mean reading your journal entries to clients. It means making your reflective practice visible and normalized.

Name your process out loud. "I reflected on our last session and noticed I was steering you toward a solution instead of letting you sit with the question. I want to course-correct today." This teaches the client what reflection produces.

Assign reflection as shared practice. When you ask a client to spend two minutes a day using the "what, so what, now what" template, tell them you are doing the same. Shared commitment lands differently than top-down prescription.

Reference your own patterns without making it about you. "I track my energy across six life areas, and I noticed my creativity drops when I skip exercise. Have you noticed patterns like that in your own tracking?" This is modeling through specificity.

Choosing a format that sticks

Written journaling works for some coaches. For most, it does not stick past two weeks.

Voice journaling has a lower barrier. You talk all day, professionally. Redirecting that skill toward your own reflection takes almost no behavior change. You are not learning a new habit; you are repurposing an existing one.

The key is choosing a format that captures data, not just feelings. Mood tracking, goal tracking, and task extraction turn a vague practice into something with measurable output. That is the difference between "I journal sometimes" and "I have four weeks of pattern data showing my best coaching days correlate with morning exercise."

What happens after 30 days of using this template

Coaches who reflect daily for a month report three consistent shifts:

1. Better session prep. When you review your own reflections before a client call, you walk in sharper. You remember where they were, but you also remember where you were and what bias you were carrying.

2. Reduced coaching fatigue. Unprocessed sessions stack up like unread emails. Daily reflection clears the backlog. You stop carrying client energy into your personal life.

3. More authentic client relationships. When you genuinely practice what you prescribe, your recommendations carry weight. Clients stop seeing reflection as homework and start seeing it as a tool you both use.

If you want a low-friction way to follow this template daily, Ripple is a voice journaling app that fits the format well. You talk through your reflection, and it pulls out tasks, tracks goals across six life domains, detects mood, and sends you a weekly report every Sunday. It works like a mirror for your own patterns. There is a 7-day free trial, no credit card required.

FAQ

What is the "what, so what, now what" template?

It is a three-stage reflective framework originally developed by Terry Borton and later expanded by John Driscoll. You describe what happened, analyze why it matters, and decide what to do next. It is widely used in coaching, nursing, education, and professional development.

How is Driscoll's model different from Borton's?

Borton introduced the three core questions. Driscoll added detailed sub-questions under each stage to help practitioners dig deeper, especially in clinical and coaching contexts. The underlying structure is the same.

How often should a life coach use this framework?

Daily is ideal, even if it is just 60 to 90 seconds between sessions. A quick reflection keeps patterns visible and prevents coaching fatigue from building up unnoticed. A weekly review of multiple entries is where the real insights surface.

Can I use the what, so what, now what template with clients?

Yes. It is one of the simplest frameworks to teach. Many coaches assign it as a daily two-minute practice between sessions. Sharing that you use the same template yourself normalizes reflection and increases client follow-through.

Is voice journaling better than written journaling for this template?

For most people, yes. Speaking removes the friction of writing and lets you process thoughts in real time. Since coaches already talk professionally all day, redirecting that skill toward structured self-reflection requires almost no behavior change.