Choosing your coaching style

keel coaches every household from the same data, but not every person wants to be coached the same way. Your coaching style sets how keel talks to you — and, more importantly, it slightly changes what keel chooses to bring to your attention in the first place.

It's a per-person setting: you and your partner can each pick a different style for the same household finances.

How it works

The three styles

• Supportive (the default) — encouraging, celebrates wins, suggests rather than directs. Bad news is softened, and very small negatives (under £30 of impact) may be skipped entirely. Positive observations surface higher, so keel leads with what's going well before raising concerns.
• Analytical — data-first, neutral, precise. Leads with numbers and comparisons. Nothing is suppressed or promoted; everything surfaces in impact order, consistently.
• Direct — action-first, minimal words. States problems plainly and tells you what to do. Borderline issues with significant financial impact get escalated rather than softened, and you see fewer coaching cards (two instead of three) — only the highest impact.

Style changes what surfaces, not just wording

All three styles see exactly the same underlying data. The difference is thresholds, ordering, density and framing:

• Supportive may suppress a small overspend entirely; direct may escalate the same borderline issue into a clear action.
• Direct deliberately shows fewer insights — the trade is density for impact.
• Analytical changes neither — it's the "show me everything, plainly" setting.

So picking a style isn't cosmetic. If you choose direct, you're asking keel to interrupt you less often but more forcefully; if you choose supportive, you're asking it to protect your attention from minor negatives.

Per person, not per household

Coaching style is an individual profile setting. A couple sharing one household can have one partner coached supportively and the other directly — same finances, different voice for each person.

Where to change it

Settings → Profile → "How keel talks to you". The new style takes effect on the next coaching update. If you never set it, you get supportive.

Why it works this way

A coach who only changes vocabulary isn't really adapting. The thing that makes direct mode direct is that it filters harder and escalates sooner — and the thing that makes supportive mode supportive is that it knows when a £12 overspend isn't worth your attention. Voice and selection have to move together for the style to feel genuine.

Good to know

• Gentle mode is separate. When a household is under real financial stress (savings rate below 5% and score below 300), keel softens its framing automatically — same information, gentler delivery. This composes with any style: you can be in gentle mode with direct style.
• Style affects coaching surfaces — the dashboard cards, the Coach page, insight phrasing. It never affects your score or your reports.
• See How coaching works for the full picture of how keel decides what to show you.

FAQ

Which style should I pick? Start with supportive and change it if it grates. If you find yourself wanting keel to just say the thing, switch to direct. If you trust numbers more than narrative, analytical.

Will direct mode hide problems from me? No — the opposite. It shows fewer cards, but they're the highest-impact ones, and borderline issues are more likely to be escalated, not less. Everything else still lives in your inbox.

Can my partner and I have different styles? Yes. Each household member sets their own in their profile.

Does changing style change my score or insights history? No. The underlying data and your score are identical across styles — only the selection and delivery change.