This document discusses communication strategies for coaches. It covers the importance of communication, the communication process, sending and receiving messages effectively, barriers to communication, confrontation, and constructive criticism. The key points are that communication is essential for motivation, performance enhancement and personal growth. It discusses various communication strategies like active listening, empathy, addressing breakdowns, and giving constructive feedback using the sandwich approach.

1. Chapter 10: Communication
10
CommunicationCommunication
C H A P T E R

2. Session Outline
• The importance of communication
• The communication process
• Sending messages effectively
• Receiving messages effectively
• Breakdowns in communication
• Confrontation
• Constructive criticism

3. The Importance of Communication
• You can communicate without motivating
but it is impossible to motivate without
communicating. –John Thompson, former
Georgetown University men’s basketball
coach.
• It is not what you tell them—it’s what they
hear. –Red Auerbach, former Boston Celtics
championship coach.
(continued)

4. The Importance of Communication
(continued)
• Good communication skills are a critical
ingredient contributing to performance
enhancement.
• Not only do good communication skills
contribute to performance enhancement but
they also play a key role in achieving the
personal growth of sport and exercise
participants.

5. Communication Keys
• Communication is used for many purposes:
Persuasion, evaluation, information,
motivation, and problem solving.
• All communication contains content (what
is said) as well as relational (how we felt
about the person’s message) information.

6. Types of Communication
• Interpersonal communication (at least two
people in a meaningful exchange)
• Nonverbal communication
• Intrapersonal communication (self-talk, the
communication we have with ourselves)

7. Figure 10.1

8. Strategies for Improving
Communication
• Convey rationales.
• Express empathy, not sympathy.
• Use a communication style that is
comfortable for you.
• Learn how to become more empathetic by
placing yourself in the shoes of your
athletes or students.
(continued)

9. Strategies for Improving
Communication (continued)
• Use the positive approach when
communicating.
• Always acknowledge the greetings of
others.
• Have an open-door policy for your students
and athletes.
• Be consistent in administering discipline.

10. Sending Messages Effectively
• Make verbal messages clear and concise.
• Pick the right time and place to deliver
verbal messages.
• Enhance trust with the person receiving the
message to ensure verbal messages are
appropriately interpreted.
(continued)

11. Sending Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Physical appearance, posture, and gestures
are important components of nonverbal
messages.
• Do not underestimate the importance of
nonverbal communication
– 50 to 70% of all communication is nonverbal.
– Nonverbal messages are harder to hide.
– Nonverbal messages are powerful. (continued)

12. Sending Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Considerations for nonverbal components
of messages: Body position, touching,
facial expression, and voice characteristics.
• Be direct.
• Own your message.
• Be complete and specific.
• Be clear and consistent.
(continued)

13. Sending Messages Effectively
(continued)
• State your needs and feelings clearly.
• Separate fact from fiction.
• Focus on one thing at a time.
• Deliver messages immediately.
• Avoid hidden agendas.
• Be supportive.
(continued)

14. Sending Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Be consistent with your nonverbal
messages.
• Reinforce with repetition.
• Make messages appropriate to the
receiver’s frame of reference.
• Look for feedback that your message was
accurately interpreted.

15. Components
of Teacher–Coach–Leader
Communication
• Confirming behaviors: Signal endorsement,
recognition, and acknowledgment to
receiver.
• Clarity behaviors: How clearly the receiver
perceives the teacher, leader, or coach.

16. Receiving Messages Effectively
• Active listening: Ask questions, paraphrase,
attend to main and supporting ideas,
acknowledge and respond, give appropriate
feedback, and pay attention to the speaker’s
total communication (verbal and nonverbal).
• Keys to active listening: Mentally prepare to
listen, don’t mistake hearing for listening,
paraphrase what the speaker said.
(continued)

17. Receiving Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Supportive listening: Communicate that you
are with the speaker and value his or her
messages.
• Keys to supportive listening:
– Use supportive behaviors as you listen.
– Use confirming behaviors as you listen.
– Use both verbal and nonverbal listening behaviors.
(continued)

18. Receiving Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Aware listening: Realize that people react
individually or differently to the way you
communicate.
• Tips for aware listening:
– Be flexible.
– Be alert for barriers and breakdowns in
communication.
(continued)

19. Receiving Messages Effectively
(continued)
• Empathy is a person’s ability to perceive,
recognize, and understand the feelings,
behaviors, intentions, and attitudes of
others; empathy is an important
prerequisite to effective communication.
• Concerted efforts to get to know athletes,
view them in social situations, and seek
feedback from them about what they are
thinking and feeling are important.
(continued)

20. Receiving Messages Effectively
(continued)
• The importance of care: The more an
athlete, exerciser, or student feels that the
individuals who teach and mentor them
care, the better the communication will be.
• Create a caring climate is a situation that is
perceived as interpersonally inviting, safe,
supportive, and capable of providing the
experience of being valued and respected.

21. Breakdowns in Communication
• Sender failures: Poorly transmitted
messages (ambiguity, inconsistency)
• Receiver failures: Failure to listen carefully
(misinterpretation)

22. Barriers to Effective Communication
• Receiver not paying attention to the sender
• Lack of trust between the individuals
attempting to communicate
• Differences in socialization and heredity,
causing misinterpretations between the
sender and receiver
• Differences in the mental set or perception
between people (continued)

23. Barriers to Effective Communication
(continued)
• Embarrassment (creates interference)
• Tendency to tell people what they want to
hear
• Difficulties in expression or reluctance to
communicate
• Belief that silence is safer
• Inconsistency between actions and words

24. Benefits of Communication Training
• Improved team morale
• Better cohesion
• Enhanced performance

25. Athletes’ Guidelines for Improving
Communication
• Don’t interrupt.
• Confront issues right away.
• Don’t make assumptions about what others
are thinking.
• Ask for help from teammates.
• Voice opinions to those who intimidate you.
• Make eye contact when communicating.

26. Confrontation
• Confrontation
– Although confrontation (a face-to-face discussion
among people in conflict) is often seen as negative,
when properly used it is a part of effective
communication.
– Communication training can increase one’s
effectiveness in confrontation.

27. When to Use (or Avoid) Confrontation
• Don’t confront someone when you are
angry.
• Do confront someone when you are in
control, can express your feelings
constructively, and have a well-thought-out
reason for doing so.

28. Key Points
in Knowing How to Confront
• All parties’ needs are legitimate and must
be attended to.
• There are enough resources to meet all
needs.
• Within every individual lies untapped power
and capacity, and people in conflict know
what they need.
(continued)

29. Key Points in Knowing
How to Confront (continued)
• Process is as important as content because
it provides direction and focus.
• Everyone is right from his or her own
perspective.
• Solutions and resolutions are temporary
states of balance and are not absolute or
timeless.

30. Dos and Don’ts of Confronting
• Do convey that you value your relationship
with the person.
• Do go slowly and think about what you want
to communicate.
• Do try to understand the other person’s
position.
• Do listen carefully to what the other person
is trying to communicate.
(continued)

31. Dos and Don’ts of Confronting
(continued)
• Don’t communicate the solution. Rather,
focus on the problem.
• Don’t stop communicating.
• Don’t use put-downs.
• Don’t rely on nonverbal hints to
communicate your thoughts.

32. Key Factors Involved
in the Coach–Athlete Relationship
• Closeness is the emotional tone that
coaches and athletes experience. Terms
such as liking, trust, and respect indicate
the level of closeness.
• Co-orientation is a common frame of
reference, namely shared goals, values, and
expectation. Open communication
facilitates the development of co-
orientation.
(continued)

33. Key Factors Involved
in the Coach–Athlete Relationship
(continued)
• Complementarity: Interactions in which the
coach and athlete are engaged. This reflects
coaches’ and athletes’ acts of cooperation.

34. The Sandwich Approach
to Constructive Criticism
• A positive statement
• A future-oriented instruction
• A compliment

35. Examples of the Sandwich Approach
• Positive statement: “Sally, you are really
working hard out there.”
• Future-oriented statement: “Next time try to
slow down and not get ahead of the music.”
• Compliment: “You’re getting there; keep up
the good work.”

36. Steps of Constructive Criticism
• Describe your feelings and take
responsibility for your emotions.
• Describe your thoughts about the action or
event that concerned you.
• Describe the tangible reason why the
behavior affects you.
• Describe what you want done.