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Communication Skills

Communication is the art of successfully sharing meaningful information with people using an interchange of experiences. Coaches wish to motivate the athletes they work with and provide them with information that will allow them to train effectively and improve performance. Communication from the coach to the athlete will initiate appropriate actions. However, this requires the athlete to receive the information from the coach and understand and accept it.

In his article Crookes (1991)[1] stated that coaches need to ask themselves:

  • Do I have the athlete's attention?
  • Am I explaining myself in an easily understood manner?
  • Has the athlete understood?
  • Does the athlete believe what I am telling them?
  • Does the athlete accept what I am saying?

Non-verbal messages

At first, face-to-face communication may consist of taking turns to speak. While the coach is speaking, the athlete must listen and wait patiently until the coach finishes. On closer examination, it can be seen that people resort to a variety of verbal and non-verbal behaviour to maintain a smooth flow of communication. Such conduct includes head nods, smiles, frowns, bodily contact, eye movements, laughter, body posture, language and many other actions.

The facial expressions of athletes provide feedback to the coach. Their faces usually indicate how they feel, and excellent working knowledge of non-verbal signals' meaning will prove invaluable to the coach. Glazed or downturned eyes show boredom or disinterest, as does fidgeting. Fully raised eyebrows signal disbelief, and half raised indicate puzzlement. The group's posture provides a means by which their attitude to the coach may be judged and act as a pointer to their mood. Control of a group demands that a coach be sensitive to the transmitted athletes' signals.

Communication blocks

Crookes (1991)[1] believes that difficulties in communicating with an athlete may be due to several issues, including the following:

  • The athlete's perception of something is different from yours
  • The athlete may jump to a conclusion instead of working through the process of hearing, understanding and accepting
  • The athlete may lack the knowledge needed to understand what you are trying to communicate
  • The athlete may lack the motivation to listen to you or to convert the information given into action
  • The coach may have difficulty in expressing what they wish to say to the athlete
  • Emotions may interfere in the communication process
  • There may be a clash of personality between you and the athlete

These blocks to communication work both ways, and coaches need to consider the process of communication carefully.

Effective Communication

Crookes (1991)[1] states that before communicating with an athlete, coaches should consider:

  • WHY they want to communicate
  • WHO they wish to communicate with
  • WHERE and WHEN the message could best be delivered
  • WHAT is it that they want to communicate
  • HOW they are going to communicate the information

Effective communication contains six elements (Crookes 1991):

  Clear Ensure that the information is presented clearly
  Concise Be concise, do not lose the message by being long-winded
  Correct Be accurate, avoid giving misleading information
  Complete Give all the information and not just part of it
  Courteous Be polite and non-threatening, avoid conflict
  Constructive Be positive, avoid being critical and negative

Be Positive

When coaches provide information to the athlete that will allow them to effect change, they must positively give the information. Look for something positive to say first and then provide the information to enable the athlete to change behaviour or action.

Conclusion

Crookes (1991)[1] believes that coaches should:

  • Develop their verbal and non-verbal communication skills
  • Ensure that they provide positive feedback during coaching sessions
  • Give all athletes in their training groups equal attention
  • Communicate as appropriate to your athlete's thinking and learning styles
  • Ensure that they not only talk to their athletes but they also listen to them as well

Improved communication skills will enable both the athlete and coach to gain much more from their coaching relationship.

References

  1. CROOKES (1991) Complan Column. Athletics Coach, 25 (3), p. 13

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

  • MACKENZIE, B. (1997) Communication Skills [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/commun.htm [Accessed