Coaching Guidance in Sport
"You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within." (Bob Nelson, 2002).
Interpersonal Skills
An important aspect of interpersonal skills is communication. Communication has been described as the involvement of sending, receiving and interpreting messages through a range of sensory experiences (Harris & Harris, 1984 cited by Yukelson, 2006). Yukelson (2006) cited by Beauchamp & Eys (2007) sees communication as the driving force on how relationships are formed and having effective communication is vital for success by transmitting competence, trust and respect.
Interpersonal communication (IC) relates to an exchange of information and responses between two or more people whereas intrapersonal is the inner dialogue of each individual. Additionally, non-verbal is any means of communication that can be used such as facial expressions, body contact and appearance. Body language and appearance of others has been shown to give a positive view on others, as the Buscombe et al., (2006) results showed those with upbeat body language and well-presented appearance were thought to be more professional and tougher opponents than those with the opposite.
(Ramblings, 2013)
IC has underlying factors which shows communication is inescapable, irreversible and complex at all times (Pearsons, 2013). Considering these factors when coaching will be important for understanding others as there can be multiple levels of meaning for both content and relational components (Lavoi, 2008). IC messages can be effected by certain factors such as; beliefs, personality, communication style and interactions with others. Knowing your athletes and their individual needs can help to eliminate the Pieper & Vries (2013) study relates to this as they found that athletes prefer a coach who is more precise and expressive in their communication style are easily approachable, trustworthy and easier to interact with.
The Constructivism theory (Paiget, 1967) is the cognitive theory of IC where people have an understanding of others through systems of personal construct developed via socialisation (Delia, 1982). It is believed that those with a more complex construct system are more able to adapt their communication variance to suit others, resulting in a better understanding when focusing on an individual’s needs. Mehrabian (2007) discovered communication is heavily reliant on non-verbal (55%), then vocal variety (38%) and words (7%), showing that when communicating, vary the way you communicate to others. When verbally communicating, the decoding of information being passed over can differ due to the pitch, tempo or volume of the provider.
(CRBM, 2016)
(Gap Year, 2015)
Coaching Strategies:
· When coaching groups, vary the way you communicate either by interaction, verbal or non-verbal techniques to communicate effectively to all participants. Drawing a diagram, using a strategy board or any other visual aid can help communicate to those who are visual learners.
· Be clear and direct with your instructions. For participants who have a visual impairment, partner them up with a friend who understands their needs and can regularly communicate and give feedback to the performer.
· Show positive emotion towards others when the emotional climate is down. If you lose a competitive match, highlight the positives of the performance throughout the game to improve emotions.
· Overloading of information can lead to confusion and can affect the group dynamics during performances. For performers with learning difficulties, be specific and limit the amount of detail you communicate.