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JANUARY 2001
FEATURE COMMUNICATING WITH
CLARITY Many leading coaches say that their ability to
communicate skilfully is key to their success. They believe that the quality and
effectiveness of their communication is directly linked to the building of mutually
respectful relationships with their athletes and their colleagues. Why is it crucial for you, as a coach, to be able to communicate well? Simply stated, skilful communication is crucial because so much of what you do involves providing information to your athletes, your head coach or assistant coaches, your club, and your provincial or national sport federation, as well as exchanging information with a variety of individuals or groups such as sport scientists. After all, you direct daily practices or training sessions with your athletes. You intervene during those practices to give feedback to your athletes in the form of corrections, encouragement, and changes in training direction. You listen to questions or comments from your athletes or your head or assistant coaches in order to make changes in a training session or to the yearly training and competitive plan. You meet with your athletes to discuss issues and concerns and, by doing so, build a cohesive team. You work closely with your club executive and/or your provincial or national sport federation to clarify your job description and roles and responsibilities and to make plans for the future. All of this, and much more that you do as a coach, involves communication. Now that we understand why it is important and relevant to communicate effectively, we can begin to look at the specific skill sets you need to become an effective communicator and how to develop and use those skills in working with athletes and colleagues. Effective Communication Skills
What does it mean to be assertive rather than aggressive or passive? According to Webster’s Dictionary assertive means "to state positively, to affirm." Aggressive is defined as "to undertake an attack, to begin a quarrel" and passive is defined as "being the object of rather than the subject of action; unresisting, submissive." Being assertive in communicating with your athletes means you value and care for each one of them as an individual. (Over the years, many athletes have said to me that they wish their coach had treated them as an individual, and not always as just a part of the team). Being assertive means you treat your athletes, their parents, and your colleagues with respect, even when you are not in agreement. Being assertive means that you take action and initiate meetings and discussions, rather than waiting for something to happen and reacting to it. Being assertive means you stand up for yourself and speak about your beliefs and vision for the team, and yet are willing to listen to what your athletes have to say. And after listening well, you are able, in a clear and direct manner, to explain how the team will be run and what your decisions were based on. You are able to do this without attacking or belittling an athlete or colleague who may question a decision. These examples illustrate how to assert yourself, which, in turn, increases your confidence, your professionalism, and your ability to deal effectively with the many issues that you face as a coach. Most importantly, you will be able to develop athletes and colleagues who are comfortable coming to talk with you about their suggestions, thoughts, and concerns. And with that information, you are able to make better decisions with an athlete or a colleague and for your team as a whole.
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JANUARY
2001 Communicating With Clarity Guidelines to Help Women Coaches Succeed Speaking Clearly and Concisely Being Able to Receive Criticism Resolving Conflict Effectively Download
a PDF of this article Get on the email circulation list click here ©
2001 Coaching Association of Canada, Coaching
Association of Canada
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