5 Tips for Effective Athlete Communication
In any environment it is integral that one has the ability to communicate effectively with those around them. Athletes in today’s world need to understand the importance of communication and how to best communicate in different scenarios. The ability to communicate with coaches, service providers and managers will assist in getting the most out of training, competition and activities outside of the training environment.
How you communicate makes a difference in creating the relationships you need to be successful. WAIS Personal Excellence advisor, Jenny Marsh has identified five key tips for athletes when it comes to communication around their sport.
The best form of communication is face to face communication.
Face to face communication allows you to connect with the person you’re talking to through body language, voice tone, eye contact, facial expressions and presence. This helps us to further understand the message and its true intention whilst it also allows us to gauge an individual’s response to what has been said.
Don’t use text or messenger for formal communication.
Text or messenger lacks the non-verbal cues which are integral to our thorough understanding of a message or statement. This form of communication is good for communicating something immediately or to remember something however it should not replace the more formal communication styles.
Video chat is a good alternative to face to face communication when that option is not available.
Video chat is similar to face to face communication in that it allows you to connect with a person through body language, voice tone, eye contact, facial expressions and presence. Although this is the case, it does not replace the need for face to face communication.
Whilst phone calls are good for discussion they don’t enable real connection.
Talking on the phone, like talking face to face, can allow good discussion between those involved, offering a good, free flowing form of two-way communication. Like text and messenger however it lacks the presence of non-verbal cues making it difficult to properly connect with the person on the other end of the line.
Emails can be a good way to convey a message.
As long as an email is well thought out and written using a professional email address and the appropriate language and sign off, it can be a good way to convey a message. It doesn’t however promote the free flowing form of communication which is achieved through face to face communication.
With today’s technology, social media and phone apps, there are many ways to communicate with friends and family. Just remember to use face to face or telephone for important discussions with coaches and support personnel.
If you want to learn more on this, why not set up a meeting – face to face of course 😉 – with your Personal Excellence Advisor!
- Annika Lee-Jones