Communicating With Your Athlete Is An Art
Coach-Athlete Communication Is Critical
The ability to communicate effectively extends far beyond the training session, in the pool, gym, rink, or field, at competitions or games. It affects every interaction with athletes – regardless of age or level of expertise – with fellow coaches, trainers, parents, and administrators. Our communication shapes team culture to foster trust and to create an environment where athletes can develop and thrive. It’s not just about providing instructions or feedback. It is about listening, understanding, collaborating, and building relationships to support athletes in every endeavor in and out of training (i.e., on and off the field). Communication is a skill that transcends to an art form. There are multiple aspects in which coaches must develop competency to excel as leaders to become successful in their programs.
Communication with Athletes
Effective communication is essential:
Provide clear and constructive instructions, explanations, and feedback. Avoid overcoaching by giving too many details. Short and precise information is the key!
Recognize and accept that every athlete has unique needs, learning styles, and personalities.
Tailor feedback to the individual in terms of timing and explanation. Some may prefer immediate feedback, some may desire delayed feedback (e.g., the next training session), some may prefer self-assessment, and others may desire encouragement and detailed explanations.
To reduce confusion and frustration, break down complex drills or strategies into manageable steps, using a simple to complex progression or sequence.
Effective communication is about clarity, personalization, and adaptability.
Understanding individual athlete’s needs and simplifying instructions, coaches create an environment where athletes feel supported, confident, and empowered to succeed.
Another critical aspect is using congruent body language with your spoken words. Remember, your actions and reactions (body language) impact more than your spoken words.
“Body Language in Coaching: A Tool for Effective Communication”
… Body Language is the outward reflection of a person’s emotional condition, defined as gestures, postures, and facial expressions by which a person manifests various physical, mental, or emotional states and communicates non-verbally with others …
People typically exhibit three types of behavior: touch, body position, and body movement. These come in clusters of signals and/or postures and clearly convey a person’s feelings. However, one must be aware of and sensitive to people from other cultures, who are likely to use body language differently depending on their social norms. Multiple demands by athletes, parents, and club administrators create pressures, which can influence daily coaching behavior unless one has developed specific coping strategies. According to research, 60-80 % of initial opinions are formed in less than four minutes as athletes make judgments about whether or not the coach is approachable (interpreted as easy to talk to, friendly, amicable, sociable, open) or unapproachable for that day (perceived as distant, unfriendly, grumpy, aloof, cold, and/or standoffish}. Such interpretation is critical for the coach-athlete interaction since the “coach is the true agent of change” in any sports environment. Coaches are, however, not constantly aware of the immediate effect of their body language or the emotional signals they send off. Yet, they are on ‘display, observed and studied’ by athletes before, during, and after training; before competition or event; during competition or event; after competition or event; during de-briefing or evaluation; during non-training and/or in social situations. “See yourself as a book that interested people read – whether or not you want them to”…
One should never forget, “Pictures are worth a thousand words!” It is said that “the world’s greatest leaders throughout history have been good orators and use great body language to be effective in their delivery.” Similarly, coaches must display effort, enthusiasm, and passion to motivate their athletes. Statistics imply that up to 50-65% of human communication is lost or at least unreadable without body language. Subconscious gestures with hands, facial expressions, and body language can often communicate the ‘true’ meaning more clearly.
In the 1970s, Albert Mehrabian established the 7% – 38% – 55% rule to denote the amount of communication conferred by words, tone, and body language. The findings of that particular study reveal that the words we speak only convey about 7% of the overall message sent; 38% is attributed to voice tone or inflection, and 55% to body language. His findings, however, have been somewhat generalized to 7% [verbal], 38%, and 55% [93%] as a working formula for communication. These numbers only reflect the results of that particular study; indeed, they are more about the importance of visuals and the degree to which we rely on them during communication. Although opinion on the exact percentage still varies among behavioral experts, non-verbal communication never ‘outweighs’ verbal communication. Coaches should become familiar with the rules for accurate interpretation and increase their understanding of potential communication barriers. The coach-athlete interaction must develop special awareness, sensitivity, and techniques to ‘read’ body language effectively [females are found to be more perceptive, according to research]. This includes body gestures, unintentional signs, body posturing and poses, physical and emotional indicators, eye signals, body language and space [proximity], etc. Foremost, coaches should become skilled at presenting themselves with ‘open’ and positive body language and improve listening skills. Repeated video observation is one tool to identify personal communication skills or behavior, followed by practicing effective body language during daily interaction.
References:
Kielbaso, J. (2025). Core competency: The art of communication. Plymouth, MI: IYCA. https://iyca.org/about/
Schloder, M.E. (2024). Body language in coaching. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: coachingbest.com