The Communication
Process
Good communication skills are
among the most important
ingredients contributing to the
performance enhancement and
personal growth of sport and
exercise participants.
 Persuasion
 Evaluation
 Information
 Motivation
 Problem
Solving
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Interpersonal communication (at least two
persons in a meaningful exchange)
Nonverbal communication
Intrapersonal communication (self-talk– the
communication we have with ourselves)
The Communication
Process
I KNOW YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND
WHAT YOU THINK I SAIDBUT I'M NOT SURE YOU REALIZE THAT WHAT YOU
HEARD IS NOT WHAT I MEANT.
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Sender Failures:
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Receiver Failures:
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Nonverbal message characteristics
◦ physical appearance
◦ posture
◦ body position
◦ gestures
◦ touching
◦ facial expression
◦ voice characteristics
 The
importance of nonverbal
messages:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Be direct.
Own your message.
Be complete and specific.
Be clear and consistent.
State your needs and feelings clearly.
Separate fact from opinion.
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7. Focus on one thing at a time.
8. Deliver messages immediately.
9. Avoid hidden agendas.
10. Be supportive.
11. Be consistent with your nonverbal
messages.
12. Reinforce with repetition.
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13. Make messages appropriate to the
receiver’s frame of reference.
14. Look for feedback that your message was
accurately interpreted.
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Active Listening
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Asking questions
Paraphrasing
Attending to main and supporting ideas
Acknowledging and responding
Paying attention to the speaker’s total
communication (verbal and nonverbal)
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Instill + Attitude about active
listening:
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Approaches to
Influencing Behavior
Positive
approach
Negative
approach
Focuses on rewarding
appropriate behavior, which
increases the likelihood of
desirable responses occurring
in the future.
Focuses on punishing
undesirable behaviors, which
should lead to future
redirection of these
inappropriate behaviors.
Approaches to
Influencing Behavior
Most coaches and instructors combine
positive and negative approaches.
Sport psychologists agree that the
predominant approach with physical
activity and sport participants should be
positive because the negative approach
often instills fear in participants.
Positive Reinforcement
1. Choose effective reinforcers
(e.g., social time; fun practice activity).
2. Timing or schedule of reinforcement.
Early learning—continuous and
immediate reinforcement desirable
Learned skill—intermittent and
immediate reinforcement desirable
3. Shape or reinforce successful
approximations of difficult behaviors.
4. Reward performance, as well as
outcome….hitting line drives
(continued)
Positive Reinforcement
5. Reward effort. **********
6. Reward emotional & social skill on &
off the field (good sport; staying in control)
7. Provide knowledge of results
(instructional feedback regarding the
correctness or incorrectness of an
action).
A
positive statement.
 Future-oriented instruction.
 A compliment.
Punishment
Punishment can control and change behavior
but 80 to 90% of communications should be
positive
Drawbacks of punishment