"The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives."
Anthony Robbins
So often what we say is not with words, but with actions. I watch how other people communicate. I love to pick up new ideas whether they be good or bad.
Watching the game of basketball and watching how coaches and players interact you can see how communication works with effective teams.
My college coach, Don Meyer (the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history), would hammer us on communicating on and off the floor. We were to be accountable to each other involving each aspect of the program.
People ask me how Coach Meyer handled situations with discipline or with guys being late to stuff. To my recollection it didn’t happen. He made us so accountable to each other and such good communicators with each other we kept each other on time and out of trouble.
Studies show that a lot of communication is non-verbal. I tell our players that they determine the practice we are going to have most days by their approach once they come out of the locker room and onto the floor. If they have a days worth of problems on their shoulders it will show. If they come with a zip in their step and a smile on their face it will show also.
You can watch coaches, parents, teacher or anyone in a place of authority to see how they communicate. Do they do it in a positive or negative manner. How about you? Is it something you need to work on?
For me it is a daily challenge. I love to be faced with someone who is positive. I don’t do well with negative people. I have to work on being the kind of communicator that can communicate non-verbal and verbal messages in a positive manner, but it does take work. I don’t want to make it a New Year’s resolution because those usually go by the wayside so instead I am making it a goal with myself, my family and my team.
