The 3 C’s of Coaching

The importance of communication with your athletes and your colleagues was a recurrent theme throughout the presentations and discussions at the Global Coaches House. The basis of communication is the 3 C’s.

Connect – Get the athlete’s attention.  Know the athlete. Know their attentional style and preferred communication mode. Remember connection is not just verbal, it is non-verbal; body language can send a strong powerful message to connect or disconnect.

Convey – The message must clear, no nuance or hidden messages. Let the athlete know clearly what the message is in a language they can understand and translate into action.

Convince – The goal of the communication is to convince the athlete or professional colleague to act. If the message is clear and the intention is defined this should be a logical outcome of connecting and conveying.

Good coaches use the 3 C’s constantly without thinking about it. They get it because intuitively they know that communication is the cornerstone of successful coaching. It is not what you know; it is how you communicate what you know and elicit the desired action.