Competent Communicator

            For this assignment, I chose my son’s hockey coach.  I believe that Coach John is a competent communicator both on and off the ice.  When on the ice with the children, he has a “fun” tone to his voice, which keeps the children engaged.  One can hear the excitement and encouragement in his voice when working with the children.  When some of the children are not listening or playing around, Coach John takes a firm voice with them.  He does not yell at them, but the children know they need to stop when Coach John changes his tone.  I would love for some teachers to observe him and notice his tones, words of encouragement, and interactions with the children.  A few could learn how to appropriately interact and talk to children from him. 

            Very importantly, Coach John shows the children what he wants them to do.  This is a very important communication skill especially with children.  As he is talking about the drills he wants the children to run, he is running them at the same time.  This helps both the visual and auditory learners.  If children do not understand, he takes the time to ensure that everyone understands. 

            Parents are constantly asking him how their children are doing and if they are improving.  Coach John has a wonderful way of giving parents constructive criticism.  He always leads and ends with the positives with negatives sandwiched in the middle.  He is kind yet honest when talking about the negatives. 

            I would like to model some of my communication after Coach John.  I believe I could improve my tone of voice from time to time.  As with most people, my tone usually conveys my feelings.  Although I have learned that sometimes I do come across differently and my tone does not match my communication.  Learning from Coach John, I need to ensure my tone matches my communication.  Also within my line of work, I am in the position of delivering praise and criticism.  I know I need to continually improve my delivery of both and to ensure that I sandwich something negative between positives.