Once the players realize that listening is a skill and they see you habitually demonstrate your mastery of that skill, they ll listen, too. Have the players perform the skill. When players use poor communication skills, take a second to remind them of your expectations. Tell them how a current situation could have been handled more maturely, respectfully and profitably. Reinforce proper execution.
Effective communication takes time to learn.
Praise the players for speaking effectively whether they are helping on defense, shouting encouragement from the bench or bringing up questions in team meetings. There s nothing wrong with complimenting a player for introducing an important subject and even for phrasing a question well. The Communication Process Delivery Getting the message out. Tell players to think a moment before they speak. They may avoid an embarrassing retraction.