Are you experienced in sport or fitness, either as a participant or working in the sector, perhaps as a coach? Are you inquisitive about some of the hidden ‘people skills’ that seemingly make some people particularly credible in their role?In this free course, Communication and working relationships in sport and fitness, you will boost your ability to vary your communication approach according to the situation and the needs of the people involved. You will accelerate your learning from experience by placing yourself in others’ shoes during vivid video examples. These film clips show effective and ineffective communication in action, including spoken and non-verbal behaviour. You will examine a range of communication practices which will help you to build rapport and to deal better with a range of situations, including written communication. If you think interacting with others should be completely intuitive, we'll offer you a range of activities which will suggest how thinking about your communication approach is worthwhile. You will interpret video examples of communication where things go well and not so well, including peoples’ dialogue under pressure. Your assessment of these will help you begin to develop your communication skills; these skills are the range of abilities, knowledge and personal qualities involved in effective communication.The course is introduced by award-winning journalist Sue Mott and Open University academic and former Olympic coach Ben Oakley.TranscriptThanks to Waltham Forest Council for allowing us to film at their Feel Good Centre.Other audios and videos feature well-known sport professionals, including footballer Rachel Williams and Olympic cyclist turned racing driver Sir Chris Hoy.The course is supported and strongly recommended by UK Coaching. Whether you're just starting out or have been coaching for many years you will learn new skills and demonstrate that you have been proactive in your professional development.By understanding communication and working relationships you will start to identify aspects that might contribute to your own development, whether that be in sport or life in general. Working through this course will help you to gain the inside knowledge to impress in any job applications or at interviews.Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Please be aware that there is some bad language in some of the video content. Due to the nature of the subject, this isn't always censored. Where bad language occurs, there is a note before the video to inform you of this.The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course. We welcome your feedback 380 and suggestions to improve the course. Other organisations using this course The Professional Golfers Association 381 (PGA): PGA Professionals will be credited with 50 CPD points by The PGA for successful completion of this course. This course is supported and recommended by sportscotland. This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction and guidance
- Introduction and guidance
- What is a badged course?
- How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- Session1Session 1: What are the purposes of communication?
- Introduction
- 1 Life and death communication in motor racing
- 2 What is the point of small talk?
- 3 More than words
- 4 Non-verbal communication in action
- 5 Gestures
- 6 Proximity
- 7 Eye contact
- 8 This session’s quiz
- 9 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session2Session 2: Impact and getting your message across
- Introduction
- 1 Applying your learning: communication in motor racing
- 2 To speak or write?
- 3 Developing an effective message
- 4 Structuring messages
- 5 On show: work as a performance
- 6 This session’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session3Session 3: How can effective communication enhance relationships?
- Introduction
- 1 Applying your learning: learning from medical staff
- 2 Assessing your skills
- 3 The person-centred approach
- 4 Exploring what person-centred means
- 5 How would you react?
- 6 Active listening: more than paying attention
- 7 What makes someone a poor listener?
- 8 A better experience of listening?
- 9 This session’s quiz
- 10 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session4Session 4: What helps in connecting with others?
- Introduction
- 1 Applying your learning: learning from doctors
- 2 Minimal encouragers in conversations
- 3 What else matters in brief encounters?
- 4 How does unconscious bias affect relationships?
- 5 How much of yourself should you reveal?
- 6 Your progress using the course map
- 7 This session’s quiz
- 8 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session5Session 5: How can you become more influential?
- Introduction
- 1 Land the message
- 2 What makes messages more persuasive?
- 3 Making your messages more memorable
- 4 How can you make a concise case?
- 5 Supporting agreement and action
- 6 Hedging and boosting words
- 7 Test your ability to spot appropriate language
- 8 This session’s quiz
- 9 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session6Session 6: When does harsh feedback become bullying?
- Introduction
- 1 Feedback in a motor racing team
- 2 How does workplace culture affect feedback?
- 3 When does tough coaching become bullying?
- 4 Exploring three feedback principles
- 5 How can personalised feedback be developed?
- 6 This session’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session7Session 7: Power and its impact on the communication process
- Introduction
- 1 Coaching child athletes
- 2 How might power imbalances hinder communication?
- 3 Potential disputes: using your interpersonal skills
- 4 Watch two approaches to a dispute
- 5 The telephone: a help or hindrance?
- 6 This session’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Session8Session 8: Topical aspects of communication
- Introduction
- 1 Is emotional intelligence a useful idea?
- 2 A coach’s story: emotional regulation
- 3 Social media communication in sport workplaces
- 4 Tips from the sports medicine community
- 5 Final course reflection
- 6 This session’s quiz
- 7 Summary
- Where next?
- Tell us what you think
- References
- Acknowledgements
