Importance of Body Language in Sport
Published May 21, 2023, 12:20 p.m. by Naomi Charles
Language is a critical part of any sport. It is a tool that athletes use to communicate with their teammates and coaches, and it can be the difference between winning and losing.
Body language is a nonverbal form of communication that can be just as important as the words you say. It can reveal your true feelings and intentions, and it can be used to influence the actions of others.
Good body language in sport can be the difference between winning and losing. It can help you to communicate your intentions and feelings, and it can also be used to influence the actions of your opponents.
Here are some tips for using body language to your advantage in sport:
1. Make eye contact.
Eye contact is a powerful form of nonverbal communication. It can convey confidence, authority, and intention. When you make eye contact with your opponents, you are telling them that you are ready to compete.
2. Stand up straight.
Your posture conveys a lot about your state of mind. Standing up straight with your shoulders back conveys confidence, while slouching conveys insecurity and lack of focus.
3. Use facial expressions.
Facial expressions are a great way to communicate your emotions without saying a word. A smile can convey happiness and confidence, while a frown can convey frustration and anger.
4. Use hand gestures.
Hand gestures can be used to emphasize your point or to direct the attention of your opponents. Pointing at your opponents can be seen as a challenge, while waving your hands in the air can be used to distract them.
5. Move your body.
Your body language should match your words. If you are saying something positive, your body language should reflect that. For example, if you are telling your team that they can win, your body language should be enthusiastic and excited.
Using body language to your advantage in sport can give you a competitive edge. Pay attention to the way you carry yourself and the way you interact with your opponents, and you will be able to use body language to your advantage.
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okay have a look at these body language
examples what's what tell
up there okay okay so tell me what are
some common body language gestures that
you know about okay now you tell me what
they mean yeah I'd agree with that
what else what are some other body
language gestures that you know about
yeah absolutely
what about this one it's one of the
really common ones few people do that
today
it's a guarded gesture it's called an
arm barrier and a lot of our body
language gestures are instinctive and
this one in particular is designed to
protect your vital organs okay
now does it mean that if you've got your
arms folded that you perhaps closed off
or negative for not listening or what do
you think what does it mean it might be
comfortable it could be because it's
cold now if it is cold then it's
probably reasonable for people to be you
know standing like this or sitting like
that yeah and you're going to be able to
tell now whether it means that you are
actually closed off or negative or as
you know Jason says it may feel
comfortable like that but the question
is why is it comfortable okay so here's
the thing so here's the thing because
most people have a fairly limited
knowledge of body language and their
respective gestures most people know
that gesture to be exactly as you
described it okay so if you were to
audit yourself right now now as your
body language what's it say about you
because how much of the communication
process or package is body language 55%
so what is your body language say about
you right now what's it actually
communicating to me because you're never
not communicating something you've
always got something to communicate and
if you're not saying anything then it's
being communicated through your
body language in particular okay and is
it the message that you want to be
giving off now I know it may be and
obviously your body language gestures
where did you learn them there they are
innate I mean who's got young kids here
I know a few of you got kids you're
young kids you see if you can relate to
this story like what both my daughter's
but when they would do something that
was they knew was naughty what our young
kids do when they do something that they
know is naughty they try and hide okay
yeah they literally they'll make
themselves look smaller but they when
they're young they'll actually try and
hide they will literally crawl under the
table or hide under the bed or do
something like that true they will
literally hide now when we're adults we
can't do that
it's not appropriate like if you're
sitting in a coaches meeting and you're
in trouble oh yeah Dean come on out from
under the table you know we know you did
the wrong thing okay you can't do that
anymore so when we become adult
our gestures are not obtuse like they
are when we're kids they become more you
know minut more small and so instead of
crawling under the table and hiding what
do we do instead we make ourselves look
smaller we sort of slink away we might
slump down into our seat because it's
the same thing and most people do not
even know that they're doing this and so
most people and not overly conscious
about the gestures that they're giving
off at any given time and yet most of us
know what some of these gestures mean
they did an interesting study just
talking about this one alone you know
folded arms okay so they had half the
auditorium sit in a purposefully folded
arms position they had half of the
auditorium sit in an open body language
position and they gave them a passage of
information which they had to comprehend
and recall which side of the room do you
think recalled that information the best
the open one
how come it goes back to that YouTube
clip that I'm gonna really want you to
look at your physiology impacts your
psychology impacts your emotional state
what you do with your body
what happens with your mind what happens
with your emotions are all linked
together they can't not be you're a
system you change one thing what happens
in the system you change one thing in
the system it changes something else and
everything is impact that's the
definition of what a system is is that
make sense now you know if you guys were
if you if you all had office jobs where
you didn't have to interact with a group
of people almost on a continual basis
especially a group of young males who
you know yeah I may want to see an
authority for you or at least you got to
look like you know what you're talking
about don't you what do you think
because if they see through you if they
see that you're not confident if they
don't see you as a credible individual
to listen to you what chance do you have
zero okay zero no matter how much
knowledge you have no matter how much
technical expertise you you have no much
no matter how much sort of perhaps
background in the sport you have from a
playing career perspective you know and
that's what we call coaching presence
you
