The PCA holds positive-coaching seminars for youth sports coaches. At the seminars, trainers use the analogy of an "Emotional Tank" to get coaches to think about the right ratio of praise, support, and critical feedback. "The Emotional Tank is like the gas tank of an automobile. If your car's tank is empty, you can't drive very far. If your Emotional Tank is empty, you are not going to be able to perform at your best."
After the Emotional Tank analogy is introduced, the trainers begin an exercise. First, they ask the coaches to imagine that the person next to them has just flubbed a key play in the game. The coaches are challenged to say something to the person to drain his Emotional Tank. Since clever put-downs are a staple of many sports interactions, this exercise is embraced with noticeable enthusiasm. Thompson [found of the Positive Coaching Alliance] says, "The room fills with laughter as coaches get into the exercise, sometimes with great creativity."
Then the coaches are asked to imagine that someone else has made the same mistake, but now they're in charge of filling that person's Emotional Tank instead of draining it. This generates a more muted response. Thompson says, "The room often gets very quiet and you finally hear a feeble, 'Nice try!'"
Observing their own behavior, the coaches learn the lesson - how they found it easier to criticize than to support, to think of ten clever insults rather than a single consolation. Thompson found a way to transform his point into a testable credential, something the coaches could experience for themselves.
Excerpt from "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath @heathbrothers
Good thing to think about - how are your words effecting others?
~Elizabeth
Tweet to @ElizAnnBauman
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