I sometimes think it is ironic that John Maxwell once played basketball and that he still studies some of the coaches and players and utilizes what he has learned in his teaching since so many of his thoughts have made in impact in how I coach and what we do in our program. When Allison Hightower was recently interviewed after being drafted by the Connecticut Sun she was asked her favorite book and she replied, "Talent is Never Enough." I smiled because that was our team's assigned reading last year.In his recent book, "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect," he goes into great detail about the methods of us properly communicating. His thoughts include:
"Connecting increases your influence in every situation."
"According to experts, we are bombarded with thirty-five thousand messages a day."
"Talk is easy. Everybody talks. The question is, how can you make your words count? How can you really communicate with others?"
Is there anything more important for us in coaching/teaching than communication? That's why this is such a special book. In the beginning of the book, Maxwell talks about three things needed for effective communication.
When we try to communicate, we must include:
• Thought: something we know
• Emotion: something we feel
• Action: something we do
• Emotion: something we feel
• Action: something we do
Maxwell believes those three components are essential to connect with others as well. Fail to include any one of the three and there will be a disconnection from people and a breakdown in communication. More specifically, here’s how he thinks the breakdown would occur. If I try to communicate:
• Something I know but do not feel, my communication is dispassionate.
• Something I know but do not do, my communication is theoretical.
• Something I feel but do not know, my communication is unfounded.
• Something I feel, but do not do, my communication is hypocritical.
• Something I do but do not know, my communication is presumptuous.
• Something I do but do not feel, my communication is mechanical.
• Something I know but do not do, my communication is theoretical.
• Something I feel but do not know, my communication is unfounded.
• Something I feel, but do not do, my communication is hypocritical.
• Something I do but do not know, my communication is presumptuous.
• Something I do but do not feel, my communication is mechanical.
As I mentioned earlier, I've been given copies of "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect," from Thomas Nelson Publishing. I must remind everyone that NCAA rules prohibit me from giving them away to high school coaches, AAU coaches and prospective student-athletes (one day I may blog about some of these NCAA rules!). But in honor of John Maxwell's love for basketball, we will utilize a basketball contest to give away two of these outstanding books.
With game 7 in front of us tonight, we will utilize that for our contest. Pick a winner and a point total for the winning team and email it to me at: rstarke@lsu.edu. Your predictions must be emailed to me no later than 7 PM CST. We will take the two predictions that come closest and those people will win a copy of the book.
