Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 681 - "Communication That Creates Enthusiasm"


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13	Issue 681
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"COMMUNICATION THAT CREATES ENTHUSIASM" John Wooden Video Clip (56 sec.): Coach Wooden is asked: "What is your greatest responsibility as a coach?." Enthusiasm is one of the cornerstones in Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. Whether it is a one-on-one conversation or a speech to a group, the way we communicate with others can increase or decrease their enthusiasm. Many people will tell you that they always felt better after talking with John Wooden. How did he do that? A conversation with Coach was always engaging and never condescending because he was genuinely more interested in you than telling you about himself. If you asked Coach a question, he would directly answer that question concisely and pause, waiting for you to ask your next question. Coach would get on your wavelength, not try to get you on his. If Coach shared a story, it was never about himself but rather about somebody else who had inspired him. His stories were always concise and designed to cause you to think, not to show how smart he was. Coach often shared poetry to inspire you rather than preach about an idea. Coach shared a wonderful poem with me "Tone of Voice" which said in part: "Keep anger not only out of your words – Keep it out of your voice." Coach expanded on this idea in his book My Personal Best, with Steve Jamison: "I was comfortable being a disciplinarian, but did not want to be an ogre. Therefore, when discipline was required, I tried to dole it out in a manner that was firm but fair, with no emotionalism or anger attached. Anger prevents proper thinking and makes you vulnerable. It never got personal, because the purpose of criticism or discipline is not to punish, embarrass or ridicule, but to correct and improve. It is very difficult to antagonize and teach at the same time." A conversation with John Wooden never caused shame. He was nonjudgmental. A conversation with Coach often inspired thought, and you could always feel the love because it was there. What feelings do your communications cause? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 681. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 681. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE The Good Old-Fashioned Parents The good old-fashioned mothers and the good old-fashioned dads, With their good old-fashioned lassies and their good old-fashioned lads, Still walk the lanes of loving in their simple, tender ways, As they used to do back yonder in the good old-fashioned days. They dwell in every city and they live in every town, Contentedly and happy and not hungry for renown; On every street you'll find 'em in their simple garments clad, The good old-fashioned mother and the good old-fashioned dad. There are some who sigh for riches, there are some who yearn for fame, And a few misguided people who no longer blush at shame; But the world is full of mothers, and the world is full of dads; Who are making sacrifices for their little girls and lads. They are growing old together, arm in arm they walk along, And their hearts with love are beating and their voices sweet with song; They still share their disappointments and they share their pleasures, too, And whatever be their fortune, to each other they are true. They are watching at the bedside of a baby pale and white, And they kneel and pray together for the care of God at night; They are romping with their children in the fields of clover sweet, And devotedly they guard them from the perils of the street. They are here in countless numbers, just as they have always been, And their glory is untainted by the selfish and the mean. And I'd hate to still be living, it would dismal be and sad, If we'd no old-fashioned mother and we'd no old-fashioned dad. Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
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