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Aristotle said that man is a “social animal” and a “linguistic animal”. This convention is so anchored in our perception that it is hard to believe when psychologists claim that 90% of our communication is not verbal at all.

The meaning of this fact is simple: we communicate and transmit many messages, without saying a word. Chazal (the ancient Talmudic sages) said that life and death are in the hands of the tongue, but as soon as we realize that 90% of our communication is non-verbal, we must also be aware of the messages that we transmit in our non-verbal communication and how it affects those around us.

How do athletes improve?

Players learn to pass, kick, shoot, attack, stop, change direction, close running lanes, and many other skills. As these skills improve, they become better and more effective in the game. They improve these skills for two reasons:

Non-verbal communication in sport

If psychologists are not wrong and 90% of our communication is effectively non-verbal, why not apply the method of sports improvement even in relation to non-verbal communication? After all, this is a critical skill for team strength, which also affects the field during play, during time-outs or breaks, in the locker room, and in practice. The use of non-verbal communication in the group takes place at each meeting of the team players and throughout the entire match. The responsibility of the players and coaches is also, and perhaps first and foremost, to be self-aware and learn to communicate in a positive way.

Negative body language and team composition.

I believe (mainly in the children’s and youth departments) that a team should let go of a player, no matter how good, if he constantly “poisons” the environment of the group with negative body language. I also believe that a coach, no matter how good, whose body language regularly expresses negative messages to his players, should not coach children and adolescents.

Universal body language

Studies indicate that body language is a universal language that cuts across cultures, genders, or physical limitations. When a blind athlete wins a competition, for example, he raises his hands in the air and looks up, although he has never seen anyone express the joy of winning in this way. When that blind athlete loses, he recovers, drops his shoulders and puts his hands to his face in a gesture of pain. Try to remember how soccer fans respond to the loss of their team; yes, everyone responds in the same way and “grabs the head” with both hands.

The myth of positive body language

There is a false myth, which states that only players with positive body language walk upright, spread their shoulders, look straight and express their feelings with sudden and vigorous movements. This body language, vindicates the myth, expresses a winning attitude and can be seen by looking at renowned winners such as Michael Jordan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. These players are a true role model. But not for everyone.

Body language models

Each person is motivated by different motivations and the difference between people must be respected. Therefore, you also have to accept a different body language: less external, but present. This body language expresses calmness and focus on the action, and is clearly represented by players like Messi, Iniesta, Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. Does anyone suspect that Messi or Tim Duncan are not winners? His teammates have come to know how they express positivity or winning attitude, as has the audience. There is a wide variety of legitimate positive non-verbal body expressions, and each player can find the one that suits them best. What you can no longer do in modern sports is to be unaware of your non-verbal communication or to be aware of your negative non-verbal communication and still stick to it.

Active communication = cohesion

Try the following experiment once: watch a basketball game without sound and pay special attention to the non-verbal communication of the players. Before long you will notice how players communicate using wordless physical gestures: you will often see a player raise his eyebrows to signal to his friend that he is ready for a play. A point guard will turn his chest towards the player to whom he wants to give the ball, half a second before the actual delivery, and thus send him a message that he is ready. The chin and eyes also become effective communication tools when the hands hold the ball. Pay attention to how the shooting players raise their thumbs in the air to mark their thanks after a good assist, or pat on the buttocks. All of these examples demonstrate the efficacy and power of positive nonverbal communication. This type of communication attests to an understanding between the players and a high group cohesion. This good communication can also help an inferior team beat a better team.

Each individual’s body language is derived from their level of self-awareness, personality, and mental abilities. If you know how difficult it is to change physical habits in the game, such as keeping your body low, maintaining stability during the shot and scanning the area before receiving the ball, you will understand how difficult it is to change the built-in subconscious patterns. – body language patterns that we have become accustomed to.

How do you change negative body language?

When a coach or player feels that their body language is negative, they should change it. This change will not only improve the atmosphere in training and games, but it will also improve the team. Anyone who can be supported by a psychologist who specializes in communications should do so.

If you are a coach and cannot assign the players such an escort, you can still drive a change process based on the following points:

1. Psychological understanding: understanding the effect of a particular skill on your game creates motivation to work hard and improve
2. Physical practice: they work hard and therefore improve.
1. Present the importance of team communication in the first training sessions.
2. Learn and diagnose, during the first training sessions, the body language of each player on your team.
3. When you summarize your training sessions, also refer to the energy level. Establish a rating scale for the energy level at which the trainings should take place. When the team fails to reach that index, it reacts decisively.
4. Find videos of players with negative body language and players with positive body language. Show them to your players and analyze the feelings and messages they receive. In the first stage, third-party analyzes are more effective. Find varied examples and try to avoid the classic and familiar, for example, Michael Jordan and Cristiano Ronaldo.
5. Develop a mutual language with your players. After they express their identification with a player with positive body language, remind them, during training sessions, how the player behaves or his name.
6. Movie players who failed to make a change and edited negative body language expressions to create a short clip. Show them the clip in private and discuss your feelings with them. Sometimes such a reflection would do the trick
7. Make it clear that at first they are allowed to feel “fake.” That the gap between what they feel and what they express is legitimate. However, what they express is more important because it affects the team.
8. If the player has not been able to get rid of his negative body language, refer him for professional help and take a clear position on this issue.