Communication Coaching For Performance
Step 1: Resources
Please review each of these resources thoroughly to assist you with completing your Action Worksheet
Step 2: Questions
After watching this video:
Reflect on your own levels of listing in your work life.
How might outcomes been different if you had used a higher level of listening?
Think of your own work team.
What powerful questions do you think would be the most useful and why?

Watch the Video!
Adjust the volume or pause the video to meet your needs.
Step 3: Exercise
Brainstorm three ideas of changes you can make to your communication or coaching. If you are stuck check the list of samples below.
- Try using a powerful question when delivering difficult messages. i.e. What do you recommend to get the ______ outcome.
- Set aside time for conversations to avoid distractions when someone is talking to you and try to focus on non verbal cues
- Ensure communication is received as intended by checking in to make information is received accurately.
Step 4: Summary
A 1972 study found that communication is 55% nonverbal. Attitudes and body language play a large factor in how information is received.
Mehrabian, A. (1972). Nonverbal Communication. New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction.
- Level 1: Internal Listening (Focused on Self) In this level, the listener is focused on themselves and their reactions to what the speaker is saying. …
- Level 2: Focused Listening (Focused on Other) …
- Level 3: Global Listening (Focused on context, and what isn’t being said)
It is important to understand the stages of communication below to ensure that messages are being received as indented. Communication is cyclical meaning is is not just pushing information out. Feedback is crucial for successful communication.
- Sender: This is the person who is expressing information, be it verbally or nonverbally.
- Message: The message is the information that the sender expresses.
- Encoding: This is how the sender conveys their message–the gestures, tone of voice or other pragmatics the speaker uses to convey the message.
- Channel: This is also known as the ”medium” of communication, whether it is oral or via media like video/news articles.
- Receiver: The sender directs their message toward the receiver. Receivers collect the information and try to decode, or understand, it .
- Decoding: This is the way the receiver interprets the message, translating the sender’s syntax, pragmatics and semantics into thoughts.
- Feedback: Feedback is the way the receiver responds to the message.
You would use a Prescriptive type of coaching when you have a specific skill or task that someone is required to execute without environmental changes. This style of coaching is also less time consuming and therefore more affordable then environmental coaching.
You would use Environmental Coaching when you want someone to be able to adapt to changes that may arise and effect how they execute their skills or tasks. Although this is a more expensive and time consuming, it builds capacity less direction is required when environmental factors come into play and builds transferable critical thinking skills.
Step 5: Action Worksheet
Complete the Action Worksheet and submit a copy to your supervisor.
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