Brett Rutledge Editorial September 2011

It’s September, Editorial readers, and across Australia and New Zealand that translates into a massive sporting month with both AFL and NRL Grand Finals about to be played in Australia and a Rugby World Cup in full swing in New Zealand. So, what better time to look at aspects of communication that have played (and continue to play) a critical role in sporting success both on and off the field?

While, as always, I am happy to throw a few brickbats around where required let’s start with a bouquet for the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony, a quick list of what makes up the components of getting sporting messages across effectively and then we will finish with some amusing sporting communication stuff-ups from the guys responsible for its translation – the commentators.

Let’s kick off!

The Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony

Major sporting events these days always seem to come with lavish opening ceremonies but the impact doesn’t always match the budget dedicated to them. I have to say that the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony exceeded all expectations. It was a dazzling display of emotion, history and beauty.

The last time New Zealand hosted the Rugby World Cup, in 1987, the players were unpaid, the stadium was half-empty and the highlight of the opening ceremony was a performance by a local band of marching girls. Not so this time – 60,000 people filled the stadium, hundreds of thousands more filled the city and they were all treated to some delightful story telling and spectacular visual effects.

The event, a thematic mix of Maori tradition and rugby heritage, focused around a massive circular screen stuck to the centre of the field. It framed a torrent of images – animated Maori koru symbols became a sea of yachts, menacing hammerhead sharks and a tracking shot through the landscape of New Zealand that looked as though it might have been spliced together from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings out-takes.

Along the way, lava-like imagery hinted at the volcanic terrain upon which Auckland is built – in a country acutely aware of the seismic potential of its land. The shadow of the tragedy of Christchurch was addressed in the red and black stripes of Ethan Bai, the schoolboy tasked with embodying the amateur roots of the game. A Billy Elliot on the right wing, Bai bounded about a miniature field, grasping a rugby ball half his size, fending off the challenges of a hundred or so burly blokes before being hoist 20 metres aloft.

The depth of meaning in Ethan facing and overcoming his challenges was unmistakeable. And then Ethan approached the imposing silhouette of the promised “mystery sporting legend”. The silhouette belonged, as just about anyone, not least Mike Catt, could tell you, to Jonah Lomu, the towering former All Black of Tongan descent. “Do it for Christchurch, my friend,” said the veteran to the rookie, as Ethan dotted the giant glowing egg over the line.

Soon it was time, as tradition dictates, for “The World in Union”, this time accompanied by battalions of Pacific drums and ukuleles, and hundreds dancing around a seven-metre high replica of the Webb Ellis Cup.

As a volley of fireworks cascaded over the stadium, city and waterfront, the crowd roared and the team in charge of the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony got a new benchmark to beat.

Great stuff, New Zealand.

Good Communication in Sports

Good communication skills in sports are among the most important ingredients contributing to the performance and growth of exercise and sport participants. The purposes of sporting communication vary considerably and can include persuasion, evaluation, information, motivation and problem solving. What each of those purposes has in common, however, is that the communication tends to be intensely personal. Any critique or comment made to a sporting participant is always received as being as much about them as it is about their sporting performance. They have a passion for what they do and, as a result, they take their sport very seriously. Consequently, there are some keys to sending messages effectively:

1. Be direct.

2. Be complete and specific.

3. Be clear and consistent.

4. State your needs and feelings clearly.

5. Separate fact from opinion.

6. Focus on one thing at a time.

7. Deliver messages immediately.

8. Avoid hidden agendas.

9. Be consistent with nonverbal messages (expressions, body language, gestures)

10. Reinforce with repetition.

11. Make the messages appropriate to the receiver’s level of understanding.

12. Look for feedback that your message was received accurately.

When these 12 components are ignored or forgotten the communication in sport breaks down very quickly and with it the relationships required to be successful.

What I Meant To Say Was…

Sport arouses the passions like none other and George Orwell probably best sums up the dark side of it:

“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words: it is war minus the shooting.”

But George was commenting on sport and general – much funnier are the guys who have to comment on specific sporting events while caught up in that hatred, jealousy, boastfulness and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. Here are some of their better efforts:

“And here’s Moses Kiptanui, the 19 year old Kenyan, who turned 20 a few weeks ago.” (David Coleman)

“We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite.” (Murray Walker)

Jimmy Hill: “Don’t sit on the fence Terry. What chance do you think Germany has of getting through? Terry Venables: “I think it’s 50-50.”

“Watch the time. It gives you an indication of how fast they are running.” (Ron Pickering)

“A brain Scan revealed that Andrew Caddick is not suffering from stress fracture of the shin.” (Jo Sheldon)

“That’s inches away from being millimetre perfect.” (Ted Lowe)

“I can’t tell who’s leading. It’s either Oxford or Cambridge.” (John Snagge – Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge)

“The Queen’s Park Oval, exactly as its name suggests, is absolutely round.” (Tony Crozier)

“He’s pulling him off! The Spanish manager is pulling his captain off!” (RTE’s George Hamilton on Spain manager Luis Suarez’s substitution of Butragueno during their world cup qualifier with Ireland in Seville,1992)

“Bill Frindal has done a bit of mental arithmetic with a calculator” (John Arlott)

He dribbles a lot and the opposition don’t like it – you can see it all over their faces.’ (Ron Atkinson)

‘Ah, isn’t that nice, the wife of the Cambridge president is kissing the cox of the Oxford crew.’ (Harry Carpenter – BBC TV Boat Race 1977)

‘Here we are in the Holy Land of Israel – a Mecca for tourists.’ (David Vine)

‘Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they’ve got eleven Dicks on the field.’ (Metro Radio)

‘For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip’ (John Motson)

‘Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to hang in the air for even longer.’ (David Acfield)

‘These greens are so fast they must bikini wax them’ (Gary McCord on the greens at Augusta)

Seriously…get in touch

Whomever you barrack for the best of luck in your sporting team and/or idols endeavors over the next month and I hope it is a successful one for you. Feel free to drop me a line to crow about your vicarious victories!.

See you next month.

The Articulate CEO’ is continuing in 2011 with a mix of podcasts, video and blog to highlight communication successes as well as mistakes in the business world and what we can do to learn from them. If there is anything you would like to see highlighted in terms of content then please let me know and I will do my best to address it for you.