Trust in communication

My twitter profile includes the following quote:  

Trust is the glue of life, 

the most essential ingredient 

in effective communication. 

Trust is the foundational principle 

that holds all relationships together.

Have you ever participated in the ice breaker activity where the leader whispers something to the first person in line followed by that message being conveyed to everyone else by whisper one at a time?  The last person then speaks the message out loud followed by the leader sharing what the actual message was. Yes, the message invariably changes from the first person to the last.  The changes may (or may not) be significant in nature, but changes will almost certainly occur.

I was witness to such a phenomenon recently where I as the leader conveyed a message that was then changed significantly in the retelling of it. When in the retelling a message is changed it might occur quite honestly and simply. The message might be changed to embellish the actual truth - The movie Sergeant York contains a great example of this. And sometimes the message might be changed intentionally either in an attempt to protect one's self or bring harm to another.

All of these examples occur in team sports. The movie Remember the Titans contains an example of intentionally misconveyed information that sees "Rev" become injured. In baseball we see "missed"signs.  In soccer it might be something as simple as instruction over which way to force an attacker that brings confusion to the defense and results in a goal allowed.These are some of the reasons we teach players to be concise and precise in their communications. Short and sweet. Simple, on point and directly to the point.

Arrow
Stick
Force right
Force left
Line
Square
Drop
Diagonal
Channel
Close down
Contain
Feet
Space
In-swinging
Out-swinging
Step

All examples of concise and precise communication that is difficult to misconstrue or misunderstand. And because it is difficult to misunderstand the information being shared the requisite trust to make it effective is inherently present.  Like any other facet of the game, communication must be practiced and trained for. Be diligent in this pursuit to bring out the best in your team.