Research Paper on "Non-Verbal Communication in Athletic Competition"

Research Paper 8 pages (2750 words) Sources: 8

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Nonverbal Communication

Non-Verbal Communication in Athletic Competition

Non-verbal communication (or NVC) is carried on through presentational codes such as gestures, eye movements, or qualities of voice. These codes can give messages only about the here and now. My tone of voice can indicate my present attitude to my subject and listener: it cannot send a message about my feelings last week. Presentational codes, then, are limited to face-to-face communication or communication when the communicator is present. They have two functions.

The first, as we have seen, is to convey indexical information. This is information about the speaker and his or her situation through which the listener learns about her or his identity, emotions, attitudes, social position, and so on. The second function is interaction management. The codes are used to manage the sort of relationship the encoder wants with the other (Sullivan, 2009). By using certain gestures, posture, and tone of voice, I can attempt to dominate my fellows, be conciliatory towards them or shut myself off from them. I can use codes to indicate that I have finished speaking and it is someone else's turn, or to indicate my desire to terminate the meeting. These codes are still, in a sense, indexical, but they are used to convey information about the relationship rather than about the speaker (Nunnaly, 1970).

People enjoy watching sports. And sports are almost always about nonverbal communication. They may be the greatest instance of nonverbal communication on hand -- and their reputation may be the effect of their intense use of nonverbal communication.

Sports Are a Universal Nonverbal Language

The World Cup. The SuperBowl. Wimbledon. The Olympic Games. What is it concerning sports that bring in so many people?

Undoubtedly, there is a component of physical attraction to some fans' interest. But a large amount modern cultures are not as fixated -- at least not so honestly -- on physical attractiveness as the earliest Greeks were.

The application may have a little more to do with straightforwardness and the clearness that sports offer. As one prominent Manhattan commercial attorney said, "The higher I get in my career, talking corporate transactions so complex that no one in reality knows everything that's happening, the more I long to watch a Yankees game when I get home. There's a lot less B.S. Jeter is secure or he's out. That's it." As a consequence, athletes take for granted metaphoric roles that obey the rules to primary nonverbal messages. At the summit of public regard, we have athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Magic Johnson -- who unite above-average skills with outstanding discipline and work ethics to express a nonverbal message of humbleness and reliability. A stride (or several) underneath, we have Kobe Bryant, Terrell Owens and Allen Iverson -- great people who struggle to find their best feat. At the base, we have neurotics and hard cases like Dennis Rodman, Rickey Williams and Mike Tyson (Timmers et al. 2008) strange characters who fritter away the public's good will on decadent behavior. People need models of human conduct and these athletes, much as superstars in general, fill that need. This why, at the height of the Cold the most famous human being in world was the heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali (Pedhazur, 2002). The President of the U.S. And the Secretary General of the U.S.S.R. may have had control over the nuclear missiles, however they were obscure sorts. (at any rate until Ronald Reagan -- a swimmer turned actor turned politician -- came to power in the U.S.)in numerous cases, athletic celebrities criticize about being strained to take action as role models…when all they want to do is engage in recreation and games. This makes complete sense; on the athletic arenas, these people are gods of every nuance and sign. Off the field…well, they're as misplaced as you would be as a nickel back brought in to circulation man-two exposure against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Nevertheless role models they stay. There's a rationale for why people expend so much money on imitation jerseys and outfits of their preferred athletes. Average people want to have a piece of the elegance or humility or erratic brilliance or absolute freakishness of those players (Timmers et al. 2008).

The Power of Nonverbal Communication

Together with the quarterback and running back, one more example was a football player who had the edgy tendency of flexing his fingers prior to a play at the line of tussle when he was the most important receiver. And when he was not, barely ever flexed his fingers in expectation of catching the football. Word about this nonverbal trait rapidly spread and, for the duration of the twilight of his career, the receiver caught dreadfully few passes for the reason that he was directly guarded on passing plays.

Baseball Is Full of Nonverbal Cues

Nonverbal communication in sports has been around for the duration and history of games and long as they have been played. In baseball, it is the nonverbal link between pitcher and catcher that covers positive outcomes in a game. When the two of them are in coordination, the game is in fine hands. It has been repeatedly said, "that behind each first-class pitcher, there is an important person situated precisely 60 feet 6 inches away, catching his throws (Pedhazur, 2002).The catcher nonverbally corresponds with the pitcher how a batter is reacting to the pitches by how they shift their feet. If a pitcher is to be victorious, he ought to be on the same page with the catcher in nonverbally reading every one of the batters. It is more often than not the catcher who nonverbally communicates his self-assurance in the pitcher to chuck a particular pitch; one that the pitcher might not have great self-assurance in throwing. And when it happens to be victorious, the pitcher's self-confidence is significantly increased: Winning a baseball game is time and again the result of such nonverbal self-reliance between a catcher and pitcher (Kneidinger, et al. 2009).

Casual audiences often don't become conscious of the catcher's importance to the baseball team's general success. Besides catching the base-ball, he in addition calls which pitch is to be flung. He in addition teaches the fielders where they ought to stand to have the most excellent chance of catching a particular player's hits. In baseball, it is imperative for fans to understand that pitchers know pitching, but catchers are acquainted with hitters.

In a few games, when the pitcher does not have the customary zip to his fastball or dip to his curves, the team still turns out to be victorious. On such days, the majority of pitchers will tell you they attained the victory exclusively because the catcher did a fine job of nonverbally interpreting the hitters and knew which throw to pitch and at what mark in the batter's box. There are times when a catcher gets to be acquainted with a pitcher's ability better than a manager or a pitching coach. And accordingly, the catcher may persuade a manager or pitching coach to permit a pitcher to face a perilous batter at a decisive time in a game as an alternative to replacing him with an additional pitcher. Such a state of affairs occurred more than a few years ago during a vital World Series game. The bases were laden in the late innings in a tied game and the manager walked out of the dugout fully certain it was time to switch pitchers. As is customary in such state of affairs, there is a lot of talk on the pitcher's mound as the new pitcher gets time to limber up in the bullpen. The umpires are conscious of the coming up game taking place and over again will walk to the mound to speed up matters. When this occurs, the manager has just moments to indicate a new pitcher into the game, or permit the pitcher to continue in the game. And a catcher who has self-confidence in the pitcher's ability can pressure the manager's choice. The most horrible thing that can take place to a pitcher is when he begins to mislay coolness in his pitches (Pedhazur, 2002). When this happens it isn't the pitching coach, manager or any other player who helps the pitcher recover the lost confidence, it's the catcher: The one who catches the smolder in the pitches and the only one who can reinstate a pitcher's confidence. In that vital World Series game, following a great deal of thought by the manager, he determined to go after the catcher's advice and permitted the pitcher to stay in the game. His choice turned out to be wise (Kneidinger, et al. 2009) for the reason that the next batter hit into a dual play that finished the game and in the end lead to winning the World Series. In all athletic competitions, there is no sport that employs more nonverbal communication than baseball. Prior to every pitch is made, the catcher… READ MORE

How to Reference "Non-Verbal Communication in Athletic Competition" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

What Factors Influence a Youth's Decision to Withdrawal From a Sport Research Proposal

YOUTH'S DECISION to WITHDRAW FROM a SPORT

To Have Fun"

The number one reason a youth relates that he/she participates in a sport "is to have fun" Seefeldt, Ewing, and… read more

Research Proposal 20 pages (6240 words) Sources: 17 Style: APA Topic: Sports / Exercise / Fitness

---

Gender Differences in Communication Journal

Gender Differences in Communication

The idea that men and women communicate in different ways is not a new one. In fact, a successful series of books about inter-gender communication goes… read more

Journal 2 pages (758 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Coaching Skills Essay

Coaching

Keeping the Unique Relationship: Coaching

Like teachers, coaches are often some of the most influential people in the lives of students, athletes, and competitors. Taken outside of the home,… read more

Essay 3 pages (1006 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Leadership / Mentoring

---

Customer Centricity Thesis

Customer Centricity - Literature Review

Literature on this kind of topic is significant, for reviewing it can give a good idea of everything that has taken place. It becomes necessary… read more

Thesis 20 pages (6336 words) Sources: 10 Style: Harvard Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

Salesperson Prospect Interaction Dyadic Term Paper

Salesperson - Customer Interaction

Taxonomy of Salesperson -Customer Interaction

The intent of this analysis of current research on salesperson and customer interactions includes the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships, an overview… read more

Term Paper 19 pages (8207 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>