Transcript

BEN OAKLEY

When I'm meeting a large group of new students, I make sure I greet people at the door. I'm trying to create a welcoming atmosphere, setting an enthusiastic tone that, together, we've got an interesting time coming up. I want people to connect with each other and the team running the sessions, so I figure I need to model a good example of this from the start.

I try to be authentic in my communication. I try to be myself, saying occasional words like, "welcome, do come in," to people at the door and looking people in the eye. And I also attempt to smile a lot. I say attempt, since I've seen pictures of me at work, and sometimes I look very severe and grumpy. So I'm still working at being more approachable.

Then I have a little routine. I deliberately share personal information to help establish connection and some empathy with the audience. I say something like, "A few decades ago, I was just sat where you are. I was initially very nervous, but gradually, I realised I enjoyed the challenge of coaching." I give some personal experiences of my coaching influences and journey and my family. However, I'm careful not to go OTT. I just think it helps build rapport if people know a little bit about you.

I talk about one of the most powerful learning resources being the people in the room, the range of experiences they have when combined and used in discussions. I'm trying to show that I value their ideas and varied experiences in different sports.

I then ask a series of easy, non-threatening questions to show my familiarity and empathy with the audience. They're mainly demographic questions, like, "How many of you have about two or three years of coaching experience, or more than that, or less?" Another one might be, "Find someone near to you who you don't know, and chat about what the greatest influence on their coaching has been."

What I aim to do is sow three seeds in their mind. First, that their responses are an expected part of our sessions. Second, that each person can see that there are others like me in the room. Finally, I want the group to see the diversity of different backgrounds and interests in the audience.