"Coaching is about communication"
Susie Meyers, October 26, 2015
Realizing the power of words and how a person communicates ideas has radically
changed my approach to helping people learn. Words are the most powerful form of
communication. Painting a picture with words and being careful with the use of
words can help a student’s progress. My vocabulary has been examined and created
based upon what works to get the desired goals.
People are smart and they are also talented. My job as an instructor is to bring out
of them what they already have and know. My goal is to help them develop their
skills in a safe and positive environment. I have used the Socratic method in many of
my sessions with golfers. The Socratic method is simply a dialogue between teacher
and student using questions in an effort to examine one’s beliefs. Using questions to
draw out of a golfer what he/she believes has been very useful in discovering what
is helping them or holding them back. Everything starts in the mind so what a
person believes will dictate the actions of that person.
If you want to learn anything, begin by asking a question. To figure out what a
person believes and why they do what they do in their golf stroke, you must first
find out what thoughts they are using in their mind. By engaging in the Socratic
method, the ideas flow back and forth with no judgments and it is the student’s
choice as to what they want to hold on to and incorporate into their game.