The following is the preface from the book Coaching Athletes to Be Their Best Relationships matter in sports, and we tend to navigate them through conversation. Everything you say has an impact, for better or worse. The spoken word is that powerful. How to harness the power of words to improve relationships and trust, and to have an impact on motivation and performance, is the aim of motivational interviewing (MI). If you, a coach, decide to do more than keep silent, the skills of MI can help you avoid stumbling or wasting your words. This is the first book on MI in sports, and we use the wor ..read more

Want to hear the oldest joke in Hollywood? Of course you do: On the first day of shooting, a young American actor is unable to get into character. Frantically turning the pages of the script, he moans to the director, “It’s no use! I just don’t know how to approach this scene, it’s just too problematic! In this scene, my character leaves and goes to the bathroom. But what’s my character’s thought process for going to the bathroom at that moment? The Director, baffled, responds: To use it, I should think. Actor: Yes, but what’s my motivation as an actor? Director: Your paycheck. The joke’s punc ..read more