High Performance Leadership

Alex Caan

Who I am

The Athletic Communicator

The body

The breath

Words

Body language

Verbal Communication

Self confidence

The Power of Words

A former high jumper, I competed internationally for nearly a decade

I studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

I have worked extensively in theatre and television and film

I teach athletic presentation skills using a combination of sport and drama training

I have coached, international sports people from a variety of sports

I am the National Event Coach for High Jump

My high jumpers won a silver in Beijing and a Bronze in London

Introduction

The Athletic Communicator

Silent count 1-10

Being Authentic

Above the Water Level

Body Language

Words

Tone & Pitch of Your

VoiceEye

Movements

Facial

Expressions

Clothes

Below the surface

Prejudice

Fears

Skills and Knowledge

Experience

StatusThoughts/feelings

Beliefs & Values

Aspirations

Class & Background

Face to face communication – Albert Mehebrian

Body language

7%

38% 55%

Tonality

Words

Face to face communication – Albert Mehebrian

BodyDa Vinci Vitruvian Man

1.61 golden ratio

Divine Proportion

Bits that fit

Wingspan = Height

Forearm = Foot

Sternum to Public Bone

Matching Joints

Ankles & Wrists

Knees & Elbows

Hips & Shoulders

Belly button is central

73% muscle and bone

Motion creates emotion

Muscles work in synergy

70% of our body is water, so we must be hydrated

Body

Breath

Oxygen is the most important nourishment our body needs

Don’t eat anything for fifty days and you will die

Don’t drink for five to eight days and you will die

Don’t breathe for three to four minutes and you will die

Therefore…

Breath

Breath

Oxygen is the most important nourishment our body needs

Words are made up of two elements

VowelsConsonants

Words

Vowels carry emotion

Consonants give meaning

Combining these two things enable us to create words

Arranging words, allows us to communicate using

Words

Sentences

Words

A sentence is a thought

A thought is a breath, therefore:

A sentence is a breath

Sentences

When we are children, we learn movements by practice

We develop motor systems in our body by trial and error

Like a child reaching for a toy

We practice, achieve it, remember it

So the next time we recall that movement pattern

It becomes instinctive

How does it all fit together

We unlearn most of what Mother Nature gave us

Mother Nature leaves us open to feeling pain

We don’t like pain so we hide from it

We may hide from pain but we also hide from pleasure

So we never really feel anything

This closing off from feelings has an effect on our voice

A baby can cry for hours and never loses its voice

Children are perfect

Raise body temperature by one degree

Best way is to stretch

Every living thing stretches and warms up

Look at cats and dogs

Even computers warm up

Warm up

Warm up-TheFace

Warm up-The Face

How will you prepare for the day?

What are the winning routines you can adopt?

First impressions count

Winning routines

Five Keys to Communication

1. Motion creates emotion

2. Pitch

3. Pace

4. The fourth wall

5. The third eye

Sculpture Game

Motion Creates Emotion

56

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are”

More than 50% of your message

Eye contact

Posture

Smile - wagging tail!

Body Language

2.Pitch

High pitch: Nervous, unassertiveMedium pitch: Sincere, confidentDeep pitch: Arrogant, authoritative

Pitch is vital in making speech interesting

Monotone: Black and whitePitch variation: Colour

Important to try and establish vocal mirroring

3.Pace

Too slowToo fastSong song

Breath

Pitch

Pace

Choice of words

Verbal communication

Actors have an imaginary fourth wall

On stage it is always broken

On television, we never break it

Coaches must always break it

Audience

Audio

4.The Fourth Wall

5.The Third Eye

Inner monologue

Critical eye

Voice inside your head

Athletes lose the third eye the better they get

It’s an asset

However coaches must leave at the warm up,

and discuss with it on the journey home!

Stepping into the persona

1. Motion creates emotion

2. Pitch

3. Pace

4. The fourth wall

5. The third eye

Five Keys to Communication

Break the fourth wall

Banish the third eye

Step into the persona

Self confidence

Training

Do actors get nervous? Yes

Do athletes get nervous? Yes

So, what do we do to alleviate the nerves?

We rehearse, or train

Therefore, we practice

I know you’ve all heard that practice makes perfect

Not quite

Practice makes permanent

Perfect practice makes perfect permanently

Shakespeare was a genius

Greatest wordsmith of all time

As you like it

Jacques

The Power of Words

Tony Blair

Iraq speech

The Power of Words

Some say the issue is Iraq. Some say it is the Middle East Peace Process. It's both. Some say

it's poverty. Some say it's terrorism. It's both. I know the worry over Iraq. People accept

Saddam is bad. But they fear it's being done for the wrong motives. They fear us acting alone.

So the United Nations route. Let us lay down the ultimatum. Let Saddam comply with the

will of the UN. So far most of you are with me. But here is the hard part. If he doesn't

comply, then consider. If at this moment, having found the collective will to recognise the

danger, we lose our collective will to deal with it, then we will destroy not the authority of

America or Britain but of the United Nations itself. Sometimes and in particular dealing with

a dictator, the only chance of peace is a readiness for war. But we need coalitions not just to

deal with evil by force if necessary, but coalitions for peace, coalitions to tackle poverty,

ignorance and disease. A coalition to fight terrorism and a coalition to give Africa hope. A

coalition to re-build the nation of Afghanistan as strong as the coalition to defeat the Taliban.

A coalition to fight the scourge of AIDS, to protect the planet from climate change every bit

as powerful as the coalition for free trade, free markets and free enterprise.

Tony Blair

Any Questions