Timeout Strategy

One of my favorite hand motions in basketball is the signal for a “20 second timeout”.  Coaches lift their arms, bend their elbows, and touch shoulders with their fingers to signal a stoppage in play.   It’s a technique that I often use with clients, family, and friends to pause discussions. While the 20 second timeout signal is universally known in the basketball world, the communication that occurs after the motion varies from coach to coach.  I have been fortunate to be part of many different teams, in many different sports, and often observe the strategies used in that brief, but important interaction.  Below is what I have found to be most effective.  If you aren’t a coach think about when you have to deliver information to people in a quick and concise manner.

Attention Getter:  Whether it’s clapping, demanding eye contact, or simply asking a question, it’s imperative that attention is gathered quickly.  Make sure to have an attention getter that gets your team focused.

Encourager:  Once you have their attention offer an encourager.  An encourager will keep their attention and let them know what they are doing well.  It will open their minds and foster opportunities for more feedback.

Information:  The meat of your timeout should occur after the attention getter and encourager.  This is a time to give feedback, negative or positive, which should be the most important point you are looking to provide.

Encourager:  After the information has been processed an encourager is recommended to send the team on their way.  It’s a great opportunity to build cohesion leaving a huddle and remind the players that you believe in them.

Hope you can find a way to use the attention getter, encourager, information, encourager method whenever you have a timeout today.

Sarah Walls
A little about me: I've worked in pretty much every corner of the fitness industry for about 10 years. I've had the great fortune of spending most of this time working with gifted athletes at every level. I've also had the great opportunity of designing and conducting research projects, writing occasionally for various publications and blogs, competing in powerlifting, and just generally having a killer time pursuing my passions wherever they may take me. Now I own two businesses: one is an athletic performance training company that I started in 2007 at age 26 and the other is a software company startup that was launched in 2014. Paramount to all the awesomeness of my professional career, is my family. My kids are a thrill and my husband continues to be my most critical and important supporter.
www.strengthboss.com
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