Standing, Sitting, & Kneeling
Overview:
In addition to your words, children sense and react to your body language - sometimes to a greater degree than your words. This is why it is so important to be intentional about how you move and hold your body while teaching or coaching.
I remember one particular basketball game in high school when our entire team was flustered and losing focus in the fourth quarter. Our coach called a time out to help us regain our composure. Yet while we were in the team huddle, our coach started yelling, stomping, and shouting at us to calm down. What a contradiction! Needless to say, it did not help us feel calm and focused.
The fastest way to improve your body language is to have a friend take a video of you teaching. It may be uncomfortable if you’re not used to it, but watching yourself teach will enable you to see how you use your body to teach.
Tips:
SMILE! This is the most important thing you can do to make your friends, students, or players feel safe.
Make eye contact with as many of them as possible.
Be expressive and use gestures.
Keep your arms open rather than crossing them.
Use poses to signal different actions (e.g., thinking, questioning, starting).