{"id":6976,"date":"2020-02-28T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T22:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playerdevelopmentproject.com\/?p=6976"},"modified":"2024-01-22T14:06:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T03:06:22","slug":"praise-vs-affirmation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playerdevelopmentproject.com\/praise-vs-affirmation\/","title":{"rendered":"Praise vs. Affirmation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stephen Rollnick is a pioneer in motivational interviewing and in recent years has been applying his knowledge to sport. In this article, Stephen offers a psychology perspective on the key differences between praise and affirmation with young athletes.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re that young, it doesn\u2019t take a lot to be encouraged, or discouraged . . . they raised my game . . . they saw something in me I didn\u2019t see in myself.\u201d (Sir Ken Robinson, educationalist)<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In my work as a psychologist and trainer in and around the medical and counselling fields, I notice quite a difference between praise and affirmation. Then more recently, when I started working in sport, I noticed the widespread use of praise, not just to acknowledge success, which seems natural enough, but as a motivational strategy or \u201csweetener\u201d that presumably improves outcomes. Does it? I wasn’t so sure. Then I read James\u2019 Vaughan\u2019s article<\/a> on how praise, and its withdrawal, affected his self-esteem and well-being as a young person, and undermined his creativity on the field. So I wondered about whether the use of affirmation in sport might have value. See what you think. Here\u2019s an imaginary example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young player aged 15 in a tense match situation produces a long, low pass that dissects a defense and leads to the simplest of goals, an act of daring and creativity seemingly beyond his age. Imagine meeting him after the game, with a desire to focus on that wonderful pass and to encourage him to develop further. What might you say, and why? One of the most common coaching responses is to use praise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coach: “Well done, that was a cracking good pass that was” (Praise)
Player: “Thanks coach” (smiles)
Coach: “That\u2019s one of the best I\u2019ve seen you do. It will be good to see more of those\u2026”
Player: “Sure, thanks”
Coach: “Have a good rest now and let\u2019s see more of those passes next week, OK?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Another choice you have is to use affirmation, and it might sound like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coach: “That long pass, it seemed like you paused, and somehow saw this gap in their defence” (Affirmation)
Player: “Yeah, it felt like time stood still” (smiles)
Coach: “And in that moment you had the confidence just to go for the long pass” (affirmation)
Player: “Yeah, I just acted on it”
Coach: “It was your vision, and you trusted it” (affirmation)
Player: “Yeah I want to trust it more next time\u2026”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Affirming is when you acknowledge something inside the player that\u2019s already there, which cannot be taken away, like shining a light on something positive that you’ve noticed. It\u2019s something for them to notice too, take ownership of and be inspired by. If praise is a judgment you pass down, affirmation is something you notice, an observation you share, about positive things in their performance, ability, attitude or behaviour that they can take ownership of and can feel proud about. You show appreciation and understanding and look out for evidence of qualities that might inspire them; in football I imagine this might be things like flair, determination, seeing spaces and openings on the field \u2013 a long list of positive qualities that could help them to develop as both people and players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some more examples of affirmation from my imaginary football world; notice how some of them are used in the face of failure, not just success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well done, I\u2019m impressed with your work today” (praise).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s that determination again” (affirmation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dialogue 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Player: “I\u2019ve messed up here, right there”
Coach: “You tried hard, and you are good at noticing where things go wrong “
Player: “Yes I did try, and I want to get this right”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dialogue 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Player: “I let the team down”
Coach: “You don’t like that because you are a loyal team player” (affirmation)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Single Offerings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n