The last thought before moving
A cue is the final idea in a learner's head just before they act. That single thought shapes how the whole movement is coordinated, so the coach's choice of words is the main lever on movement quality.
Performance
The Language of Coaching: The Art & Science of Teaching Movement
Worldwide · 2020s
10 ideas
Buy on AmazonIt studies how cues, analogy, and attention change movement learning in real practice.
Aim attention outward, not inward
Telling someone to work a particular muscle or joint shrinks a complex movement down to one small part of it. Directing attention to an outside target, like reaching toward a window, works better both in the moment and for learning that lasts, especially in complex moves.
Images hide detail, keep intention
An analogy like 'get tall like a tree' is a small picture in the mind. It gives the conscious mind only the goal and leaves the detailed mechanics to the body. It is also easier to focus on, remember, and repeat than a list of instructions.
Knowing what isn't knowing how
Understanding what a movement should look like is a different thing from being able to do it. Explaining the correct technique in detail does not by itself produce the skill.
Coaching sharpens a pattern self-taught
Left to themselves in an activity, people settle into a workable movement pattern and then stop improving. Casual runners, for example, each run in their own way. Coaching's job starts there: drawing attention to parts of the pattern the learner wasn't aware of.
Emotion tags words for memory
Emotion works like a hashtag on language. The more a cue carries the right feeling, the more memorable the words are. The movement those words encourage then sticks better too.
Unnoticed miscommunication is the danger
A speaker naturally assumes their words make sense, but the listener may not understand them or may understand them wrongly. The harm comes when the coach stops watching for signs that the message didn't land, so the failure stays invisible.
Fear jams the attention highway
Attention is like a highway that is fastest for learning when it is empty. Fear, anxiety, and self-doubt act as traffic that both coach and learner must work around. A psychologically safe, motivating environment clears the road, which is why psychology trumps motor learning.
Cueing builds relationships, not just movement
Communication shares a root with 'commune': it means coming together and sharing. Coaching language can connect to why the person is moving at all. In doing so it strengthens the bond between coach and learner as well as the movement.
Body-focused words suit simple setup
Instructions about specific body parts still have a place: setting up an exercise, guiding simple one-joint moves, and building awareness of a position. The author argues that most body-focused language people believe works is really doing this awareness job, not steering the movement itself.