Communication Accomodation Theory

In a world without communication theory, I am hanging out with my eighty-year-old Grandma, Mimi. I am talking to Mimi all about the NFL draft and who I think the Cardinals should pick. I then proceed to argue about what actresses have the nicest whatever, and then went on to talk about my picks for the basketball tournament bracket. I talk to my Grandma very fast, I jump from topic to topic and use a lot offensive language. Without Communication Accommodation, my conversation with Mimi about sports and women would sound perfectly normal. Communication Accommodation Theory occurs everyday when we talk with other people. When hanging out with whomever, we will subconsciously change our style of speech and behavior to better accommodate the person we are communicating with. So in the real world when I talk to Mimi, I talk very slow, use simple words, and stick to subjects that she will be interested in. In order to become a successful communicator on the field or in the office, you must be able to accommodate to the needs of your listener.

If you are a manager of company, it is important to maintain good relations with your employees. In order to do this the manager may use less formal speech when he talks to his employees. This allows the employees to relate to him on a more personal level so that they will hopefully do better work. The manager is accommodating his communication to the needs of his employees. If this same manger is having a meeting with his superiors it would be a good idea to speak on a more professional level by using bigger, smarter words, and more formal behavior such as sitting up straight or maintaining eye contact.

If you are on the field or court playing your sport, communication accommodation is also very important to your success. A coach is going to talk to every player differently, keep in mind that these differences are to maximize the performance of that certain player. In a basketball game, you want to keep your players composed and calm, if a player is not calm, they will miss shots and will be more prone to get into foul trouble. In order to maintain the calmness of the team the coach will keep his voice level low, talk slowly, and use reassuring words to get his players relaxed. On the contrary, in a more physical sport like football or boxing, coaches want to keep their players on edge with an anger and aggression complex.

This idea of Communication Accommodation Theory and sports has in fact been studied. This study done by Armstrong & Giulianotti in 2001 studied Northern Irish and Scottish football (soccer) players. They studied how religious, ethnic, political, and regional associations affect the interactions of players both on and off the field of play. They found that players perform better with each other when their communication is similar. This is due to the fact that that similar individuals brought together in the same setting will communicate similarly and ultimately become better teammates and ultimately better players.

http://physed.otago.ac.nz/sosol/v6i1/v6i1_1.html