I have examined gossip and rumor with you, but what is this thing called œtrash talk?  First of all, it is not new.  There have always been words exchanged in the heat of competition or over some contention by either party.  It has just escalated.

Trash talks beginnings are found on any playground in America. (I am sure every country has their version).  Its what I call the œyah, yah fight between two ten year olds.  Neither is really interested in fighting so, in lieu of that, they see if they can out-talk each other.  Sound familiar?

I have defined T.T. for myself this way; œAn attempt by a person or persons to dominate another person through vocal communication.  I dont know if this is the definition but it works for me.

What I am very clear about is that the purpose of T.T is to dominate.  If I can change your mood, actions, or concentration with a few choice words, I would say I did a pretty good job of dominating you.

To dominate I need to have someone to dominate.  What then occurs is that person will avoid my domination.  By the way, there are many other ways to dominate (more later on those).

One of the ways to avoid domination is to rebel, butt heads, bow ones neck, trash talk back etc.  This is a common reaction with TT.  Another way is to just go where the TTer isnt.  There are other ways, but mostly it is just rebel, i.e., talk louder and longer.

If you are wondering what has us trash talk in the first place, consider this.  The more talk, the greater the insecurity of the talker.  It is driven by the fear of not being good enough.  Before you start jumping up and down I have not done any scientific research.  I just trust two things, my right eye and my left eye.  Of course, that is backed up by five decades of coaching people.

Some of the biggest TTers are extremely talented so why this need to TT?  Coaches have wrestled with this one forever.  It is simple.  The TTers dont experience themselves the way others see them.  The œIm not good enough fear is always there, no matter how well they play.

TT is a form of bullying.  It demeans the TTer and it demeans the person receiving it.  I have never seen a person that we would call a œclass act get caught up in TT.  Oh, they might throw a barb back once in awhile, but rarely do they take any of it seriously.

For all of you engaged in other types of endeavors, you might want to ask yourself this; œWhat does TT look like at work, at home, or in any other place in my life?  Every time it occurs, relationships are damaged.

Final thought.  Coaches, if you really want to turn the other teams TT into an asset, train your teams to respond as follows:

  • No response, or just nod
  • No physical reaction
  • Give them a nice smile and walk away

Never break this protocol.  The TTers will be frustrated, at best, and out of control, at worst.  Regardless, they will be off-balance and unable to focus 100% on the competition.  You now have an edge.  Isnt that all we ever ask for?