Same Words, Different Meanings

 Same Words, Different Meanings: 

Communication Lessons from a Dodgers Clubhouse

The coach gives a perfectly clear instruction. The player does something the coach did not intend. What happened?!

Before deciding someone was careless or not listening, consider the coach supplied the words, but the player and coach did not share the same assumptions. For sport managers, that possibility deserves attention. Imagine preparing volunteers for an international tournament, welcoming a new employee, or coordinating coaches and support staff. What seems obvious to an experienced insider may be unfamiliar to someone entering the setting. We often notice communication problems when people speak different languages. Speaking the same language does not guarantee we mean (or understand) the same thing. 

Connecting Before Communicating Perfectly

In 2024, Sports Illustrated described the developing friendship between Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez. Ohtani grew up in Japan; Hernandez grew up in the Dominican Republic. Both were new to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They connected through English, a second language for both. They also exchanged expressions in Japanese and Spanish. Hernandez asked Ohtani to teach him something new in Japanese each day. Ohtani asked questions about Spanish words and pronunciation. Their conversations involved imperfect language, gestures, explanations, and humor. Both described feeling comfortable with their new team, partially because of one another (Apstein, 2024).

What makes this interesting for sport management is the effort involved. They did not wait until communication was effortless before building a relationship.  They made room for questions and worked through moments where the meaning was unclear. Their example invites us to consider our own response to misunderstanding. Do we explain differently? Ask what the other person understood? Or repeat ourselves more loudly?

More Than a Language Barrier

Language differences are visible. Differences in expectations are harder to recognize. New employees might understand every word in "Let me know if you disagree" and still hesitate to challenge a supervisor. Someone else might view open disagreement as a normal way to improve a decision. The supervisor could interpret silence as agreement, while the employee believes silence communicates respect. This hypothetical example shows the problem: people can understand the words while interpreting the situation differently. 

Navigating the Cultural Minefield (2014) presents eight dimensions for examining differences in workplace expectations: 

• Communicating: How much meaning is stated explicitly, and how much depends on context? 
• Evaluating: How directly do people expect corrective feedback? 
• Persuading: What kinds of explanations and arguments do people find convincing?
• Leading: How much distance and deference are expected between leaders and others? 
• Deciding: How are decisions reached, and whose agreement is needed? 
• Trusting: How do people develop confidence in one another?
• Disagreeing: How comfortable are people with openly challenging an idea?
• Scheduling: How strictly are plans and timelines expected to guide work?

These dimensions give managers questions to investigate. They do not tell us everything about a person because we know where that person grew up. Actually, the reading specifically distinguishes between broad cultural patterns and individual preferences and emphasizes differences must be understood relative to the person involved. In other words, it depends (Meyer, 2014). We cannot use the Dodgers story to assign either player a cultural profile. We can use it to examine what they actually did: ask questions, explain, and learn about one another. 

The Information Inside the "Obvious"

Consider this hypothetical instruction to a new event volunteer: "Go through the usual entrance, check in with operations, and be ready before doors open." An experienced volunteer may know exactly what to do. A newcomer may reasonably ask: 

• Which entrance?
• Who is operation? Am I looking for an office or a person?
• What does "ready' include?
• When do the doors open?

The instruction relies on knowledge that has not been supplied. If the volunteer goes to the wrong place, we should examine the instruction before concluding the volunteer was not listening. 

A more useful version might be: "Enter through the north staff entrance at 3:30 p.m. Report to Elena at the volunteer desk beside security. She will give you your credential and radio. Please be at your assigned station by 4:15 p.m. Spectators enter at 4:30." This version makes important details available to someone who does not already know the organization. This does not mean every interaction requires a lengthy explanation. It means managers need to consider what their audience can reasonably be expected to know, and how they will discover whether their message was understood 

What Can Sport Managers Do?

A practical starting point is to notice, ask, and adjust. 

Notice the expectation behind your reaction. If someone's behavior surprises. you, identify what you expected. Did you assume they would ask questions publicly, challenge your suggestion, or interpret a deadline in a particular way? 

Ask before settling on an expectation. "What did you understand the next step to be?" is more informative than "Why weren't you listening?" You might discover an unclear instruction, unfamiliar terminology, different expectations, or a practical obstacle. Culture is one possible explanation; it should not become the automatic explanation for every difficulty. 

Adjust and check again. Explaining the missing context, agree on a process, or invite the person to walk through the next step with you. Meyer emphasizes adapting across cultural contexts requires continuing adjustment rather than finding one permanently correct approach (Meyer, 2014). 

The responsibility extends beyond the newcomer. An organization can explain its routines and make questions easier to ask. A newcomer can clarify unfamiliar expectations and explain what would help. Shared understanding takes effort from the people involved. 

From Clubhouse Connection to Professional Practice

A few months after the friendship story, Hernandez credited Ohtani with advice about where to direct his hits before winning the 2024 Home Run Derby (Capruso, 2024). That account does not establish friendship caused the victory. It adds a professional exchange to the earlier story of colleagues learning to communicate. Together, the accounts offer something worth considering: people can build relationships and exchange expertise while working through differences in language and experience. 

As you enter or lead a sport organization, you bring expectations about clear communication, helpful feedback, appropriate disagreement, and good leadership. other people bring expectations too. The next time an instruction produces an unexpected result, pause before deciding what it says about the person. 

References

Apstein, S. (2024, April 29). New Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernances aren't letting language barriers get in the way. Sports Illustrated. 

Capurso, T. (2024, July 16). How Shohei Ohtani helped Dodgers teammate Teoscar Hernances win Home Run Derby. Sports Illustrated. 

Meyer, E. (2014). Navigating the cultural minefield. Harvard Business Review.