When the championship moment comes, that point in time when if you are an athlete, or a celebrity, or a businessperson and all eyes are on you to crystallize your success and storytell to the world, the emotions certainly flow. There is a limited window and usually many thoughts are running to make sure that the moment in time is both enjoyed and amplified. It’s there, and then for many, it’s gone.
Today the social space and the ability to use any device to capture and then reshare that moment makes the opportunity greater than ever before; and it also creates the window for make goods; clarifications if needed, extra thank you’s to those who were missed in the heat of speaking, additional thoughts in reflective time.
If you look to that championship moment in sports; the thank you’s are usually first up. In a sport like tennis and golf, the championship presentation almost always comes with a first word to family, and brands, and others who helped get you there. It always happens, even with the emotions going; it’s a welcomed passage of time. At the Academy Awards, the thank you’s always flow first, it’s what you do.
Unless it’s not what you do first. One interesting case in point was on an October Sunday, when the President of the United States told the world live on TV about the news of the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Then what you do is announce the news first; and go on for about six to eight minutes with various forms of rhetoric, chosen phrases and other information, and then thank all those who did the work.
It is an interesting take on the priorities in a championship moment. The President knows his audience and how to drive their engagement…do not miss the New York Times piece that breaks down the power POTUS has with Twitter engagement, and pull some best practices from it that have zero to do with politics…and speaking to them first in the language that they would find engaging…was priority one. Thanking those who did the work on the ground and in harm’s way, was priority two. Both were achieved eventually, just not in the order that usually happens.
This is not a statement about politics, it’s an observation on how one person and his team engages an audience and speaks directly to the core; very cleanly and without wavering. The lesson to be learned is not about the substance or even about the style, it’s about messaging choice and format. What is important to the speaker as priority one. Convey your message after…for most people…LISTENING to those around you and gauge the response.
Now talking first with platitudes and then thanking those who got you to where you are is not the norm. Just look at the Washington Nationals leadership this week; who thanked the fans and teammates first and then talked about the self-evident celebration, and most people would choose to thank first and regale afterwards; that’s the message you want to drive. For those who want to take a different tact, we saw that style play out last week, and we leave it to personal choice and the informed teams of many in the limelight to choose what works best.
Different styles by different people in a position of leadership. Personally, it’s a lot more impactful to thank and then speak; give credit where credit is due, but that’s just me. That’s usually, at least in sports and entertainment, what matters most. You may have the podium, but the people behind you are the reason as to why you guy there, so make sure everyone knows it first before they tune out and flip away.
For Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo of the Nats this week, that was their choice, for others with that limelight, at least one, the speaking lineup was different.
Two styles in one city with the world’s eyes upon you within days of each other.
