You and mulitiple time Superbowl MVP Tom Brady probably have something in common.
When Brady (finally) retired from the NFL, he was offered a $375 million contract from Fox News to join their broadcast lineup. Other players have followed this path with varying degrees of success: Troy Aikman, Tony Romo.
Consider Brady’s new role as the corporate equivalent of bringing in the subject-matter expert (SME) to share their insight with audiences primed to learn.
But as is the case with so many SMEs, Brady overprepared. In a New York Times article, he admits, “I used to say, ‘All the stuff I prepared, I could read from start to finish in a three-hour broadcast, and I wouldn’t get through all the information.”
As a result, during his first year of broadcasting, he showed some flashes but not consistency. Brady prepared pages and pages of notes that dulled his natural reactions. It was “TMI” – too much information.”
Sound familiar?
How many times have you sat through a meeting – or run one yourself – and realized that you have way too much content (and you’ve lost the room)?
Brady, like any great athlete and communicator, went to work. He approached his second year focusing in on the perspective that he is equipped to give: how a quarterback reads the plays unfolding before him.
Brady also credits the team approach he takes to broadcasting with his partner, Kevin Burkhardt, and the shifts they made to have a more conversational tone.
Lessons that can you take from Brady’s broadcast transformation:
- Ask for feedback to improve.
- Focus on the perspective that you bring to a meeting.
- Approach meetings as conversations, not one-sided lectures.
I can’t promise you a multi-million payout.
But I can assure you that if you, too, are open to elevating your presentation game at work, your colleagues might become fans. And you’ll accomplish a lot more.
