Well, the Yankees lost, and no one saw it coming (although one hopes the Rangers had an inkling). The original Mr. October, Derek Jeter, will be on a couch somewhere watching the series play out. Or perhaps he’ll choose a recliner or bar stool. Who knows?
Major League Baseball is full of presentation lessons. Here are a few:
#1: Researchers recently used a stopwatch to calculate the actual elapsed time of baseball action in a MLB game. The watch was stopped during pitcher-butt-scratching; long, lonely walks from the bullpen to the mound; batters adjusting their chew; and everything else. Total amount of real game play? 14 minutes. Now, doesn’t that remind you of many presentations? 3 hours of stagecraft and 10-15 minutes of meaningful information?
#2: Mr. October doesn’t always get to shine, but he’s always Mr. October. Results are important, but we overemphasize them sometimes. Heroes don’t always win the most, but they always bring the most to the game each and every day. Consistency and reliability, not temperamental brilliance, separate legends from has-beens. Sometimes the cards don’t fall your way, but to be great, you have to show up, be yourself, and give them a great show.
#3: Relaxed underdogs will give an empire a run for their money any day. The Rangers are a loose gang of quirky show-dogs playing with nothing to lose. The Yankees carried a mountain of expectations, and anything less than winning represented failure. Whether you’re the small startup or the big corporation, the game is the same every time you step to the plate: keep a fresh perspective and drop every sense of entitlement you’ve got. When it’s time to step on stage, it’s time to be your best–there’s no room for less.
Baseball is a mixture of strategy and chance. Clutch hitters hit hundreds of balls every day, but being clutch is all about what happens in the split-seconds from pitcher’s hand to batter’s bat. Living in the moment and planning for success are two sides of the same coin of life for ball players and presenters both.
What are you doing to be clutch? How do you relax and have fun, even when everything’s on the line?