PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The consequences of not having an ES is the communcation equivalent to trying to catch a football with greased hands — you can see it , but are not ready to catch it ; not only that , but you ’ re also not able to catch it because you haven ’ t prepared adequately . The negativity of not having an ES can even stay with you . For example , it can be difficult to recover from a response such as “ Well , I , uh , you know , I like work here .” The importance of an ES lies in being ready to engage when an opportunity presents itself — either predicably or spontaneously .
ES OUTLINE A good ES should be flexible and customizable , but at the very least contain the following four items : 1 ) Your name 2 ) Your company ’ s name 3 ) What you do 4 ) Why you do it Each of these four pieces should be delivered with KISS ( Keep It Short Sweetheart ) in mind . A sentence or two on the what and why is ideal . Since an ES is sometimes delivered to a person not entirely familiar with sports field management , avoid jargon by using everyday , commonsense language .
A CENTRAL COMPONENT OF AN ES Following the outline will help achieve the central component of an ES — to make a good first impression on the person hearing it . The features that most help you present yourself favorably are a good smile , being polite , avoiding interruptions , and being well spoken yet a good listener when a response is made ; in short , being present and focused . Eye contact is a must while delivering an ES and non-verbal cues such as tone , body language and timbre are very influential . As odd as it may sound , smelling nice can also help make a great first impression .
ES EXAMPLE One of the best ways to learn how to make an ES work for you is to look at a basic example :
Unknown person at a trade show : “ Hi . I ’ m Phil with XYZ Products .”
Sports field manager : Hi Phil . I ’ m Joe Smith with the
Springfield Ducks . Phil : Oh yeah , what do you do for them ? Joe : I get to create a beautiful and durable playing surface for the athletes . It ’ s great to see the coaches and players enjoy their time on the field . The fans love it too .
Phil : What do you like best about it ?
Joe : It ’ s just great working on a natural grass field . There are just so many benefits to the players and the environment from real grass .
ES HELPS AND HINDRANCES With the basics and this example in mind , it ’ s important to consider the whole communication process that most of us take for granted . In the simplest of conversation exchanges , a message must be created and sent to a listener ; the listener then receives it , assigns meaning to it , formulates a response and sends it back to the original sender . All of this happens in a matter of seconds .
Unfortunately , most conversations and elevator speeches are not that simple . As the process moves along in a back-and-forth or circular fashion , the messages get sent through “ noisy channels .” Even if two people are standing right next to each other , “ noises ” — better known as message disrupters — reduce the effectiveness of the transmission of the message . Although there are many disrupters , some of the more common ones include monotone delivery , regional accents , poor body language , lack of eye contact , poor choice of clothing , frowns , assumptions , jargon , non-answers , hearing problems and background noises . All of these get in the way of the sender delivering their message and the receiver understanding what it means . On the opposite side of disruption , being clear , purposeful and to the point will enhance the process .
PREPARING FOR YOUR ES In preparation for delivering an ES , creating message points is a good first step . Simply writing out phrases on a pad of legal paper is a great way to get started . sportsfieldmanagementonline . com February 2025 | SportsField Management
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