Here’s a small challenge for you this week… substitute one of your go-to words or phrases for something new.

It’s an easy thing to practice in sports talk. Instead of a great win, maybe it’s a terrific win or a critical win. Instead of saying a home run was hit, maybe it was launched, torqued or crushed.

Here’s why this challenge is useful:

1. Stronger, more descriptive words help you tell a more compelling story
2. Choosing accurate words helps in giving accurate praise and feedback

Both of those skills are important in business and both can be practiced in sports talk. Here’s a list of topics you can use in practicing this week.  

The more clarity you can provide in a conversation the easier the interaction becomes. Clarity can also help make a conversation more meaningful, especially when it comes to small talk.

Those are the conversations we often try to shortcut. We’re lazy in the questions we ask (Think: How are you?) We hope the person we’re talking with says something interesting or we’re avoiding the exchange altogether.

Despite what you might have been taught, open-ended questions create overwhelm and confusion. (Again, think: How are you?) If you want a better answer try something like:

• What's been the best part of your morning?
• How do you feel about the project deadline?
• How do you think the Seahawks will do this year?  

Those questions have a specific answer. There’s no guesswork involved for the person answering. As a result, you’ll get a better answer, the conversation will be easier and more meaningful.

Give it a try with these sports conversation topics this...

Sports talk doesn’t have to be about sports. Sometimes sports is just the entry point to a topic that’s more entertaining or relevant to you. In other words, you don’t have to take sports so literally.

There’s a great example this week right at the top of the list with the Hall of Fame. Maybe Cooperstown and the baseball Hall of Fame is of interest to you, if it’s not use that note as a jumping off point for something more fun that everyone can talk about perhaps a made-up Hall of Fame you would qualify for. Maybe something like Cheese Eating Hall of Fame or the Dog Walking Hall of Fame.

Is it silly? Sure. Can everyone contribute to that kind of conversation? Yes. That’s the point of sports talk and small talk, being able to converse and find ways to connect.

And with that, here’s the full list of sports conversation starters for your week.

I know the old adage says if you fail to prepare you're preparing to fail, but guess what? You're going to fail anyway. Maybe not at that moment or during that stage of the project, but you're going to fail. We all do, even elite athletes.   

And here's where Thinking Outside the Box Scores can be helpful in reframing your expectations for success.    

As a sports broadcaster I've experienced wins and losses from the sidelines and locker rooms and sometimes even I forget that losing and failing is as much a part of the game as winning. 

It sounds like a silly thing to say as a sports fan. In sports it's a given that a hitter will strike out, a quarterback won't complete every pass, a putt will be off the mark or a jumper will clang off the rim. No athlete expects to be perfect. They all prepare with that intent, but they also expect failure as part of the process. 

Do you do the same thing? Or do you make an assumption that everything can and...

“Do you know who won?”

I had already seen the alert cross my phone. I knew Rory McIlroy won the Scottish Open. My husband had not so he happily spent a few hours watching the tape-delayed tournament broadcast.

I didn’t ruin it or spoil the outcome because a.) that would have been rude and b.) because I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to see the end of the tournament.

And that’s one of the reasons sports is a great conversation starter. Sports fans don’t wait weeks or days for an outcome. They don’t binge an entire season at one time. There’s no such thing as a spoiler alert after you pass the 12-hour threshold. The viewing habits of sports fans work to your advantage in small talk.

Here are a few topics you can use to spark those conversations this week.

Part cooking instruction, part entertainment and all about connecting over food and wine. 

That's how I describe my cooking show "I Cook, You Measure." It's unlikely any other cooking show and it's designed to entertain both home cooks and sports fans. 

Season 2 started on Friday. Did you catch the episode with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh? 

The full lineup for Season 2 includes current Mariners, a Mariners legend, a Super Bowl Champion and the tallest person who's ever been in my kitchen (which makes sense for a hoops standout!)

I love this show and I love this project. I also know it might feel like a little bit of a stretch or something that doesn't quite fit with my emphasis on business communication and effective conversation strategies. 

Here's what you should know about me - my goal is ALWAYS to give people a platform to tell their stories.

I do that in every post-game interview. I do that on stage when giving keynote presentations. It's my objective in...

I had a chance to visit family over the weekend including my sports-loving niece and nephew. Both play sports and watch sports, but for very different reasons.

“Layla is there for the win. Teddy is there for the snacks and socializing.” That’s how my sister-in-law describes their approach to sports it and it totally matches their personalities.

You know what else? A lot of sports fans take different approaches to fandom. It all comes down to personal preference and personalities. That means your conversations about sports can range from talking about the outcome, to the city a game is being played in, and the best food to eat when you’re at a game. Don’t limit yourself but do start with these sports conversation starters this week.

Yes, I really did include competitive eating in this week’s list of sports conversation starters. It’s part of Fourth of July activities and traditions. So is bocce, horseshoes, croquet and lawn darts (or Jarts if you’re of a certain age.) All of it is sports to some degree.

Here’s how I define sports – a physical activity done with a level of competition. For me that could include everything from emptying the dishwasher (yes, I really do race the clock) to running sprint intervals during my workout.

This is a reminder to take a broader view of sports on a holiday weekend when there are plenty of options for participating, watching and talking about sports. If you’d rather not talk about losing the family cornhole tournament to your brother for a second straight year, here are a few topics you can use when joining small talk this week.

The assignment seemed easy and fun when I was asked to be part of a panel of judges for the Miss Washington pageant in 2021.

Then I sat through my first judges’ meeting. About 10 minutes in I started to wonder if I was in over my head and I knew I needed to get better at giving feedback.

It took me a little bit to warm up to the idea of giving feedback to young women who worked so hard to be there. I wanted to encourage everyone and be the “nice judge.” But that’s not how it works. The participants expected feedback and they wanted it. The process wasn’t just about winning it was getting feedback so they could show up with more confidence and be more impactful in their careers and community work.

Being the “nice judge” wasn’t going to help them reach their goals. Giving everyone the same grade was only going to ruin the process.

Here’s the No. 1 rule when judging: Use the full range of numbers.

Scores are based on a scale of 1-10...

In baseball hitters (and managers) talk about the importance of not giving away at bats. In other words, they don’t want to give in to a pitcher. They want to stay competitive. Even if the end result is a strikeout, a competitive at-bat is still a measure of success.

I don’t usually go the “inside baseball” route in this weekly note, but when I think about small talk I don’t want to give away my opportunity. I want to find a way to engage, connect and walk away with a measure of success.

My goal is that these sports conversation starters give you a measure of success in small talk this week as well.