Sports brings communities together in ways other interests can't. That's the real value of sports conversations and sports small talk. 

Sports allows you to connect with people from all different backgrounds, young and old, male and female... but only if you include everyone in your conversations. 

It's easy to make assumptions about what you think sports fans look like. Men, for example. I bet you're more likely to assume men are sports fans. Which also means you're more likely to exclude women from sports conversations. As a woman who has worked in sports broadcasting for more than 20 years I know that's not that's not the case. I also know that when I'm excluded from a sports conversation based on my gender I get irritated and I'm not interested in connecting or building relationships. Not a big deal if we just meet in passing, but much bigger deal if you want to work with me, or if you're a server at a restaurant and would like a tip.

I shouldn't have to tell you I...

Your accomplishments, resume and skillset aren’t the keys to your success. Your ability to communicate is.

Now you might be thinking, “Hold up, what are we talking about here? I was looking for sports topics to talk about this week.”

Keep reading for your weekly dose of sports conversation starters and remember that small talk is the building block for relationships and a great place to practice communication skills you need in business. That’s the real benefit of talking about any of these sports topics in the news.

It’s Super Bowl week and the game will dominate a lot of sports, news and entertainment headlines. It’s one of the biggest events - sporting or otherwise - of the year. 

Because it’s an event, there’s no limit as to how many sports-adjacent topics you can introduce that relate to the game but don’t have anything to do with the actual matchup between the LA Rams and Cincinnati Bengals at Sofi Stadium in LA. Just take a look at this post from Instagram. 

To a hard-core sports fan it might be an odd take, but if you're someone who's more interested in music and entertainment that's one way to frame the half time show. 

Sports talk doesn't have to focus on the matchup, players, coaches or outcome. You can use sports to segue into dozens of other conversations and topics.  

The Super Bowl is a great opportunity to leverage the sports fandom of others. Football fans will already be talking about the game. It's top of mind. Every football...

The numbers are staggering.

Sports dominates TV ratings. Just take a look at the numbers. Football accounting for 75 of the top 100 most-watched broadcasts in 2021. If you add up all the sports on the list of most-watched broadcasts you would discover sports accounted for 94 of the 100 listed.

With an average draw of 18.2 million linear TV viewers per game, @SNFonNBC effectively sucked all the air out of primetime.

All told, live sports accounted for 94 of the year’s 100 largest TV audiences

Full list: https://t.co/9odVatZaLv pic.twitter.com/M6pSvd9Iq6

— Sportico (@Sportico) January 7, 2022

You know what those sports fans did before, during and after watching those games? They talked about them. Heck, they are still talking about some of those games.

Which should demonstrate how futile it is to try and ban sports talk from business settings. Sports dominates TV viewership and headlines. It’s a ridiculous waste of time to try and police sports-related conversations...

There are two sports stories making headlines and getting airtime on major news networks this week – Tom Brady and the Olympics. Even the Weather Channel paused their coverage of the blizzard in Massachusetts to talk about Tom Brady. Every time I see non-sports outlets talking sports, I’m reminded just how far sports can reach. Here’s what that means for you:

1. People who wouldn’t usually tune in to a sports broadcast are getting sports headlines this week by virtue of watching their regular news programs and channels.
2. They’re likely talking about sports from a business or news perspective, not necessarily outcomes, scores, names, etc…

This means you have even more people primed and ready to talk sporty with you this week. Take advantage. Engage in conversation. Get a different point of view and use sports to build relationships.

Here are a few other topics you can try.

Communication is the foundation for relationships.

Effective communication starts with small talk. The chit-chat you might overlook is actually the building block you need to build rapport.

Be strategic and intentional with it. Make a plan for how you’ll approach small talk and make it work for you. I suggest you start with sports. These topics make great conversation starters.

And if you’re communicating with a team of people you might be interested in the Conversation Game Plan training session coming up February 25. Click here for details and to register for the training plus a bonus accountability session. It’s a twofer!

It sounds like a good idea, but telling your team to over-communicate with you or each other isn't helping.   

Asking your team to over-communicate might lead to more emails, conversations, Slack messages or group texts, but none of that matters if they're not communicating the right things. If you're not on the same page it's a waste of time. People who spend time trying to "over-communicate" the wrong message aren't being productive. Of course, they don't realize that until the message doesn't get a response (or the response they were hoping for) at which point they wonder why they wasted their time, and get frustrated and upset. 

Your team needs clear instructions on how to best communicate with you as their manager or leader. 

That means you need to spend time thinking about:

The information you really need. Do you want specific sales numbers or confirmation sales are you? The important information might be obvious to you, but your team doesn't see...

Sports fits my personality. Sports broadcasting fits my skillset. Helping you communicate more confidently is my passion.

Hey there, I’m Jen!

None of my family members or teachers are surprised I choose a career that involved talking, but some days I'm surprised I ended up as a sports broadcaster. There weren't many opportunities for women to work in sports when I was in college, and it certainly wasn't something that was encouraged. 

But I love to compete. That's one of the reasons sports is a natural fit for me. 

Finding Ways to Win. 

As a lifelong sports fan, my interest in sports comes naturally. I played multiple sports through high school and when I got college at Southern Methodist University I became an intramural flag football official, which led to a 10-year career officiating high school football and helped lay the foundation for becoming an NFL sideline reporter. I intentionally built a solid sports resume in every job and internship I pursued...

Sports is always my go-to conversation starter. Even if I don’t know if I’m talking to a sports fan. I know that uncertainty can make some fans uncomfortable, but sports is truly one of the most efficient ways to spark small talk because the answer doesn’t matter nearly as much as the clarity it provides. 

If I lead with “Did you see the game last night?” I know I’m going to get one of two answers, and quite honestly I don’t care which one it is. If the answer is “Yes” I know I can follow up with another sports question or a question about the game. If the answer is “No” I can ask something like, “What did you have going on last night?” And now I’m into a conversation without playing 20 questions or asking a handful of questions while trying to find something meaningful. Using sports as a starting point made it easier to make a connection and have a productive exchange.

Here’s something...

I’m a firm believer in preparing for little conversations like small talk because a.) I want my interactions to be productive b.) I don’t want them to be awkward, especially if I’m trying to build a relationship.

Preparation can range from doing a little research on people I’ll encounter, identifying success statements I can use in response to “How are you?” and having a few general questions in my back pocket to start a sports conversation. Here are some examples:

• Who’s playing tonight?
• Are you going to watch the game tonight?
• Where did you watch the game?
• Did you see the game last night?
• Is that the game you expected?

They’re canned questions that can get a timely response. I think of these as really generic questions and while I typically advocate for asking specific questions that get you closer to your conversation goal, these questions work just fine at starting a conversation.

BUT… your goal probably isn’t just to...