Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 12  Preparing and Researching Presentations 347

Choosing Your Topic

Choosing a topic can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. As
noted, you’ll want to consider the audience’s expectations for the speech and
topics that will interest them, taking their demographics and psychographics
into account. In this course, you may have some guidance in that your instructor

NAME: Matt Schermerhorn

OCCUPATION: Sports Manager

Imagine spending your

day walking around

the stadium during a

Major League Baseball

game talking to fans. That’s my job—I get paid

to watch baseball! Of course, it’s only a small

part of what I do in sports management for a

Major League Baseball team. As you may know,

those of us in this exciting field do everything

from managing teams to managing events,

sports venues, and recreation. It’s a privilege to

get to wear so many hats.

Everyone in my field shares a lifelong love

of sports. But even if you consider yourself a

particular sport’s greatest fan, your passion may

not be enough to land a sports management

position. It’s a tough market. I interned in sports

management for my college baseball team while

I was getting my degree in communication, along

with studying the business, legal, and marketing

aspects of sports management. My internship

and my communication degree got me my posi-

tion—everyone else in my work group had a pre-

vious contact on the team.

I’m on the special events and promotions

team where my communication skills get put to

use in the planning and research for our pub-

lic presentations. I think public speaking is the

greatest skill you can have—not just in terms of

giving speeches in front of large groups but also

giving a “pitch” to the senior executives who

are deciding on sponsorship and offering short,

“feel-good-about-our-team” messages to

community groups or charitable organizations.

Even social media marketing promotions require

me to understand my audience and plan my

message accordingly. Twitter is huge for us; it’s

currently our most efficient way to reach the

general public in terms of news distribution. We

don’t just tweet randomly, however; tweets that

come from the franchise have to be profession-

ally crafted (though this certainly doesn’t imply

that they’re dull or boring!).

Lots of planning and research go into all

the events that support a major league team.

We solicit and manage sponsors and help them

design the best promotions for their product.

Again, audience analysis is key; we can’t afford

to look bad because someone chose an image

or a word (in an attempt to be creative or funny)

that offends or annoys a client or the fans. The

in-game entertainment that we provide fans

is carefully researched and organized, too. As

I go around the stadium on game day, I con-

stantly assess whether or not our entertainment

is engaging the diverse crowd members. I get

feedback from teens and seniors, families and

singles, and people of various ethnic back-

grounds; I adjust our next presentation or event

accordingly, whether it is directed to the spon-

sors or the fans.

There are so many communication skills I

rely on in this job from public speaking, to inter-

viewing, to project leadership and group team

building. I feel fortunate to have such a diverse,

interesting, and fun job. I know I’m selling my

company every day and I never stop learning.

real communicator