Arrogance.(long.Sorry;;)

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by theboys

I'm telling you, as much as you guys (and ladies) argue about it, "presence" is key to your success as a ref.

My business is sales. In that business I have to speak in front of people that I have never met, know little about in many cases or they know absolutely nothing about me personally. I have to carry myself in a certain way or my speeches or sales talks mean nothing. Many times when I speak in front of people I have a "script" of some kind to follow. I might not follow it word for word, but I follow some kind of outline to cover the major points. Well as an official I do much of the same thing. I try to come up with situations and try to match pre-reheared "scripts" to cover situations that I might face. One of the things it does is take out the emotion of my words. Because we can get upset at times out there or want to say something that we should not say, so these "scripts" help me say the right things or say what I have to in the proper tone because it is familiar to me. Maybe Drake you need to come up with some things that cover different situations so that you do not come off as arrogant. You can get the same point across by coming up with words that are not threatening or sound softer. And yes you need to practice them just as you do your mechanics or your positioning. You might even talk about this in your pregame or other meetings.

I have always said that we are salespeople. That is all officiating really is. No matter what we know, or how good our "product" is, we have to sell ourselves first and anything we do second. And because conflict is not built in these tests, handling conflict or have a presence is very important in what we do. It helps me in sales, it certainly helps me on a basketball court. But enough about my life.

Peace