Tim Tebow and Messaging

Being a Denver Broncos fan means that I've seen a lot in my life. I was 6 years old when they drafted John Elway and watch him lead the Broncos to five Super Bowls, winning his last two. Since that time, the Broncos have been good, then bad, then horribly bad - but I have never seen anything quite like the Tim Tebow phenomenon.

While there have been multiple posts, articles, interviews and commentaries about Tim Tebow and if he will or won't be an effective NFL Quarterback, I wanted to look at something different.

Why is Tim Tebow so popular? He was a tremendous college quarterback and is a phenomenal role model. But we've had those people in sports before. Why is it that for a long time, Tebow led the NFL in jersey sales, yet was not a starting Quarterback?

There are two things at work here (at least in my mind):

1. His religious openness.

This is something that I think has garnered Tebow a lot of admiration, and a lot of consternation. There is a saying that there are two things that you never bring up in polite conversation: Religion and politics. However, Tim Tebow has openly worn his religion on his sleeves (and sometimes his face). This openness has found him a loyal following around the U.S. as well as people who dislike him because he is so open about it.

2. His flaws.

As any analyst at ESPN, FoxSports or any other sports network will tell you, Tim Tebow has a lot of flaws as an NFL quarterback. However, I think some people like that. Pretty much everyone who watches football has flaws - either personally, professionally or otherwise. We are all flawed human beings and I think that people enjoy rooting for someone who isn't flawless and perfect. But what Tebow does is have a passion to win, which miraculously, gets him to win.

Tebows messaging is simple: he works hard, is open about who he is (including his flaws) and just wants to keep improving. People like that. People want to follow someone like that.

There are a few things that you should keep that in mind when you are preparing your speeches.

1. Be yourself. You can't try to emulate other speakers or presenters. Being yourself is important in almost all aspects of your life - giving a speech is one of them.

2. Keep improving. Don't just assume that the one practice you gave is good enough. You want to try to keep improving, so practice, get some help and work on being a better speaker.

This past weekend, once again Tim Tebow showed me a few things. He showed that he definitely has some flaws, but he keeps on working hard and wants to get better. And at least now the Broncos are interesting, which they haven't been for some time.

 

Comments

[Thedisplacedplainsman.blogspot.com]

I'll quibble.
Tebow isn't popular; he's divisive. In the NFL competence should count for something; Tebow hasn’t demonstrated it yet, yet he’s supposed to be “great” merely because he’s popular.
He seems to be crafting a message by refusing to say anything and letting coaches take the heat. If he were the open, honest leader he claims to be, he’d admit that he’s not ready to start but is thankful for the opportunity. Instead, he remains quiet and that silence indicates that he believes he’s due a position for which he is uniquely ill-suited.
The Tebow phenomenon scares me because it indicates that passion continues to triumph over reason. History is replete with examples of the dangers that such a formula creates.