While watching the NBA playoffs and seeing how differently teams play the game, I started to think about an individual's confidence level and how it affects how someone is perceived.  As children growing up playing sports, we get so many of our lessons from playing sports such as learning how to win and lose, team play, and preparation.   Then as adults, we begin to view things from a different perspective.  Now in my position as a college game day analyst for ESPN, I have begun to view things a little differently.  For example, I always talk to the referees before the game to get the mood of the crew and what they might be looking for during the game. At one game this year, I talked to the lead referee and asked him if the attitude or cockiness displayed by the teams during pre-game warm-ups affects the way he calls the game.  "It shouldn't," he said, "but it does."

This is a simple example of attitudes and how they can affect relationships with other people.  This conversation caused me to recall that old cliché, "You only get one chance to make a first impression".  That is something to keep in mind always when meeting new people in any scenario.  Referees are human with emotions and feelings just like all of us and when they feel disrespected or slighted; they are going to act accordingly.  So why not treat them with respect in the same way that you would want for yourself?

Another example of this lesson was when I covered a game this year where Blake Griffin, University of Oklahoma, was playing.  He is arguably the best player in college basketball this year.  Of all the games that I have done in my two year broadcasting career with ESPN, he is the ONLY player who of his own volition came over to the broadcast table to introduce himself to me and also to the play by play announcer.  This is a guy who in the pre-season was already touted by most of the “soothsayers” of college basketball as the projected #1 pick in the NBA draft, and yet here he was going out of his way to say ‘hi’ in a respectful manner to the broadcasting crew.  "Wow", I thought!  I was already a fan of his play because of his exceptional work ethic and the gracefulness that he played the game, but after the game, I began to wonder myself if I rooted for him even more because of the fact that he came and introduced himself to me before the game.  As the color analyst of the game, I generally choose the person or topic to be talked about during the game, but after the game, I wondered if even that was influenced just by the slightest gesture of Mr. Blake Griffin introducing himself to me.  Sometimes the smallest gesture can make the biggest impact.

This same lesson can be taken into the classroom or the business world.  On a daily basis, the way a person approaches a teacher or a co-worker may affect the way an individual perceives you as well and also how he/she treats you.  If you greet individuals all the time with respect and a smile, then for the most part, they will go out of their way to do the same to you.  Speaking personally, I try my best to always have a great attitude when interacting with anyone and it is reflected by the positive responses I have gotten from them.   Show confidence but not cockiness; it will always serve you positively in the end.