by Steve Adubato, PhD

This past week, Tiger Woods finally held a legitimate and constructive press conference before teeing off at the Masters.

While Woods is a masterful golfer, when it comes to communicating under pressure he (like many of us) struggles mightily to get it right. Some lessons from Tiger Woods’ Q&A at the Masters:

--Timing is everything. Simply put, it is a shame that Tiger Woods didn't do this kind of press conference sooner. He needed to take on any and all questions. He needed to have an open, unscripted dialogue, where he moved beyond very tightly and awkwardly scripted responses that made him come across as robotic, overly coached and not believable. This was a very relaxed and conversational Woods—two essential communication qualities.

--Candor counts. Toward the end of the press conference, Woods was asked about what he expects it to be like when he returns to the tee. He said, “When you live a life where you're lying all the time, life is not fun. And that's where I was. Now that's been stripped all away and here I am. And it feels fun again.” This is the kind of brutal honesty people respect and appreciate. His candor on such topics as his prescription drug use, including Ambian and Vicodin, was also significant. It helped put to rest a lot of the rumors, but not all. Candor goes a long way in building up seriously eroded trust, especially given that in the past when asked about it, his response was avoidance and to repeat that it was either “a private matter” or that “it’s all in the police report.”

--Practice pays off. Tiger Woods seemed very sincere in his delivery. He had a healthy balance of candor (without spilling his guts) and confidence (without being cocky or arrogant). He was concise and controlled. No answer lasted more that twenty seconds. He gave sound bites, but varied them. Too often, if you repeat the same message in the exact same way, your communication feels contrived. Tiger was clearly coached and practiced, but not overly scripted and stiff.

--Winning isn’t everything. When it comes to crisis communication, your objective is to gain the benefit of the doubt. It’s not about “winning.” It’s about whether you can get to the point where people say; “Enough. Give this guy a break.” Often when we are faced with a crisis, we see it as a win/lose scenario. That’s a mistake. Instead, view it as getting back to even again and gaining trust. It’s a slow and difficult process. In the crisis communication game, trying to hit a “home run” is dangerous at best. The key is to move in the right direction.

--It’s all about empathy. Tiger Woods specifically talked about missing his son’s first birthday. He shared with us on a human level how much that hurt and how he never wants to miss one again. How can any parent hear that and not empathize to some degree with Tiger’s feelings? He was simply speaking from his heart, and people can relate to that. To me, that felt genuine and honest.

Finally, my sense of Tiger’s press conference is that either it was the most incredible coaching job you’ll ever see or, he's finally getting to a place that allows him to have confidence and comfort under pressure so that he can communicate effectively in these settings. Maybe he needed to get through all that (in addition to lots of therapy) to get to this point. He didn't point fingers. He didn't blame the media. He didn’t blame anyone but himself. In a crisis, blaming others never works. Tiger Woods may finally be learning this lesson the hard way.