Wine and Sports: Don’t Assume

Wine and Sports: Two top­ics every­one should be able to talk about.

I’m not sure where the assump­tion was first made that women pre­fer white wine and men pre­fer red.  I can how­ever say, that’s not nec­es­sar­ily the case.

It’s a per­fect exam­ple how­ever of a small detail that can derail a con­ver­sa­tion and make an unfa­vor­able impression.

Think about a busi­ness out­ing or even a date.  If the respon­si­bil­ity falls on your shoul­ders to choose a wine, don’t assume you know the wine pref­er­ence at the table.  Make sure you ask the ques­tion.  Even in a con­ver­sa­tion about wine tast­ing or win­ery tours, don’t assume the women you talk to will nat­u­rally grav­i­tate toward the white.

I guar­an­tee, wine pref­er­ence has more to do with: the sea­son, (crisp whites are con­sumed most often dur­ing warm months) the food being served (a per­fectly paired wine brings out the fla­vors of food) and the mood of the day (some­times I do feel like drink a rose just because.)

It’s sim­i­lar to assump­tions made about women and sports.  I’m a sports reporter and have worked in broad­cast­ing for 12 years.  Yet I still have men ask with a straight face, “Do you even like sports or watch the games?”

That ques­tion not only upsets me, but leads to a quick end to the con­ver­sa­tion.   If that sit­u­a­tion plays out in a busi­ness set­ting, think about the money lost, the missed oppor­tu­nity and the dam­aged rela­tion­ship, all because of an assumption.

Don’t let assump­tions and lazy com­mu­ni­ca­tion tac­tics get in the way.  Use wine and sports top­ics to build rela­tion­ships and find com­mon ground.

The wine I’m drink­ing this week:  The cool crisp evenings here in the Seat­tle area prompted me to open a bot­tle of port.  I am savor­ing my last bot­tle of the member’s only release of Brian Carter’s Opu­lento and keep­ing my fin­gers crossed they release another port this year.

Jen Mueller, America’s Expert Talker, is the Founder and CEO of Talk Sporty to Me.  Jen is com­mit­ted to help­ing you boost your inter­per­sonal skills, engage in more effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion and reap the rewards of pro­duc­tive con­ver­sa­tions.  She’s avail­able to speak for keynotes, pre­sen­ta­tions and work­shops.  Con­tact jen@talksportytome.com for more infor­ma­tion and read more at http://talksportytome.com