A 5 star manager doesn't always make a 5 star interview

Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has won five medals in his career including two in London. But just because he's one of the top swimmers in the world doesn't mean he is also good or comfortable at doing interviews. 

And Olympic watchers are noticing. Check out the headlines and Tweets such as, "Ryan Lochte Wins the Gold for Dumbest Athlete in an interview."

Click on the video below for a compilation.

I believe Ryan and his handlers will put him through some intense media training sessions to help him better communicate and position himself for top endorsements beyond Sylvan Learning Center. He will be a new man in four years in Rio.

At minimum, he will make these two improvements:

• His definition of the word "shape" will shift from the V shape of his torso to shaping his story in advance.
• He'll be less focused on his wingspan for an advantage in the pool and will pay more attention to not winging answers.

What does this have to do with mutual fund marketing?

Maybe you are a brilliant, highly educated portfolio manager that has produced strong results. But you would rather manage money or sit behind a Bloomberg terminal than interview with reporters or meet with clients.

Perhaps when you do talk to others outside of your network of peers, you:

• Use jargon so audiences don't really understand what you are saying,
• Talk in incomplete sentences or ramble a bit too long until the audience loses patience,
• Talk without thinking about what you want to say or how you want to come across.

Your sales people might prefer to not have you participate in meetings. Ouch!

So what do you do to improve your skills?

Being a genius stock picker probably didn't come to you overnight. It likely took practice. And so does strong communications in meetings or interviews.

Take a class. Practice in front of a mirror. Record yourself with a video camera. Ask others for feedback.

When you realize you are closing more sales and keeping existing clients longer, you will be glad you did. 

Click for a recent post about how more confidence while communicating leads to more sales and retention.