Easy to 'Talk A Good Game' with New Book by Local Communications Experts

Talking A Good Game: A Guide to Sports Talk in the U.S. Workplace, a new book by two local communications professionals, addresses one of the challenges that women, non-sports fans and people not raised in this country encounter in the U.S. corporate culture: understanding sports talk.  Without that knowledge many people miss out on business and social opportunities because they don’t know how to take advantage of sports talk to build strong relationships, according to the authors. 

Though primarily written for those unfamiliar with American sports culture, anyone who feels left out when sports are discussed at work will find the book helpful and entertaining, the authors say.

Talking A Good Game presents a mix of basic information about all major American spectator sports and popular sports cultural references. Unlike other books about sports, this one is designed to teach readers some common sense communications techniques for using sports to open or participate in sports-related conversations with confidence and credibility. 

Content includes basic rules and terminology, real-life scenarios, reference sections, how-to instructions, illustrations, lists and an easy-to-read calendar of sports year round.

The book is available in paperback online at the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. An eBook will be available shortly.

Co-authors Allison Hawk Collinger and Carla Freiman Feuer, veterans in marketing, communications, and strategic branding, were inspired to write the book based on their own work experiences. Both knew little about sports in the early days of their careers but learned fast that it was an important tool for getting along in the business world. Through focus groups and research they were able to confirm the universality of that realization.

Collinger was an active member in bringing the Rams professional football team to St. Louis. A former vice president at Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., Collinger directed the corporate communications and community outreach for the St. Louis Rams, overseeing the Rams’ community outreach team, the Rams Foundation and the teams’ off the field public relations initiatives. She is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Business which just began its inaugural Certificate in Sports Philanthropy. She currently owns and operates AHC Consulting. 

Feuer has more than 20 years of marketing communications, public relations and sales experience in-house, as well as for agency and non-profit organizations.  She has provided sales coaching, strategic communications and media relations for some of America’s largest organizations. Several of her campaigns won nationally recognized industry awards. A certified Integrity Selling® Facilitator and skilled communicator, Feuer has presented a variety of training seminars on media relations and crisis communications both to clients and as a volunteer to non-profit organizations.

Talking a Good Game: A Guide to Sports Talk in the U.S. Workplace is based on the premise that countless business opportunities may be lost, fumbled or wasted by those unfamiliar with American sports and sports culture. It is published by Talking A Good Game, LLC. in St. Louis, MO and is available online at Amazon (Amazon.com) and Barnes & Noble (bn.com).  Find it on the web at www.talkingagoodgame.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/TalkingAGoodGame and via Twitter at @TalkinAGoodGame.