Archie Manning Q&A with Rob Tuchman

Source: Incentivemag.com

Archie Manning Q&A with Rob Tuchman

Robert Tuchman, president of celebrity marketing firm TSE Sports & Entertainment, recently sat down with National Football League legend Archie Manning to talk about his experiences in public speaking. As quarterback for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, Manning was the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1978, and he continues to hold the most passing records for the Saints. He was voted Most Popular Saint in franchise history. In 1992, Manning was voted Mississippi's All-Time Greatest Athlete. Today he enjoys speaking to groups at business meetings and corporate events.

Q. What is your typical speaking topic?

Archie Manning: I have about three. One of them is principles for success. It's kind of a comparison of football to the business world and their similarities. Another is business management. The other is personal management...and of course I have a lot of war stories.

Q. What do you enjoy most about giving speeches?

AM: The opportunity to meet people in the business world and to learn about their companies and businesses. I like witnessing the success stories. Also the friendships I've made traveling around the country and speaking to various groups.

Q. Do you enjoy the interaction with clients, signing autographs, and taking pictures?

AM:I enjoy people and meeting people, and if an autograph or photograph gives them pleasure, I'm happy to oblige, as long as it's in a controlled environment. It's part of meeting people.

Q.How many appearances and speeches will you give a year?

AM: I probably wind up doing 25 to 50 engagements a year; it really depends how much I want to take on. My only reservation is traveling. Some years I back off because of issues with travel.

Q. Are your speeches motivational, spiritual or comical?

AM: A combination of comical and motivational.

Q.How do you come up with your speeches?

AM:I have three base speeches, and oftentimes I will tweak them based on the client or audience.

Q. What motivates you to do speaking engagements?

AM: My mother entered me into a talent contest when I was 14 years old had the choice of singing with my sister or a public speaking contest. And while I love my sister, I didn't want to sing with her, so I chose the public speaking contest. I trained for it and won first place and entered again the next year! I believe this conquered any anxiety I may have had of getting up and speaking in front of a group. As an adult, I started speaking to youth groups, then touchdown clubs, quarterback clubs and then it just evolved to corporate speaking.

Q. Do you prefer speaking to certain types of groups or industries?

AM: It doesn't matter to me do enjoy the corporate because you hear success stories about businesses and individuals. But I also enjoy philanthropic speaking, chambers of commerce, boy scouts, communities, etc. I really enjoy it all.

Q. Do you get a lot of questions about your sons, Peyton and Eli?

AM: Oh yeah, of course. And I enjoy Q&As-they are what lead to funny stories, good examples of situations, etc. I really enjoy them.

Q.M Favorite speech you gave or motivational moment?

AM:I've had so many wonderful experiences that I can't really single out one. I've made some wonderful friends through speaking and I'm grateful for that. And when someone tells me they've enjoyed my speech, I can tell they mean it, and it's very rewarding.

Sidebar: Rob Tuchman's Top 10 Athlete/Speakers

1. NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton: He never watches the clock and consistently spends more time with a group than he contracted for. He also does a great job at integrating a corporate message into his speech.

2. NY Giants running back and NBC broadcaster Tiki Barber: Corporate events come as easy to him as running the football did when he was with the New York Giants.

3. NY Giants defensive end Michael Strahan: Really seems to enjoy working a room and making sure even the most shy person is having a good time.

4. Greg Biffle:Who? All your attendees will know this NASCAR great. As most NASCAR drivers know, the sponsor is king.

5. NBA Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist Charles Barkley: What you see on television is what you get with Sir Charles. He can make the most hardened CEO smile.

6. Terry Bradshaw:Any football fan will recognize the bald pate and broad grin of Terry Bradshaw. The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and longtime NFL analyst remains a favorite speaker for his quick wit and generous nature. "He'll do a speech in the morning, play golf in the afternoon, and join the awards dinner at night, and clearly have a lot of fun doing it all," says Tom Hurley, VP of sales at JNR Inc., an Irvine, Calif. based incentive house.

7. Recently retired Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy: The wise old grandfather with incredible stories to tell.

8. Baltimore Oriole and consecutive-game record holder Cal Ripken, Jr.:One thing is for sure if you book him, he'll be there.

9. U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" hockey team captain Mike Eruzione: A master at the motivational speech. Thankfully that puck he shot in the 1980 Olympics was not a few inches wide of the goal, or we would have never known.

Robert Tuchman is president of celebrity marketing firm TSE Sports & Entertainment (www.tseworld.com) Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning are represented by IMG Speakers Bureau in New York (www.imgspeakers.com)