To tell you the truth, I am amazed how well sports stars do when they have just finished a game, they are being asked questions left and right, and there is a camera 3 feet from their face with a light so bright it is hard to see. Even if they are speaking in cliches, they have to think of the right ones to pull up at that moment. Most of the time, I think they do great under pressure.
Just imagine if you were faced with by a group of reporters when you are walking to your car after work:
Reporter: Tough day today…are you disapointed in yourself?
You: Uh no, but I think that I uh…
Reporter: What did you learn from todays numerous misteps and errors in judgements? What will be your gameplan for tommorrow?
You: Tomorrow? Yeah, I will probably do some things a little… uh…
Reporter: Do you feel that today’s disapointing work was a function of your competitors skill’s, or your own lack of preperation? In other words, did they win, or did you merely lose?
You: Go f yourself, I need to take my kid to the orthodontist.
I’ve done live television and taped stuff, and live television is scary. Once that red light turns on, your body reacts whether you want it to or not. Your throat gets a little tight, the corners of your mouth get a little inflexible, things get jumbled up a little- I am impressed with athletes developing the skills necessary to look good on live TV.