The fact that I play tennis frequently comes up when I interact with the rest of the world. I literally wear my enthusiasm for tennis on my sleeves. I recently came to the realization that I was overlooking opportunities to transform those serendipitous moments into a more direct call to action.
In fact, when I mention that I play tennis to casual acquaintances, a typical response is regret that they themselves never learned to play. You know what? That isn’t a permanent condition. Here is how I plan to better leverage those moments in the future.
You should seriously give tennis a try. When I am on the court I have so much fun that my body doesn’t even notice that I am doing cardio. For me, it is a wonderful mental break from worry and stress in my life. Tennis is an inherently social sport and it is a great way to meet people and build positive relationships while having a great time. Study after study has confirmed positive health effects in people who regularly play the sport. Basically, tennis players are statistically more likely to be healthier and happier than the general population. Picking up a racquet is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself. You should give it a try.
“You should try tennis” elevator pitch.
A likely follow up to this is how a person might go about getting started in tennis. This one is a little trickier because it requires some local knowledge as well as understanding of your personal degree of commitment. Here is a basic template appropriate for people in a geographic area where you are familiar with the local tennis facilities and beginning tennis options.
[Tennis Facility] has a great beginning series of classes. The instructors are top notch and you will learn all the basics of play. They can even help with demo racquets in case you need one. All you have to do is show up. The class will be full of people just like you who are learning to play the game. I think you would love it. Most people who start out in that program stick with it. It is the absolute best way to try out tennis with a short term investment of time. I will send you the registration link. You should check it out.
“How to get started in tennis” elevator pitch.
I want to become more inviting to people in my social circles that do not already play tennis. For example, I intend to periodically offer to go out and tap a few balls around with them. It occurs to me that I should take my friends into the local tennis centers for casual play to make that setting a little more familiar. That may make it easier for them to take the next step and enroll in lessons.
Tomorrow we will consider elevator pitches that revolve around getting existing tennis players to expand their involvement in the tennis ecosystem.
