Making It in a Man's World.(sports commentator Melissa Stark)(Brief Article)(Interview)

You don't need to be one of the guys to master secrets of their success, says Monday Night Football commentator Melissa Stark.

* As a TV journalist for ABC Sports covering football, I'm constantly surrounded by men--both on camera interviewing players and coaches and back at the office with my colleagues. But as a woman in a male-dominated field, there are certain abilities that I bring to the table. For example, I can sometimes get a player to open up more during an interview than a guy could. Men come to a job with a different set of skills, and from observing them closely, I have picked up the following pointers that have helped me get ahead. Never Let'Em See You Sweat Right before the first Monday Night Football broadcast of the season, I remember telling my fellow commentators that I was really nervous. We were a new team, and with up to 20 million viewers per show, the pressure was on. But as I looked at the four guys I was about to go on the air with--Dennis Miller, Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, and Eric Dickerson--I soon realized that I was the only one expressing that I had apprehensions. I don't think guys have more confidence th an women do; they're just better at concealing insecurity, and that gives them an aura of omnipotence. Just acting as if you can tackle every challenge will make you mentally stronger and more competent even if you don't feel that way. After the first show, Dennis Miller admitted that he had been jittery too, though I never would have guessed it at the time.

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