By now, you've heard what the pundits had to say about Tiger Woods' appearance Friday—including the commentary on the camera glitches—but what we offer here is an exclusive and powerful roundup of four of the nation's top presentation experts taking the analysis further while outlining lessons every PR pro can apply to client and company work.

We asked these stellar media training and crisis communication pros to share their insights, and the response couldn't be more mixed. Whether you prefer to learn from the mistakes or successes of others, there's something here for you. As Hartman notes, "Every adjective one can imagine, from 'very eloquent' to 'pathetic' has been applied to the words he spoke and the way he spoke them." Here are their responses:

"True Feelings Don't Come from Words on a Page"
—Norm Hartman

Tiger Woods' announcement was probably watched by more Americans than any other recent news event. Every adjective one can imagine, from "very eloquent" to "pathetic" has been applied to the words he spoke and the way he spoke them. And every pundit has had his or her say. Body language experts—whether real or self-appointed—have variously described his appearance as "doing more damage than good" and "genuine."

What Tiger doesn't seem to realize or accept is that when he achieved fame and fortune, he gave up a certain degree of his and his family's right to privacy. That's the price of celebrity. You can't have the public spotlight on just when you win with that birdie putt on the 18th hole, and you can't dictate the terms.

Nor does he understand that it's folly to attack the news media, even the tabloids and the paparazzi, for doing what they do. We may not condone some of it, but we recognize the reality and the inevitability of it.

He also needs to accept that carefully chosen, scripted and rehearsed words read somewhat clumsily in a contrived environment will not convince many people of his sincerity and contrition. True feelings don't come from words on a page. (Sadly, the failure of the camera that gave us the best view of Tiger denied whatever little opportunity there might have been during the last and perhaps most poignant moments of his statement for the audience to get a real sense of his state of mind.)

Ultimately, I believe Tiger is going to have to face the reality of an interview with Oprah, Barbara Walters or Katie Couric if he hopes to restore a substantial degree of his former credibility with the public. Only if he takes the tough questions—and gives spontaneous, forthright and heartfelt answers, allowing us to get a sense of his true feelings—will we think we have seen the "real" Tiger Woods. And only then can we make our own judgments.

As a golf fan and one who has followed and admired Tiger Woods for years, I hope he does that soon.

Tiger Crafts an Excellent "Call to Action"
—Anne Ready

Tiger Woods did an excellent job of conveying sincerity in his shot heard round the world.
He was Compelling and Contrite, two of Ready For Media's C's of Communication (followed by Credible, Confident, Charismatic and Careful). Instead of the tried and true crisis formula of Admit, Apologize and Advance, Tiger seemed to be following a 12-step plan of first acknowledging his bad behavior and sincerely apologizing to everyone he has ever hurt.

He wisely avoided the next step of bridging to an easier subject. Another "rule" that had to be broken was his repetition of "hard" and loaded words like "entitled," "selfish" and "foolish." Plus, he repeated the negative headlines that had been used to describe his behavior: "I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated."

These seemed to be necessary to convey the depth of his shame and embarrassment.

Instead of stonewalling originally, had he been able to make his statement months or even weeks earlier, he might have saved himself and his family a great deal of suffering.

Tiger avoided a feeding frenzy by choosing the venue and the rules. But we expect him to be a pro and the blue-velvet-magic-show setting and camera that "went out" halfway through seemed very amateurish. It destroyed the power of his one-on-one-to-camera, with unflinching eye contact, that had been serving him so well. By carefully controlling the environment, complete with his mom, he created a "fake" press conference setting that may have helped him feel less alone, but wasn't the best use of the medium.

A basic guideline in public speaking is: Know your audience. Tiger's staunch defense of his wife, Elin, spoke more to women and consumers of sponsors' products than to armchair golfers who are just anxious to see more brilliant golf. Good move.

His family deserves privacy and safety, but the media has made both Tiger and golf the icon and sport they are today. Biting the hand that feeds you never seems gracious. Giving the media good photo opportunities, much as Tiger has done in happier days, is the best antidote.

In both presentation and media coaching, we always help clients craft a "call to action" sound bite, to give the audience a way to participate. Tiger nailed this one, too, with "I hope you can find it in your hearts to believe in me again."

Grade A- (technical difficulties).

"Tiger Will Never Be a Star Again"
—Jim Cameron

It was not a news conference, and it was barely an apology. A handpicked group of family and friends? No real reporters asking questions? And Tiger delivering a robot-like, poorly read statement (without prompters) in a room that looked like a funeral parlor? This is the best his handlers could come up with after all this time?

He seemed at times over-rehearsed (the emotional pause, the hand on his heart); for the most part, his delivery came off as phony and insincere while working from a script obviously written by a committee, not by him.

And Tiger's costar in this little drama? Not his wife Elin, but his mother, looking stern at first and later looking down, unable to watch her own son. Then this Oedipal embrace after the speech? Please!

The wide shot of the crowd's reactions spoke volumes. If Tiger couldn't connect with this handpicked bunch of toadies, he sure couldn't do a good job connecting with the public. This entire "public apology" was too little far too late to do anything useful in reviving his damaged brand.

What should have been done instead? My perspective:

1. Tiger's handlers should not have waited so long to go public, letting the story grow and fester.

2. Why not do his mea culpa one-on-one with someone like Bob Costas in a controlled interview with agreed-to ground rules on the questions. Surely some journo would whore themselves for that exclusive.

3. If he had to read a statement, rehearse it! It needed to sound genuine and spontaneous, not scripted and unprepared.

4. Whatever it took, have his wife there showing genuine support.

Last Friday's performance was weak. Instead of putting the story to rest, everything he tried to avoid (reporters, questions, real emotions) will be waiting for him when he returns to the public eye.

Tiger will be back. But he'll never be a star again. And I doubt, given all that's on his mind, he'll ever play great golf again. I'd predict that the last of his sponsors will slip away in the coming months. The Germans have a word for it: Schadenfreude.

"He Looked Like a High-School Actor"
—Patti Wood

Tiger Woods got many things right. He expressed remorse. He took responsibility. However, he kept going beyond asking for forgiveness, and gave several little speeches within his speech. Stick to one purpose. Go with one sincere talking point.

His nonverbal behavior changed from fear and nervousness, emotions that could have won sympathy, to righteousness and suppressed anger. Your statements and your nonverbal communication need to be consistently apologetic. You do not get angry at the media and the public when you are requesting their grace. Nonverbal delivery can affect the PR outcome. If you read the transcript, you would find beautifully written gems such as "I want to say to each of you, simply and directly," "I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior." But though the text was, at times, beautifully scripted, his reliance on his notes and his wooden vocal delivery made it seem overly rehearsed. He read from his notes; then inauthentically, raised his head at the critical moment to make an "eye appeal." This, combined with coached gestures such as putting his hand over his heart, made him look a bit like a high school actor who had to stand in at the last minute for the starring role.

When I coach someone, I ask them to think about what they are feeling and make sure they show emotions that are appropriate. I also ask them to sense what would be normal emotions to feel in the circumstances, and what the audience would be looking for in a contrite person.

Tiger Woods was apologizing for being unfaithful. Yet the first time the golfer mentioned his wife and children his eyes were absolutely dead, his voice had no emotion, it was absolutely monotonic. He detached himself. In fact, he was more emotional when apologizing to his friends and coworkers than he was when referring to his family.

As a media coach, I would have suggested if he felt any love or tenderness in his relationship with his wife, that he show that with his body language and if he felt embarrassed or tense as he referred to his wife that that would be normal, acceptable and preferable to dead eyes and a cold monotone delivery. His apology to his friends showed more appropriate nervousness than did his apology to his wife.

One of the most heartfelt and honest statements of his apology was this: "I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply," followed by, "I worked hard my entire life and thought I deserved …." That's when we heard his true feelings about his behavior and reasoning. He felt very passionately about that. It's what we know many men must feel in their positions of power. Yet it sounded so horrible to us because he delivered this—of all statements—with such passion and conviction. It's a though he still believes that and may only regret that he was caught.

"He Could Become the Next Barry Bonds"
—T.J. Walker

So how did Tiger do? On performance skills, I give Tiger a solid "B+." Here's what Tiger did well:

1. He struck just the right tone of embarrassment, regret, remorse and contrition.

2. He defanged his critics by agreeing with every one of their charges—he's selfish, egotistical, irresponsible, cruel and playing by another set of rules.

3. He apologized.

4. He apologized thoroughly and completely to many different groups in a manner that suggested he really understood why he needed to apologize.

5. He outlined specific positive actions he was taking to correct the problems.

6. He took personal responsibility for everything and didn't resort to tired, cheap tactics of blaming alcohol or generic "stress."

7. Though he used a script, he spoke in a conversational manner that didn't seem memorized, flat or wooden.

On the negative side, I fault Tiger in these areas:

1. He had his entire presentation typed out on numerous pieces of paper. It would have been far better to have had a single sheet with a bare outline.

2. Speaking behind a lectern made the presentation less friendly and more like a state politician reading a statement from a lawyer after being indicted.

3. His eye contact was not great (though it was OK, because he looked down too much at his notes).

4. Last, and most important, he didn't take questions from the press, thus destroying his credibility when he claims that he understands he has to start playing by the same rules everyone else does.

In terms of overall media strategy, I give Tiger a grade of "C." (This is a big improvement from the solid "F" he has earned over the last three months.)

As mentioned above, it was a horrible blunder to keep the press from asking questions. Woods is only increasing the pent-up demands of the media. He further solidifies his reputation as an arrogant, over-privileged spoiled brat who can do whatever he wants.

Woods should have taken a page from former President Bill Clinton in the '90s and Sen. John McCain in the '80s (during the Keating 5 S&L Scandal). Each went on elaborate apology tours and answered every question from every reporter until everyone was blue in the face. Then, each resumed his careers with high effectiveness and good relations with the media. Woods needs to spend a week on the couch with Oprah, Jay and Ellen, and at the desk of Larry, if he ever wants to put this past him.

Tiger Woods is at a crossroads; he could turn back into the old Tiger Woods again or he could become the next Barry Bonds.