Losing with grace tells people you’ll handle winning well too.

How you behave when it goes against you is the more honest sample, because there is nothing to gain by performing. People watch for whether you make excuses, whether you find somebody to blame, whether you can say well played and mean it. They are not judging the loss itself, they are reading what you are like under pressure.

Next time you come out on the wrong side, get through the first ten minutes without explaining anything. Congratulate whoever won, directly. Everything else you feel is allowed, just not in that window.