The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers
Whether you're an aspiring speaker or you're in the market to hire a speaker and want to be sure you find the right speaker for your next event; this guide is for you.
Some people find it entertaining as well.
You be the judge. Please leave your comments.
Thanks!
Tim
The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers and How to Avoid Them
- As I survey the speaker's market I've become a tad weary wearing the title "Inspirational Speaker". Maybe it's just me, but does the mere mention of the term "Motivational Speaker" conjure up flaccid pictures in your mind?
It may be unfair, but whenever I think motivational speaker I see fuzzy images of teary eyed men and women on a stage spewing a bunch of fluff with very little substance.
Of course, there are some motivational - inspirational speakers out there who do a great job. I can't take anything away from the gifted pros who with ease seem to move folks to the next level...
but come on, some speakers give speaking a bad name.
Sadly, there are far too many of these bad speakers showing up on stages all across America, if not the world. I can only guess that these bad speakers are trying to model themselve after what they think a speaker should do. I call these models - bad speaker stereotypes and I'll address a few of them here. I also hope to build a short, but very, very necessary list of what not to do.
Alrighty, here goes:
Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number One:
The "Over-The-Top" Speaker
The "Over-The-Top" Speaker or the O.T.T. Speaker appears to have discovered a new fad diet which includes mountains of pure sugar and caffeine.The O.T.T. will at any given moment find it necessary to expend tremendous amounts of energy racing about the platform as if a sniper has them in the crosshairs.
During smaller office presentations, The O.T.T. speaker may be seen jumping atop a desk shouting "Go For It!" or performing their best impressions of former Governor and one time Presidential hopeful, Howard Dean's famous "YEAAAAAHHHHHH".
It didn't work for Mr. Dean either.
Reality Check:
I do not desk hurdle. Many professional speakers whom I admire keep their gestures natural and their tones conversational in nature. This is not "Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey" and a speaker's stage is not a big tent
Calm down already
Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number Two:
The "T.M.I." Speaker or The "Too Much Information " Speaker
In an effort to emotionally connect with the audience, the notorious T.M.I. Speaker offers up WAY too much personal information.To the bewilderment of the hiring authority and the audience, the TMI speaker utilizes 90% of their time telling teary-eyed, blow-by-blow commentaries of abuse, personal struggles and tragedies. Though somewhat touching, the program's focus ends up being buried deeper than an Indiana Jones' Lost Ark and Jim E Hoffa combined.
The T.M.I. speaker doesn't realize that the goal of any program is to inspire some sort of action of the audience, not to become a full-blown charity case.
Reality Check:
Engage your audience? Yes, but personal stories should only be used if they directly (let me repeat, directly) support the overall theme of your program.
As an example, here's one of my personal stories. I'm only using it because it impacts the theme of this post.
"During my first professional position as a paralegal for a government agency I had the marvelous opportunity to work side-by-side with a number of experienced individuals and mentors. These mentors taught me many compelling business principles that I currently utilize".
"One day at work on a crowded elevator I struck up a conversation with one such mentor. In the efforts to protect the innocent and the ignorant I'll refer to the mentor in this story as "Mr. Edwards".
Me: Hello Mr. Edwards, I noticed you in the lobby earlier today...
Mr. Edwards: Yes, Timothy my family paid me a visit...
Me: Really? Was that your son you were holding earlier?
Mr. Edwards: Oh no, that was my nephew. I can't have kids, I'm sterile.
Me: Okay
Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number Three:
The "High-Tech, Low-Performance" Speaker
Oh Boy does The H.T.L.P. Speaker love to put on a show! The H.T.L.P's program not only begins with a bang, the middle and end is littered with state-of-the-art, eye-popping sound-effects and a fantastic frenzy of flashy visuals.In the beginning the audience is mesmerized, but it becomes obvious very quickly that the H.T.L.P. is heavy on the glitz and light on the substance.
The H.T.L.P. is a show-person. The H.T.L.P's entire speech can be boiled down to a bookmark of inspirational quotes which can be readily found by any 12-year-old doing a 10second search on GOOGLE. Yes, the H.T.L.P. catches the audience's attention, but has no inkling where to go from there, except, you guessed it, onto the next variation of visual, vainful vanity displays which add up to sensory overload and little if any true substance.
Reality Check:
Many professional speakers acknowledge the need to capture the audience's attention, but should a professional speaker need a truckload of explosives to do it?
No.
The highly regarded professional speaker realizes that he or she is the distributor of the information NOT the projector, NOT the movie screen or any other artificial simulator.
A speaker who relies too much on electronics to deliver a message detracts from the human-element of his or her content. For everyones sake invovled, limit the bells and whistles and allow your audience to focus on the real purpose of the program.
If the only requirements for an effective presentation were some flashy PowerPoint slides there's really no need for a human-being at all. Heck, we might as well send everyone home and just give them a flashdrive with a powerpoint presentation on it and cash their checks on the way out.
Less glitz. More Bitz.
Final Thoughts on The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers
Wrap Up:
Many elements can be included in a speaker's arsenal to deliver the utmost impact in their programs.Story-telling
Humor
Props
Visuals
Gestures
Role-playing
Personal anecdotes
Eye contact
Quotations
All these things can help a speaker effectively communicate his/her message, but a speaker shouldn't rely on any one method too heavily.
The ultimate goal must always be to leave the audience with a course of action they are motivated to pursue. After all, it's what happens "after" we leave the stage that matters most, right?
A professional speaker who leaves his client and his audience with positive end-results is a highly sought-after resource and no joking matter.
My name is Timothy Crawford. I write stuff.
Thanks for reading.
New Guestbook
Like this lens? Want to share your feedback, or just give a thumbs up? Be the first to submit a blurb!
