Motivational Speaking. "Acceptable in the 80s"?

4 min. read.

Inspiring others is in. You see inspirational quotes everywhere. On social media, on your favorite’s coffee shop take away mug and most probably even your wife sends you inspirational SMS: "Every day is a new opportunity. If you forget our anniversary tomorrow, I'm going to divorce you."

The public perception towards inspirational concepts slowly but surely tends to go towards the negative though. Too cheesy, passé. Cliché? Some people even state that motivational speaking died in the late 1980s, early 90s. Really? - Nooo! I flirted with the idea of making this part of my portfolio.

How did I solve this issue? I decided to visit a motivational seminar last week to form an opinion about this topic. The end result? Let me take you on a journey...

Let's begin with the moment 

the doors to a festively decorated ballroom opened. So far so good. If there... "Life will never be the same. Life is changing..." - What the h***?! Four huge sound speakers boomed Haddaways mid 90s Eurodance track directly into our faces. Bam! In my mind's eye WAY too tight, black, shiny leather flares appeared. A see-trough black shirt and a young Haddaway dancing his heart out. "Yeah! Yeah!"

Please don't get me wrong. I'm German. And I used to be a competitive dancer. I had heaps of fun. But the rest of the audience? The participants looked confused, critical, cautious. The fact that you HAD TO SCREAM AT EACH OTHER to make conversation also didn't help...

15 minutes after the first shock, 

the second one flew in. We were asked to stand up and express all of our excitement, energy and commitment in three massive Yes' while fist pumping up high in the air. - YES! YES! YES!!! I looked at my seat neighbour Sara (name changed due to anonymity reasons). Sara looked at me. We simultaneously starred to the front. Our eyes hugely opened. It was a little bit like a car accident: You really didn't WANT to look. But you somehow HAD to... We felt like in the middle of a cult-like, creepy, religious organisation. And yes, I still doubt the effectiveness of such involvement techniques in front of a Middle Eastern introvert audience...

Anyway, let's forget about the weird beginning. 

I decided to focus on the coach and his speaker qualities. I'll make it short: He also didn't pass this test. We all know how to prepare an inspirational speech, right? Connect with needs of the audience, change the status quo, inspire them. But there is a fine line between using interesting anecdotes and making your life - especially your childhood - look like a massive drama! Insecure as a child, bullied as a teenager, a success guru in his 30s. Using key words like extraordinary, excellence and efficiency every 55 seconds also didn't make it better...

I had a - please excuse my language - déjà-poo: Sh*t I smelled before. It reminded me of the bar scene in Deadpool, in which Wade and Vanessa have a battle on whose childhood was more traumatic:

W: "Rough childhood?"

V: "Rougher than you. Dad left before I was born."

W: "Dad left before I was conceived (...) I watched my own birthday party from the keyhole of a locked closet, which was also my-"

V: "Bedroom? Lucky. I slept in a dishwasher box!"

W: "So you had a dishwasher!"

Conclusion?

The original or American motivational speaking might have died in the late 80s. Zig Ziglar passed away in 2012. Dr. Wayne Dyer last year. Tony Robbins is in his late 50s. But inspiring others always will be a needed skill - if executed well. IF. I learned a lot. Especially what NOT to do.

My major conclusion is: A new generation of motivational speakers is needed. More pragmatic, funnier, less esoteric. Further important factors: Culturally and timely adapted concepts. This is at least how I will prepare my future seminars and trainings. Because "life will never be the same. Life is changing..."