Motivational Speakers

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It was Barry Hearn who once said: “if you do anything just for the money, you won't succeed”.

Getting staff to actually desire to work for you is tricky. In most industries, times are tougher and more concise. Many personnel just don’t realise that the customer really does pay their wages and the motivation for coming into work and doing a good job, being productive and making a difference by giving the extra 10%, cannot be that they’ll get paid at the end of the month.


And often it just isn’t enough for the CEO or MD to stand in front of them and point to a Powerpoint presentation. Unless the desired effect is a group coma. Only do what you’re good at and then it looks like you’re good at everything you do. And if you aren’t a motivational speaker, there’s probably a very good reason for that. True to the old business adage of ‘you’ve got to spend money to make money’, bring in the resources of a professional Motivational Speaker. Gone are the times of throwing bean bags around and screaming with an irritating grin: “there’s no ‘I’ in team”. Motivational speaking has moved on and doesn’t always reflect styles of David Brent.

Topics can vary hugely from pure motivation, particularly ideal if the business is going through hard times; in times of redundancy, sales slumps and poor product reviews where a de-motivated team need a boost. Customer service, increasing sales, memory improvement and even managing stress are all topics available. Motivational Speakers are dynamic individuals who never give up and who, as an outsider, can spot where your team needs nurturing, motivating and sending on their way. As with any industry there are those living in the shadows of the great, so try to avoid buying into a speaker based solely on the fact that they have the title. Also try to avoid unchecked areas like NLP. These are areas that have little place in motivating a team and fill up time, but don’t present huge results.

Word of mouth, testimonials and indeed past clients are a great indicator of success. After all, if the eagle-eyed ‘big guys’ have used them and replied positively, then they should be good enough for most. Try to arrange a telephone conversation with them to see if you like the sound of them. You can use this opportunity to find out what sort of things they’ll do for you and tell them what you want to achieve. Don’t buy into a stock presentation; you want them to be able to tailor their talk to your needs, addressing specific points. Research can even extend to getting a copy of books, CDs and other products that they have produced to see if you like their style.

Ultimately, take the time to choose the right Motivational Speaker for you. If you choose someone who talks for too long, doesn’t get any real points across and couldn’t set alight to a fart let alone your staff, then they’ll go away slumped even further into the pit of demotivation. Motivational Speaking still has a bit of a naff stigma attached to it but chosen correctly, it really is not only ‘first aid for staff’, but a great energy boost, too.

This article was kindly contributed by motivational speaker Jez Rose of www.jezrose.co.uk
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