Planning to inspire? Its showtime!
ASKSonnie in one of his talks for the youth
The world of public speaking is almost like an entertainment industry. At the end of the day, the audience who spent moolah to hear you, must go home satisfied. Otherwise, there will be no repeat business. Unfortunately, the barometer of an inspire centric talk has been focused on making people laugh and jump up and down.
Learning events organizers say without entertainment, there will be no business, not unless, a speaker got something that you need, like unit credit for license renewal.
I happen to notice in the learning events organizing biz that they are particular with the first and last speaker. At first, I don’t understand because as an work place learning practitioner, I am more concerned with the order of topics to ensure maximum learning. I figured out later that the funniest, liveliest, and most entertaining speakers are placed on the 1st and last slot to leave a sweet taste to the audience. It’s not a bad strategy, but a few used this as template of an inspire centric learning event.
Likewise, I followed with interest other players on the public speaking field, specially on how they position their brand in the market. Most, if not all, have this common denominator- to entertain the audience and make them feel good about themselves. The belief is that to inspire a person, laughter can bring out the positive emotion. And this, in turn will fuel change.
Is this bad? Not really..
A good speaker is an engaging speaker, he can adjust his style depending on the audience to get his message across. I believe, further, that the role of motivational speakers is to offer an alternate solution, so people can make an intelligent choice. An inspire centric speaker should understand that they are not in the business of making people laugh (alone), but to provide an alternative path, create a compelling desire to change, so the audience will pursue a new behavior.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person – Colossians 4:6 ESV
Entertaining the audience is good, but this should lead the audience to take concrete actions to change their mindset, habit or way of doing things
Founder of LODI Inc. (Learning and Organization Development Institute, Inc.) and Co-Founder of Blogwatch. Mentor and Dad of 2 Gen Z Professionals.
Advocate of #HRinHR (Human Rights in Human Resources) and #DigitalCitizenship
Strategist for Talent, Culture & Content Development, and Cyber Wellness Initiatives
Keynoter and Facilitator of Workplace and Life Learning
Blogging since 2004.
That post made my school days come back … When we were wild and young and actually contra everything and everybody , a new religion teacher took over our class . Religion ! We were rebells in the 70s and religion was a no go. But that teacher was such an amazing person , he had such a brilliant way to make his lessons interesting. At the end of the school year on my diploma it said: Religion : 1 ( which is the best in germany ) Personality is a huge factor in speaking or teaching , not just knowledge !
I love how it ends with a verse. I think this message should be applied all the time in public speaking. When a speaker makes me think, it’s very uncomfortable for me. sometimes it confuses me, but sometimes that’s better than just hearing the words I needed to hear. It makes me move, not only inspired. Thank you so much for this post sir! This is really wonderful
My friend in the same industry as yours would also let me in on a few “strategies” when it comes to lining up speakers. A little bit of difference though, she would instantly (but not usually) change the order depending on the mood and reception. As such, the best for last usually gets to do their part earlier than expected and like you said, people shouldn’t really see this as a bad thing. The audience are the true masters and it takes a good organizer to do the shuffling and bets!
I think the biggest thing overall is how well the audience can relate to the speaker. Everyone wants to be able to connect with the person like they’re their next door neighbor or co-worker. I think if not humor just something to show their human side. Otherwise the speaker comes off as cold.
I have never liked public speaking, I always try to avoid it. My middle son loves a good chance to talk and loves public speaking.