Why Motivational Speakers Don't Work

One of the most common practices at corporate meetings is to invite a motivational speaker to present to the assembled businesspeople. The idea seems reasonable. Have someone with a compelling story and great speaking skills fire up the audience and motivate them to new heights in their individual and team efforts. Improved performance, it follows logically, means improved productivity and greater corporate profitability.

What could be wrong with getting the “troops” excited and raring to go? Have you ever listened to a motivational talk, for example, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch? Have you ever read a motivating book such as Born to Run? Or watched a motivating film like Hoosiers? How do you feel after? Well, motivated, right? What a great feeling! You’re ready to take on the world. You’re brimming with confidence. Your eye is on the prize and, by gosh, that prize is yours!

But then something rather deflating happens that makes the company’s commitment of money and time committed to a motivational speaker seem like a pretty bad investment. You wake up the next morning and the motivation is gone. You’re still the same old you. And you may even feel worse about yourself because, after the previous day’s motivation, your failure to take even one small step towards your career goals is all the more glaring.

So what happened? The truth is that you, and millions of other people looking for motivation to change their lives, have been hoodwinked by the “motivation-industrial complex,” a multi-billion dollar industry. Why, you ask? Because the motivation that comes from other people is manufactured from the outside. This “synthetic” motivation simply can’t last long because when the source of the motivation (i.e. the talk, film, or book) is gone, its shelf life is very short.

True and lasting motivation can’t, unfortunately, come from outside. It must arise from a very deep place within us. This life-changing motivation verily forces its way out of us, demanding that we take action. That is the motivation that propels people to monumental acts of courage, willpower, perseverance, and, ultimately, change.

Also, the motivation that comes from talks, movies, or books is designed to provoke maximum motivation (that’s what sells), but provide minimal follow-through. The reality is that motivation is a necessary, but not sufficient, contributor to positive change. Yes, motivation gets you out of bed and into the office every day, but motivation to change without a clear direction to change has little value. Also, motivation and direction aren’t even sufficient if you lack the knowledge, skills, or support necessary to catalyze action towards your goals.

Okay, I will give a little and say that it is theoretically possible for motivation from others to inspire change. A very small segment of the motivation-deficient population is teetering on the edge of change and just needs the slightest nudge of motivation which they might get from outside of themselves. Or the inspiration generated from the outside is very immediate, deep, and resonant, such as the courageous efforts of a CEO to keep a company afloat. Or the sports coach who gives a rousing pep talk to their team at half time and the team comes back to the field “en fuego” (but the motivation usually fades by the end of the third quarter).

Our culture venerates the inspirational leader, whether a president, CEO, military officer, coach, or teacher. There are some who have the ability to motivate others to new heights. Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, was said to have had that magic touch. General George Patton had it. And the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden had it.

But the “it” that these and others had was not, as most people think, their ability to create that burst of motivation during, say, an economic downturn, a battle, or the big game. Instead, what makes the great motivators so, well, motivating is their ability to help others find their own personal motivation every day. It is that personal motivation that inspires people to have a vision of what they want to achieve, work hard and prepare well so they have not only a clear direction in sight, but also the actual wherewithal to get where they want to go.

So, next time you want to feel that wonderful rush of motivation, go ahead and watch a motivating movie, read a motivating book, or listen to a motivating speaker. But if you want real motivation, the kind that will consume every pore of your body, sustain itself not only through the next morning, but many mornings to come, and drives you to achieve your goals, look deep inside and see if you can find it within you. Because you sure won’t find it anywhere else.

And if you’re a corporate event planner, think twice next time before you hire that motivational speaker. Instead, think about how you can better use that time and money that you would have spent on the manufactured and short-lived motivation and give your company’s employees some information and tools that might actually improve their performances. Or just use that money to give them a good time, which will probably do more for their motivation than a motivational speaker.