To speak or not to speak? That is the content!
Jeffrey, I’m a reporter with the Peoria Journal Star in Peoria, Illinois. I’m working on a story about how the down economy is affecting motivational speakers. More business? Less? Do the times dictate a change in tone or approach?
Here is my response.
Many of my speaker friends tell me their business has never been better, and many of my speaker friends tell me their business has never been worse. It’s a tale of two speakers. Charles Dickens said it best in 1859, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
My business is brisk, even though several of my customers have completely cancelled their meetings or events. The reason my business is doing well is because I customize and personalize every talk I give, and because my platform, marketing, email magazine, books, and promotions continue to make my phone ring.
Prospects will call and whine, “Jeffrey, my people need to be motivated.” In a way, they’re correct, but it’s in a bad way.
In a down economy, personal motivation is something everyone needs, but few people are aware of how to discover it for themselves. They focus on negative news, the state of the economy, business worries, job security, and in many cases even personal financial security.
Meanwhile, corporate leaders are slashing budgets, cutting meetings that they deem unnecessary, and doing their best to communicate as little as possible to their people, until the other shoe drops. And these leaders wonder why morale is down.
In these times, people don’t just want motivation; they also want answers, truth, and communication from leaders that all will be well.
ONE MAJOR ANSWER: Leaders must be the truthful, trustworthy, positive example of what they expect their people to do, and they must be willing to take action.
ANOTHER MAJOR ANSWER: And they should employ expert communicators, with personalized, meaningful, real-world, impactful messages to help them.
Enter outside experts…Many experts bill themselves as ‘motivational speakers.’ I do not. I’m an inspirational speaker, and an informational speaker. Addressing more than 120 audiences a year for the past 15 years, I provide my audiences with…
Used with permission from Jeffrey Gitomer
