Would a Motivational Speaker Work?
While the employment of motivational speakers becomes more prevalent within the commerce and academic sectors of the United Kingdom, traditionalists everywhere in the country can be heard criticising and turning their noses up at what they scathingly declare to be some sort of ridiculous new fangled American tendency. It’s funny, really, exactly how nearly anything that is widely used in the US is so quickly written off by particular groups of scornful Brits.
What’s maybe more amusing, in an ironic type of way, is that the motivational speaker could not be any further from some sort of new fangled American trend. Motivational speaking is not new by any means. Illustrations of the motivational speaker are present throughout history; as far back as speech itself goes.
Not only throughout history is the motivational speaker well known. All through centuries of literature, the very best commanders were consistently good speakers. Fictional motivational speakers have long influenced new generations of speakers. Which speaker has not attempted to emulate the power, effect and drama wielded by Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s rhetoric-laced ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’ speech?
The work of a good motivational speaker can’t be undervalued. A strong example is that of Winston Churchill’s ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’ speech. Morale has been raised and wars have been won and lost by fine motivational speakers.
It follows then, really, that their abilities within the business and academic sectors has been seen. When morale is low and sales have plummeted, it’s extremely easy for businesses to find themselves trapped in a rut. Inspiring words uttered by managers often take an accusatory or warning tone, which hinders instead of helps the problem. No surprise then that the motivational speaker is in much more demand than ever before.
Who then is the motivational speaker of the twenty-first century? In the public eye it is still the politicians. In the realm of sport it’s the football managers. In the realm of education and learning it is the lecturers. Yet as motivational speaking turns into big business the motivational speaker becomes a vaguer, more fluid idea. Today’s motivational speaker is the big business man, the sports star, the adventurer, the celeb and the success story, or any mixture thereof. You may disbelieve their power or disbelieve their authority, but you just can’t argue with the results of a good motivational speaker.gab
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