In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!
Last week I was introduced as a motivational speaker. It’s a term I’ve never really been happy with; I’ve always seen myself as an inspirational speaker. I know this sounds pedantic, but to motivate, and to inspire are very different things.
Because I’m Irish (and therefore English is my second language!) I thought I’d check.
According to the Collins Popular English Dictionary;
Motivate: Give incentive to
Inspire: To fill with enthusiasm, stimulate; arouse (an emotion)
The Oxford English Dictionary goes a step further;
Inspire: To fill someone with the urge or ability to do something. To create a feeling in a person.
To motivate someone will always be difficult. Some people will be motivated by glory, others by money, and others by getting home early to see their kids. However many managers still fall into the trap of trying to motivate staff with bonuses, red-letter days, vouchers etc. Now for some staff this will work but for others it (frustratingly) won’t.
To inspire people you need to build a vision of a better place, a world where your product or service is the very best it can be. You need to emotionally engage with them and then empower them. They must understand why they are vital and you must encourage the belief that they can deal with any challenge.
Trust me targets and spreadsheets will not inspire anyone. No one has ever been emotionally engaged to an Excel graph. But more importantly it’s not just your words it’s your actions. Do you listen, do you help, or do you admonish? Do you encourage? Do you stand up for your team?
If you do all of this then you will have people that are willing to go that extra mile to help their company be the best it can be. Inspiring will always be harder than motivating but the results far outweigh the effort.
My Edinburgh journey and the 7 Keys that helped me achieve my goal do not motivate, they inspire an audience to face new challenges, and empower them to take action. The question is what are you going to do differently today and are you going to motivate or inspire?
Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.
