Bringing in a speaker who inspires the team creates an electric atmosphere. People leave motivated, recharged, excited to approach everything differently, and excited to come to work. Then Monday morning comes, and within days or weeks, it all fades to the background. The motivation they felt turns into a nice memory rather than a life-changing one. Organizations that know how to turn these motivational events into performance outcomes understand that the speaker is only a small part of the puzzle. They approach the motivational speaker as an overall strategy that must be executed before, during, and after the event itself.
Clearly Identify What “Success” Means Before The Event
The worst thing organizations can do is reach out to hire a motivational speaker without first asking themselves what they hope to gain from such an event. Saying that they want their team to be motivated is not specific enough to give people guidance on how to prepare or even seek the kind of outcome they should aim to achieve.
Good organizations get specific about what kind of behaviors they would like to see more of after the event than before.
They may want to see an increase in collaboration between departments, improved problem-solving skills, more resilience to challenges in a difficult business climate, or even a more positive attitude towards change as they are facing change in their organization. Whatever the case, the organization is in a much better position to create all the additional elements needed to make this happen.
Identifying Speakers Who Address Organizational Needs
Motivational speaking is not one size fits all. Many speakers focus on personal resilience or growth. Others focus on collaboration between teams or even embracing change. Others still focus on excellence in all situations. Organizations need to get specific and ensure it is unique to what they need, rather than just someone who sounds good.
Organizations can significantly benefit from speaking to a professional in this area who will help them determine which motivational speakers provide the kind of content they want and need. The right speaker will allow people to return from the event inspired because it specifically addressed their organization’s needs rather than focusing on something else.
Background is also essential here. Speakers who have overcome challenges similar to their audience or who have achieved success and have something to say about the topic will resonate far more with people than someone who knows nothing about their challenges and offers only vague suggestions based on other life experiences.
Framing Is Done Before The Speaker Arrives
Everything that happens before the speaker takes the stage will impact how the audience hears what they must share and how they use what they learn. Organizations that treat this just as an event make a mistake. They fail to prime themselves for success.
Organizational leaders need to tell people about the unique value of this speaker and what they hope their employees will gain from them. This allows people to frame their listening and gives them something to listen to instead of just listening with the hope that they enjoy themselves. Providing some insight into challenges that the organization faces and what goals they are trying to achieve makes what is being shared relevant immediately.
Some organizations even ask their teams to provide a list of one or two challenges in their personal or professional lives that they would like to overcome and develop before the team arrives at the event. This pre-commitment allows people to be invested in what is about to be presented as motivational content.
Reinforcing Concepts After The Event
The event may last an hour or two, but people need to see and hear reminders of the content for weeks afterward. Organizations need to identify the core concept, framework, or model that the motivational speaker presented and how they will introduce that repeatedly into conversations with their employees.
This can be done by referencing aspects of the presentation during team meetings, using language from the presentation in all organizational messaging, or even just making gentle reminders for these concepts sprinkled throughout the most common organizational departments or even the office itself.
Managers play a crucial role in this, as they see employees many times throughout the day and can relate to them. They should also be reminded to use these concepts where relevant in relevant conversations.
If employees see that the content of the motivational event was genuinely integrated into the company culture, they will remember it.
Providing Tools To Act On Ideas
Motivational content without any ideas for how to use it simply creates grand ideas of what can be done. Organizations need to create action points for people who may be inspired by these speakers. This can include creating a department for accountability, so people have someone else to report to regarding their progress. It can also include action planning sessions, where people write down specific things they will do after the session.
Organizations can also ensure that people have everything they need to implement these changes rather than just feeling inspired without a way of executing what they have been inspired to do.
Organizations should also choose goals that align with what the speaker was focusing on. If it was increased resilience during change, for example, they should provide people with all the resources to best manage their level of uncertainty rather than throwing them into a sea of anxiety that they will not know how to conquer.
Gathering Feedback After The Event
Organizations do not need complex spreadsheets or data gathering tools to determine whether a motivational event has transformed their organization. Leaders just need to pay attention to changes in behavior.
Are people tackling problems differently? Are they interacting with one another differently? Are they meeting challenges that arise in a new and more effective manner?
Organizational leaders should also ask for feedback from attendees several weeks after the event so they can remember what was presented and gauge whether their thoughts were changed by what was presented, as well as the conceptualization of their challenges by the organization’s leadership team. To measure the value added by such an experience, leaders should also keep tabs on performance indicators before and after the event.
These insights would serve two purposes: determining whether the investment was worth it and illuminating areas that can be improved with more follow-up.
Making sure these events are not just “another company thing”
The most challenging part of all of this is making sure that everything is not only inspirational and electric, but that it does not fade away and become “just another company thing.” Organizations require a multi-faceted approach to this, besides just ensuring people are inspired by seeing an excellent speaker.
Organizations can roll out quarterly “special sessions” where people focus on specific concepts introduced by these speakers, or even ask the speakers back for a refresher course. An organization may also identify someone within the organization who needs to be held accountable for ensuring that the message stays alive rather than just losing meaning once people return to their normal environments.
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