The 3 Deadly Sins of Motivational Speakers And How To Avoid Them

As I survey the speaker's market I've become a tad weary willfully wearing the title "Motivational Speaker". All speakers worth their salt seek to motivate or cause action. Maybe it's just me, but does the mere mention of the term "Motivational Speaker" conjure irritating mental pictures in your subconscious mind? There are far too many stereotypes being propagated regarding speakers. I will address a few of these speaker stereotypes and hopefully simultaneously construct a not-to-do list that aspiring speakers may use on their roads to success in the lucrative speaking industry.

Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number One:

The "Over-The-Top" Speaker

The "Over-The-Top" Speaker or the O.T.T. Speaker appears to have discovered a new fad diet which includes mountains of pure sugar and caffeine. The O.T.T. will at any given moment find it necessary to expend tremendous amounts of energy racing about the platform as if a sniper has them in the crosshairs. During smaller office presentations, The O.T.T. speaker may also be seen jumping atop a desk shouting "Go For It!" or performing their best impressions of former Governor and one time Presidential hopeful, Howard Dean's famous "YEAAAAAHHHHHH".

It didn't work for Mr. Dean either.

Reality:

I do not desk hurdle. Many professional speakers whom I admire keep their gestures natural and their tones conversational in nature. This is not "Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey" and a speaker's stage is not a big tent.

Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number Two:

The "T.M.I." Speaker

In efforts to emotionally connect with the audience, the notorious T.M.I. Speaker offers up way Too Much Information of a personal nature. To the bewilderment of the hiring authority, the TMI speaker utilizes 90% of their time recanting inner-turmoil, teary-eyed, blow-by-blow commentaries of abuse, personal struggles and tragedies. Though touching, the program's focus is obscured and the message diluted by the T.M.I. Speakers deluging pity party. The T.M.I. speaker fails to realize the goal of any program is to inspire some sort of action of the audience, not to become a martyr or charity case.

Reality:

Engaging your audience is the goal of any professional speaker, but personal stories should only be used if they directly support and impact the overall theme of your program. Please allow me to cement my viewpoint with a brief story: During my first professional position as a paralegal for a government agency I had the marvelous opportunity to work side-by-side with a number of experienced individuals and mentors. These mentors taught me many compelling business principles that I currently utilize. One day at work on a crowded elevator I struck up a conversation with one such mentor. In the efforts to protect the innocent and the ignorant I'll refer to the mentor in this story as "Mr. Edwards".

Me: Hello Mr. Edwards, I noticed you in the lobby earlier today...

Mr. Edwards: Yes, Timothy my family paid me a visit...

Me: Really? Was that your son you were holding earlier?

Mr. Edwards: Oh no, that was my nephew. I can't have kids, I'm sterile.

Me: Okay

Motivational Speaker Stereotype Number Three:

The "High-Tech, Low-Performance" Speaker

The H.T.L.P. Speaker loves to put on a show! The H.T.L.P's program not only begins, its middle and its end is littered with state-of-the-art, eye-popping sound-effects and a fantastic frenzy of flashy visuals. In the outset the audience is totally mesmerized, but it becomes grossly apparent that the H.T.L.P. is heavy on the glitz and light on the substance. The H.T.L.P. is a show-person. The H.T.L.P's entire speech can be boiled down to a bookmark of inspirational quotes which can be readily found by any 12-year-old conducting a 30-second search on GOOGLE. Yes, the H.T.L.P. catches the audience's attention, but has no inkling where to go from there, except, you guessed it, onto the next variation of visual, vain displays which culminate into sensory overload and useful substance deprivation.

Solution:

Many professional motivational speakers acknowledge the need to capture the audience's attention, but should a professional speaker need a truckload of explosives to do it? No. The highly regarded professional speaker realizes that he or she is the distributor of the information being disseminated not some slide projector, movie screen or artificial simulator. The speaker who relies too heavily on electronics to deliver a message detracts from the human-element of their content. Limiting the bells and whistles in the show will allow both the audience and the speaker to focus on the theme and purpose of the program. Clients watching their Rate of Investment (ROI) versus their Rate of Return (ROR) will expect less show, more business and measurable results to justify a speaker's fee. In short, if the only requirements for an effective presentation are flashy PowerPoint slides and spectacular visuals, there's no need for a human-being, and I beg to differ.

Wrap Up:

Many elements can be included in a speaker's arsenal to deliver the utmost impact in their programs. Story-telling, humor, props, visuals, gestures, role-playing, personal anecdotes, eye contact and poignant quotations all serve as a means to effectively communicate the overall theme of a motivational speaker's message. A speaker shouldn't rely on any one method too heavily and the ultimate goal must always be to leave the audience with a course of action they are motivated to pursue. After all, it's what happens "after" we leave the stage that matters most, right? A professional speaker who leaves his client with positive measurable end-results is a highly sought-after resource and no joking matter.

Timothy Crawford is DC, MD and VA's Top Up and Coming Motivational Speaker. Timothy delivers high-content Corporate Event Programs as well as Inspirational Infusions to Associations and Civic Groups. Visit his website for more information:(http://www.timothycrawford.com)

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The 7 Most Deadly Sleeping Mistakes Resulting in Insomnia!

Mistake 1: Non stop chatter, constant worrying and a rewind of the day's events

As soon as we hit the pillow, there seems to be a rewind of the day's events and a constant chatter in our heads as to whether we did that right or did this wrong. This happens to so many of us that we can count almost everybody in. This is the single biggest mistake that people make and don't even realize they making it. Before they know it, it's the crack of dawn and then their brain decides to switch off only for the alarm clock to go off a few hours later, and then disaster strikes, "we can't get up and we're nearly late for work."

Mistake 2: Trying so hard but failing

When scientists carried out a study in America, from which they could examine sleep problems and how fast it took people to sleep in different circumstances, what they found was that sleep is down to our brain activity and nothing else. The first group of insomniacs from a sleep clinic were told that who ever fell asleep first would win a prize of $500. The second group of insomniacs were simply told nothing. What they discovered was that the first group took 3 times more time to fall asleep than the second who was not told anything but to just relax and sleep. What we have to understand is that the brain will fall asleep when it's ready, not when we want it to, and therefore trying to sleep is counter productive. "Sleep is not something you can do, but have to let happen by letting go."

Mistake 3: It's gotten so bad, you've convinced yourself that just a poor sleeper

Many people who go on sleeping badly for months or years even, then convince themselves that they're bad sleepers as a defensive measure to try and feel better and say "there's nothing wrong with me , I'm normal." While it's true that they are not abnormal in any way but accepting this problem is like giving up and so therefore if one is convinced they are a poor sleeper, they will carry on sleeping poorly and never get rid of the problem. And lets face it, we're not born with insomnia or sleep deprivation, why accept it.

Mistake 4: Fear of Insomnia, hence the rush to Sleeping Pills

When people hear of the word Insomnia, the thought of someone crazy with huge dark circles under their eyes comes to mind. But many insomniacs are normal everyday people who just look more tired than those who sleep some what better. Many people who have trouble sleeping, rush to sleeping pills like it's the only answer and very quickly become addicted to them. As they take the pills, not do they only start to become used to them hence requiring bigger and stronger doses over a short period of time, they also suffer the side effects such as headaches, day time drowsiness (hangovers), and reduced brain cell activity during the day thus loss of concentration and lower levels of energy during the day.

Mistake 5: Little or no exercise resulting in low SMR brainwave activity during the day

Athletes and people who exercise regularly, have high levels of what is called Sensory Motor Rhythm (SMR) brainwave activity during the day to which in comparison people who don't exercise have a very low level of. Scientists believe that it is the level of this band of brainwaves during the day which determines when the brain switches off during the night. Higher SMR activity in one's brain means the brain is more active during the day resulting in quicker and more uninterrupted fall asleep times during the night. It's this band of brainwaves that people suffering from Insomnia and sleep deprivation lack during the day, and therefore resulting in constant sleep problems.

Mistake 6: Taking it easy after a bad nights sleep - Bad Idea!

When most people have a bad night sleep, they obviously feel tired during the day and therefore sometimes take the day off work and decide to take the rest of the day easy. Lousing around, they hardly get any daylight and also do very little physical activity such as going upstairs or anything which requires energy. Doing this keeps the SMR brain activity as low as possible and again does no good for the next nights sleep either. Getting as much exposure to daylight and fresh air shuts down production of Melatonin, a hormone which tells your body to feel sleepy during the dark at night or in dark conditions bringing about better sleeping conditions.

Mistake 7: The bedroom and your bed is for SLEEP and SEX only, it's Not your Living Room!

Due to the fact that sleep is very difficult to get by now, many people start to associate the bedroom with staying awake as they can't sleep when they go to bed. They go to bed in a state of worrying as bed is not their favourite place. It's boring and tiring not because they get sleep but because they don't get any. As they begin to associate being awake and the bed together, they begin to do many other activities such reading surfing on the internet with their laptops and many more things on the bed during the day than what should be done. The brain automatically associates the bed with the state of being wide awake. Once this happens, it becomes very difficult to sleep at night on the bed as the body happens to be very used to the feeling of the bed and no longer finds it relaxing once we retire to the bed after a long hard days work.

Mike Khan has been suffering from insomnia himself until he discovered the alternative to his sleeping pills. To learn more visit [http://www.SleepTracks.co.uk].

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