How do you rate yourself as a motivator?

How much of your time is spent in trying to get people to do things they don't particularly want to do? "Motivating" describes this activity, but hopefully you are mostly motivating people to do things that they already want to do.

Motivating is a vital leadership Skill; here are a few thoughts on strategies and the role speaking plays in motivating.

Motivating: the basics.

Logic vs Emotional Appeal; "2 + 2 = 4.... dammit!"

Why doesn't logic work? It’s frustrating. If I can show someone that what I want them to do makes perfect sense, why can't I get them to do it? "Are they stupid?", "Maybe they don't like me." "Maybe they are trying to undermine me!"

The answer is probably none of the above. Most people are not motivated solely by thoughts and logic; they are motivated by feelings and emotions. In fact, we take action in response to our feelings. When you communicate using logic, you are connecting at an intellectual level. Now, many intelligent people are able to think through issues, create their own feelings about them - and then take action on those feelings. But those people are the exception.

Feelings; Gut Reaction

Most people, to be strongly motivated, need to have their feelings stimulated as well as their intellects. When you connect at both levels, your people become self motivated, their thoughts trigger emotions, and supported by the logic you've shared, they are moved to take action.

Everyday Motivating

In your own professional work, how do you access people’s feelings, with sincerity, in order to motivate them? In assessing your skills, don't discount your informal training; most of us have a high level of skill in motivating which we learned in our family lives. If you have children*, chances are you have learned very well just how to balance common sense with appeals to the emotions. (* may not apply to teenagers).

The Keys to Establishing Trust

Before you can motivate anyone you must first gain their trust. Here are three essential prerequisites:

1. Tell them who you are and share some personal information (a little self disclosure)

2. Acknowledge your personal interest in wanting to persuade them

3. Make sure your talk is about your listeners

Story Time

Plato, Aristotle and Christ have three things in common: first, their influence provided the basis of Western civilization, secondly, none of them wrote anything, and thirdly, they all chose the same method of teaching: Story Telling.

Highly successful motivators are always great storytellers. This way of communicating is instantly accessible. The goals and objectives that you have, the changes you want to bring about, the kind of performance and the attitudes you want your teams to have - are all the raw materials for really interesting stories.

How to use compelling narrative to motivate people? Just start. You already know how to tell stories; you are a human being, its part of your DNA! Tell your people the story of how things will be when the goals have been achieved. Tell the story of what it will be like to be successful in this project. Tell the story of the system that doesn't work anymore.

What if you haven't told stories in years? Don't despair! Your love of stories and your Story Telling Skills have been perfectly preserved, in perfect working order, since childhood. Your story telling skills are just waiting to be switched on again. Perhaps you have been telling stories all along and didn’t realize it: you may be a really good conversationalist; you just never thought of it as story telling. If you love good writing or good speaking or good films, you already have a sophisticated appreciation of storytelling.

A Final Word of Encouragement

Telling stories is much, much easier than giving presentations. First, your performances will be much better because its so easy to remember stories; you will be much more natural and fluent. Secondly, people hate presentations - but everyone loves stories! Lastly, everyone will be able to understand, remember and repeat what you said - which is, after all, what it’s all about.

For more training onmotivating others by speaking and increasing your speaking skills to the same high level as your writing skills then you should attend one of our .

The workshop is designed to improve every aspect of personal communication skills, from strategy and text preparation to establishing rapport and overcoming speaking anxiety.

Participants are recorded 4 times with feedback from the other participants and personal coaching from the workshop coach. Each receive a USB of their video clips along with a letter of analysis from the workshop coach.

Participants will learn how to:

Master Eloquent Speaking

Think on their feet and respond persuasively and eloquently in one-on-one situations, meetings and large audience situationsEffectively use the Focus Method to communicate complex ideas and thoughtsManage their fear of speaking

Become a Charismatic Communicator

Master charismatic communication skills, such as how to "be in the moment"Make sincere eye contactSpeak effectively from notesUtilize effective platform and meetings skillsLearn powerful gestures and movement while communicatingEffectively deliver financial and complex data and powerful PowerPoint

Rediscover the Power of their Natural Voice

Assess and evaluate their voice qualityPerform a wide range of exercises and simple practices to improve the warmth, resonance, and richness of their voiceUtilize exercises to improve their voice on a daily basisImprove their diction with simple techniquesManage their speaking anxiety with relaxation techniques

Upcoming Two-Day Workshop Dates in Toronto

Register Now. Small Group Workshops Limited to 10 Places