Do You Like Motivational Speakers?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Most motivational speakers remind me of Greg Kinnear's character in "Little Miss Sunshine". They always have the same ready made answer that if you don't benefit from their motivation it is because you have a negative attitude.

I was at a trade meeting/luncheon the other day ( I hate the faux bon homie but that's another story) and they had this motivational speaker. She even quoted Rush Limbaugh without attribution- "If there's a recession I'm not participating."


I am not saying speech can't inspire but I do have my doubt about canned motivational speeched done by rote.

[Prometheus Bound]

1. I've found they're good for a few hours, at least until you've finished taking orders.

But better get those orders before the enthusiasm wears off. The next day is definitely too late.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Some Motivational Speakerss Are Well Intentioned. Some Are Just Hucksters.

~

[old mark]

2. NO, and I went to great lengths to avoid them when I could.

I'm retired now and no one cares to motivate me anymore.

mark

[Radical Activist]

4. They make me feel motivated

to kick someone's ass.

[KharmaTrain]

5. Depends On Who They Motivate For...

I've seen my share of these speakers whose real motivation is their bottom line or that of the person who hired them to speak. For some, I've seen these tapes and speakers to have some kind of effect...either to educate or get them a pat on the back.

The bottom line is that if you need motivation to do a job, then you picked the wrong job.

[Realityhack]

6. No.

and many of them just make shit up too. I have no respect for them.

[Cerridwen]

7. "Secular 'preachers'."

Not so much.

Some speakers are motivational. Others are motivated to make money a la "Elmer Gantry."

I prefer the first. The second have contributed far too much to the spin machine.

edit: stuck "preachers" in quotes.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. I Can Listen To A Good Preacher

As long as he or she has a positive message i.e, not attacking other religions or groups of people.

[Cerridwen]

10. I knew I shoulda put preacher in quotes.

:D

As far as I'm concerned, some of those motivational speakers exploit some "trained response" some people have in accepting "authority figures" as the definers of reality. I was thinking more "Elmer Gantry" as "preacher" than honest to God, men and women who inspire and share their inspiration based on their beliefs.

[GeorgeGist]

8. Yes. If their motive is to get people to think ...

before they open their mouths and prove otherwise.

Bon homie, seriously.

[midnight]

11. A new technique for brainwahsing.

[Wickerman]

12. I usually want a shower after sitting thru a session

it all kinda makes me feel dirty; like my time has been abused and my employer was taken for a ride. I hate it when common sense is packaged in a new wrapping and sold as revolutionary.

[Cobalt-60]

13. I lack the motivation to attend

Perhaps if one were to visit my home..

[IDemo]

14. The best one isn't around anymore

He's livin' in a van, down by the river.

[jmowreader]

18. I knew someone would mention Matt Foley

Three times divorced and lives in a van down by the river. Yup.

[blindpig]

15. They make great targets

Choice of weapons.

[Road Scholar]

16. I think I've heard them all. Most are hucksters selling tapes and

books.
But there really are a few who tell what they had to do to become successful.And all it really is about is attitude. And that really boils down to is how you react to a negative situation. Not how you appear to react but how you really react. It took me a long while to process that.

[HughMoran]

17. Our HR person actually found a right-wing one for a holiday luncheon

I was thinking "whaaaa?" when his right-wing tilt started to emerge during the lecture.

No Thanks!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Not as much as I like root canals or fingernails on a chalkboard.

Hell, visits from the Jehovah's Witnesses are more entertaining.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. I've been both a speaker and a listener .......

.... I haven't done either in years.

I sleep better.

[mwb970]

21. I would be reluctant to lump them all into one group and pass judgment.

The OP has a touch of that black-and-white, all-or-none thinking that we get from the wingnuts. Some motivational speakers are good, some are bad, some are charlatans. One of the best is Dr. Wayne Dyer, whose books and presentations have had a major positive effect on my life.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. "The OP has a touch of that black-and-white, all-or-none thinking that we get from the wingnuts."

Are you referring to the the gentleman who wrote " I am not saying speech can't inspire but I do have my doubt about canned motivational speeched done by rote." ?

[mwb970]

27. I said "a touch".

Asking "Do you like motivational speakers?" seems to call for a yes or no answer.

[Stevenmarc]

22. Are you trying to kill another manufacturing job?

even if what most of them manufacture is bullshit.

[Posteritatis]

24. I get my motivational-speakering from people who don't identify as such

Talk by some random suit with a foo-step plan for Creating A Better Life If You Just Follow These Vaguely Wooey Things That About To Declaring Yourself An Indigo Child? Yeeahno.

On the other hand, I went to a talk by War Child Canada's founder a couple of weeks ago that was largely oriented around taking personal causes and trying to do something more than stew or shout slogans about them. That put thoughts in my head, got me to evaluate parts of my worldview in a useful way.

So yeah, I suppose I like motivational speakers, but I consider the best ones to be the ones who do it incidentally instead of explicitly.

[gristy]

25. I have no particular bias towards motivational speakers one way or the other

I am biased towards and enjoy good motivational speakers, or any kind of good speaker for that matter.

[seejanespottdick]

26. I like them, but sometimes the inspiration is like Chinese food...

it fills me up very temporarily.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Pay attention to them, or you'll end up living in a van down by the river.

[Thickasabrick]

29. Only if they live in a van, down by the river eom

[seejanespottdick]

30. Don't you like Dr. Wayne Dyer?

He's very inspirationish!