Motivational Speeches versus Inspirational Speeches
DrProcter wrote in response to my question last week about motivational speeches and their (limited) purpose:
A motivational speech wants to get a certain number of people fired up to realize a definable goal in a reasonable amount of time.
An inspirational speech wants to fire up humanity to achieve what society considers a pipe dream.
Obama’s campaign speeches (and most speeches by politicians) are motivational speeches. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is inspirational.
I couldn’t agree more.
Motivational speeches are specific and short-term. They aim to rouse a particular audience — the people who are being addressed — to do some clearly defined action at that moment or in the very near future.
When bosses want their people to work through the weekend to complete a project, when coaches want their teams to win the big game, or when field commanders want their warriors to charge into battle, they should give a motivational speech. They should appeal to their audience’s — to their specific audience’s — feelings, values, and sense of belonging. They should tell their audiences exactly what they want to them to do. And they should focus on a specific goal that can be achieved in the short-term. “Get this project done by Monday morning.” “Win this game.” “Take that hill and hold it until reinforcements come.”
Motivational speeches depend on — for lack of a better phrase — a transfer of emotion. Most motivational speakers are or become increasingly emotional. Their intent is to make their audiences feel the same way they do or to feel their same intensity. Check out Al Pacino’s speech is Any Given Sunday, to see what I mean.
Inspirational speeches are universal and enduring. They may be addressed to a specific audience, but their thoughts and sentiments have the power to move people in other times and in far different circumstances. They tap into what is good and worthy in their audiences, not with a specific, short-term goal in mind but with the hope of contributing to something grand in scope.
Inspirational speakers may or may not be overtly emotional. (In my experience, they are not cheerleader material.) They don’t try to transfer their emotions to their audiences. They trust their audiences to tap into their own emotions. What they do is this: they create an image of a future worth believing in and working toward. That image may be of the kind of individuals we want to become, or of a society or nation we want to fashion, or of a world we want to hand on to following generations.
Motivational and inspirational speeches both have their times and their purposes. But their times and their purposes are different. In a future post I’ll explain why I believe leaders should speak more to inspire than to motivate.
What do you think?