Last night I went to an Area Toastmasters contest, where the events were Table Topics (impromptu speaking) and International Speech Contest (inspirational/motivational).
I identified two speeches that were vying for first place. One came from a veteran speaker who has a track record of winning speech contests all the way up to the District level – those of you unfamiliar with Toastmasters contest levels, the progression is: Club, Area, Division, District, Regional, International. The other speech came from a new contestant and Toastmaster who has done well in area contests.
I left early so I did not know the results. My friend Danny left a voicemail to let me know who won. He was shocked that the veteran speaker did not win. Instead, the first place and a chance to compete in the Division level went to the relatively new contestant and Toastmaster.
In thinking about the difference between the two speeches, I concluded that I’d have made the same decision as the judges and given the new contestant the prize.
Last night I witnessed the difference between a “motivational speech” and an “inspirational speech”. The veteran contestant delivered a powerful motivational speech. The new contestant gave a memorable inspirational speech.
Let me reiterate, because this is important:
Powerful – Motivational
Memorable – Inspirational
(indeed you may also have memorable motivational speeches and powerful inspirational speeches)
Many of us have been to motivational seminars and personal development workshops where the speaker rallied our spirits and got our engines revved with a series of powerful motivational speeches. We are motivated to stare down fear (or “feel the fear and do it anyway”), overcome procrastination, and eliminate self-doubt. Whenever I am in the presence of a motivational speech, I feel like I got a nice jolt of metaphysical caffeine. I feel great, I want to shout “hooray!” at the top of my lungs, and I am ready to go forth and “change the world”.
That was what the veteran contestant’s speech was like. He literally had us clapping wildly in the middle of his speech, and some people were cheering. We just can’t help ourselves! He had incredible gestures and props that he used most effectively. He came in with bags labeled “fear”, “procrastination”, and “doubt” on chains around his neck, and toward the end of the speech he flung them away! And we all cheered! Which one of us haven’t been held back of one of these three chains around our necks at some point of our lives? The veteran contestants manners were supremely confident. His voice was powerful and he turned up the power when he flung away the figurative self limiting garbage bags. And we all clapped!
There were still two other speakers after this, and I bet most of the people in the room thought the way I did, “He’s got it for sure. I’d hate to be a speaker after THIS performance.”
The new contestant came up. The contest Toastmaster mispronounced her speech title, which was “Paradoxical Leadership”. It was based on Kent Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership.
The contestant began with a short joke, which made us laugh. Then she talked about not wanting to go to work but going to work anyway. Okay… I’m listening. Then she told a story.
She told us how, as a little girl, she studied very hard in school and couldn’t wait to get her report card, because she got all A’s and a B in pre-algebra. She knew that her siblings got B’s and C’s. She anticipated the praise her father would lavish on her on report card day, and she wriggled in excitement and great expectation. Her father commented on all the siblings’ report cards. Then came her turn. Her father cupped her face in his big hands and said, “Honey, why did you only get a ‘B’ in math?”
The little girl willed her own tears not to fall as she retreated to her room. In spite of this incident, she went ahead and excelled anyway.
We didn’t cheer or break into wild clapping during her speech, but this contestant’s one story made me remember the message she wanted to deliver about the principles of paradoxical leadership. We all have experiences with disappointment when we desperately wanted the approval of someone we respected and loved. Even if some didn’t have the same experience as she did, they can still relate to that feeling.
The fact that I was able to recount her story in detail illustrated how effective this contestant was at speaking to my heart. The veteran speaker didn’t really tell a story, or let us into his heart on the same depth that the new speaker did. The new speaker showed us vulnerability, which took tremendous courage.
The veteran speaker stimulated our minds. The new speaker touched our hearts.
This is why there is a big difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation comes from without. Inspiration comes from within.
In the short term, both stimulates our senses and both serves to encourage us in many ways.
In the long run, however, motivation from the outside can wane. Inspiration from within remains.
Three months from now, when I feel fear or procrastinate or doubt, I may vaguely recall the motivational quotes of the veteran speaker, but it will be the story of the new speaker that will inspire me to “give the world my very best even if I get kicked in the teeth.”
Originally published: Mar 13, 2008 @ 9:23
