This is a story on how a motivational speaker lost all credibility in an instant. I was one of the 10,000 attendees primed for a day of motivation, inspiration; ready to hear the best of the best in the speaking, self-help, leadership industry. A line-up of successful entrepreneurs, politicians, corporate leaders and star athletes were on the agenda. I had purchased my VIP ticket to have breakfast with the late great, father-of-all-motivational speakers Zig Ziglar. After an amazing breakfast with my hero, I was escorted to the front-row (is there any other row?) of the San Diego convention center. I was in such a happy place!
My eyes were big, dreaming of one day being on such a great stage. Each speaker was better than the last. I took notes not only of message and content but style, effectiveness and how best to connect with an audience.
Then it happened.
An unexpected emergency – a speaker’s nightmare. Someone in the audience about 20 rows back from the stage suffered a heart attack. Famous sports hero’s speech was interrupted. They went to the side of the stage as the Voice of God instructed everyone to stay calm and be patient as the medics came in to take the man to the hospital. During this time, some tacky person from the audience ran up to the stage for an autograph. If this happened in modern day times, it would be the equivalent of taking a selfie. Sports speaker should have declined but didn’t.
That’s really not the worst thing that I witnessed that day. It’s what happened when the speaker returned to their motivational keynote. They resumed. Without missing a beat. Without even a much needed invitation to have a collective deep breath.
I was shocked. This speaker had been on a roll – point, story, point, story, point, story, gold medal won. It was as if not even an unplanned emergency could derail the planned, rehearsed, coached, rehearsed, coached again, rehearsed again speech.
I lost all respect for this speaker, not as an athlete, but as a motivational speaker tasked with inspiring, motivating and moving an audience with words.
This speaker needed the wise words of the amazing speaker Jessica Pettitt who suggests we leave room for edits. When she speaks on this topic, she suggests we as a society can get along much more harmoniously if we leave room for edits when we meet people, especially people who are different from us. “Leave judgments behind, leave room to edit your first impressions of someone – you just might be surprised.” But, her philosophy works perfectly in this scenario. When you are delivering a speech, you should leave room for edits.
Edits would include responding to the energy of the audience, mentioning something specific that happened right before you took the stage, using an audience member’s name in connection to your presentation. And, by all means, be prepared to handle an emergency when one arises.
Chances are, you won’t be in a situation where someone has a heart attack during your speech. At least I hope not. But, when you know your material so well, and you’ve done your homework as to who the audience is and why you are there, it’s so much easier to go off-script to connect with them. In fact, I say throw the script out the window.
Here’s what hero athlete could have done to connect even more and, could have made an even bigger impression on the audience.
- Refrain from autographs, selfie’s, or any other celebrity grabbing moment you can think of, out of respect for the heart-attack victim.
- Immediately upon resuming interrupted speech, invite the whole audience to take a deep breath.
- Invite people to check in with the people sitting next to you, in front-of you or behind you, to make sure everyone is okay.
- Suggest everyone in a show of solidarity and support to send positive vibes to the person for a quick recovery.
- Seamlessly, get back into presentation using the incident as a bridge.
Here’s how it might sound:
“Wow. That was unexpected. Let’s everyone take a deep breath, and turn to your neighbor and make sure they’re okay. The EMT’s are now on their way to the hospital, let’s all send some positive thoughts that everyone is safe and a quick recovery for this gentleman. This incident reminds me of how precious all of our moments are and how important other people are in our lives. As I was saying, being a champion is about drive, vision, and perseverance. With your permission, let’s get back into it, okay?”
I normally don’t ask permission from an audience, or anyone for that matter. But, in this extreme situation, it’s a courtesy moment, letting the audience grant the speaker permission to resume.
Be prepared, but not rehearsed. Be connected, leave room for edits. And, be authentic enough to show if you have been shook up from an unexpected emergency and guide your audience back on track. It may not be the same track, but it’s your new track based on events. That would be a real gold-medal performance.
From your always learning how to connect better with an audience motivational speaker,
Marilyn Sherman.
