Presidential Posting PSASA October 2009 - Incredible Speakers! by Dr Gustav Gous
Most speakers aspire to become incredible speakers. Unfortunately, many become exactly that: Incredible instead of credible.
The theme this month was inspired by a Facebook posting by one of our members, Anil Salick. It was a newsflash from ‘Sedona’ in Arizona: ‘Sweat Lodge Session by motivational guru James Arthur Ray (co-author of “The Secret’) causes death of 2 people’.
It attracted my attention for two reasons:
1. Motivational Speaker - one of our colleagues in trouble, and
2. I drove through Sedona earlier this year. Sedona, which is en route to the Grand Canyon, is a lovely small town between red rock formations. It’s the so-called new age capital of the world.
What do we make of this? Anil’s remark, echoing many bloggers worldwide was: ‘So much for the law of attraction!’ Promising wealth, health and life and now causing death? Blogger ‘Cosmic Connie’ wrote: ‘As for James Ray, I wonder how Law Of Attraction fans/Secret fans are going to spin this one.’
The story was also picked up by the New York Times. One participant was reported to say that the facilitator forced participants in a ‘Godlike’ manner beyond their limitations.’ Was it negligence, arrogance or overconfidence? We don’t know. Let’s await the outcome. Type James Arthur Ray into Google and follow how the story unfolds.
But may it never be said of motivational speakers what a nurse once said about an overconfident medical doctor who thought he had life and death in his hands: “What’s the difference between God and a doctor? At least God doesn’t think he is a doctor.”
The Sedona incident also raises the issue of credibility. We as speakers can afford to lose money but not reputation or credibility. So take care. Design responsible interventions, stay within the legal boundaries, and remember your disclaimer forms.
But even more important: Make sure that you practice what you preach, that you deliver what you promise, and that you embody your own message. Will you get repeat business if you are:
• a depressive psychologist?
• a marketing guru without clients/work?
• a retired 60 year old with the emotional intelligence of a child?
• a wellness experts who is not so well?
• an overweight health practitioner?
• a motivational speaker (or tennis player!) who needs ‘tik’ or cocaine to get a high?
• a so-called Christian who crooks others out of their money?
• a life coach who hasn’t mastered the art of living?
• a poor/ bankrupt financial expert?
• a NLP practitioner with a malfunctioning programme?
Ag no man – get a life! If your own stuff doesn’t work for you, how do you expect it to work for others? Talk is cheap (a healthy reminder for speakers). You will get away with it once or twice. But lasting relations and repeat business comes from the credibility when you embody your own message.
Your lasting legacy derives from what you do. Claiming to be the custodian of the secret of life and then causing death? You can expect people to tweet: “... your actions speak louder than your words . A life of honour is living your values.”
Warren Buffett has a very simple credibility/ethics test: “Test everything not only by legal standards, but by the newspaper test: Would you like your present action to be reported on the front page of your local newspaper, written by a smart but kind of unfriendly reporter, read by family, friends, neighbours and customers?”
Former Springbok rugby captain Joost van der Westhuizen’s life would have probably panned out differently if he had listened to Warren Buffett.
Another test: What if everybody hears your present conversation? Picture this: How would you react if you receive a ‘pocket call’ (that is when another person carries his/her mobile in his/her pocket and accidentally phones a random number [you] because the keypad was not de-activated)?
You hear the person shouting on the other side – but not at you. You hear the person acting and going off in a real ugly way about something his small child has done. It borders on verbal abuse. Chances are that you may lose respect for that person because there is disconnect between the public posturing and the private picture. Credibility is at stake.
So, do you want to be incredible or credible? Try the latter, live your message: It’s good for business.
May you have a credible month!
Dr Gustav Gous
President: PSASA 2009/2010
gustav@gustavgous.co.za
+27825657451
