Yes You Can!
by Jonathan Black
Published by Bloomsbury USA
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Reviewed by Connie Anderson
Subtitled: Behind the Hype and Hustle of the Motivational Biz
Several years ago I attended one of those daylong dog and pony shows. It featured BIG BIG names in the motivation/speaker field. It started at 8 a.m. and ended at (who knows, we had to leave at 6--not just because our brains and butts were dead!). Brian Tracy actually gave some take-home value. Dan Kennedy, who I really wanted to see, came on after we had to leave. Most gave some rah-rah for several minutes, then proceeded with "buy my book/tapes/programs" hard sell.
This experience turned me off on motivational speakers.
Then I heard the author Jonathan Black talking about his book on NPR--and I was curious about the "hype" stuff. Yes You Can! is about speakers--and the companies who pay them big bucks.
Black gave some fascinating history of the well-known speakers, the business of speaking and how certain people got involved. Some became speakers because they were Olympians (some won, some lost)--and many others who were able to turn personal experience into a talk that inspired people.
Entire chapters were devoted to each of these groups Black experienced:
-- Coaching (Thomas Leonard started coaching in 1992).
-- Landmark Forum (3-day week and ongoing events).
-- Toastmasters (and his visits to various groups and his own quest to be a speaker) Women joined in 1973--now 10,000 clubs and 200,000 members worldwide.
-- National Speakers Association's (NSA) big meeting in Phoenix as well as other training and evaluation events.
A lot of the book is about RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) for the company who paid $15,000 for a keynote, the employees who attended--and for the bottom line. Did that speaker's message motivate the employee and company to change? How do you measure that? How long did the inspiration last? Would they hire that speaker again?
Motivational speeches are all about the idea of change--the great American addiction.
Armchair Interviews says: If you have ever wanted to be a speaker, this book gives a lot of very interesting information and insight into that business and the opportunities--and your competition for the corporate dollar.
Author's Web site: http://www.Jonathan-Black.com