A senior leader told the speaker he was a motivating speaker, not motivational. The difference: motivational speakers give temporary excitement that fades. A motivating speaker teaches concrete systems that make lasting action possible without needing motivation at all.
And one of the top leaders of that company came up to me afterwards. She said, Noah, I took 6 pages of notes during your presentation. And she said, you're not a motivational speaker, you're a motivating speaker. I'm like, oh, I love that distinction. That was really nice. Right, 'cause what do motivational speakers do? They get you all pumped up and then you get home and you're like, what am I supposed to do, right? I don't want that, right? I want you to have systems, right? That's why we show you, give you systems, right, that are gonna help you so you actually don't need to be motivated. Isn't that kinda cool, right? 'Cause motivation is, it's fleeting.
