It’s been a long time since I heard such a manipulative speaker; a speaker who could not only make his voice quiver at the drop of a syllable, he could also sell product like a snake oil salesman and make fun of the wonderful caricature of a motivational speaker that SNL‘s, “Matt Foley” (Chris Farley) created (that I swear was patterned after HIM), all the time he was saying that applause and a standing ovation weren’t important to him. Oh, and did I mention that he told us (more than once) that the time he was given was too short for all his “gems” and, get this, that he presented over 411 speeches last year (yes, in one year!) and then told us how important it is for us to have balance in our lives? Need I say more?
But here is the thing: Many of the attendees didn’t seem to realize they were being manipulated. And it’s not that he didn’t have some wonderful advice and some great lines, though mostly they weren’t his, even if it sounded like they were.
I’m telling you all this because those of us who understand Janis Joplin’s line, “be yourself because it’s all you got,” may not sell as much product and we may not get a (requested) standing O every time, but here is what we do have: integrity. Our clients can trust us to bring their best interests to every platform instead of our own. And we won’t, G-d willing, ever have to worry about waking up one morning living in a van by the river….
Your comments, please!
