Erica Galos Alioto stands in front of 650 sales reps in the New York office of Yelp, the online review company, wearing a pair of shiny gold pants that she calls her lucky LDOM pants. LDOM is Yelp’s acronym for “last day of the month,” and for Alioto, senior vice president for local sales, it means giving a speech that will motivate her sales force to cold-call 70 potential customers each and close deals before the accountants finalize that month’s books.
The Science of Pep Talks
To fire up your team, draw on a research-proven, three-part formula.
Summary.
The ability to deliver an energizing pep talk is a prerequisite for any business leader. But few managers receive formal training in how to give one. Instead, they learn mostly by emulating inspirational bosses, coaches, or even fictional characters.
However, research shows there is a science to psyching people up for better performance. According to motivating language theory, most winning formulas include three key elements: direction giving, or describing precisely how to do the task at hand; expressions of empathy, or concern for the performer; and meaning-making language, which explains why the task is important.
All the evidence suggests that, once leaders understand these three elements, they can learn to use them more skillfully.
A version of this article appeared in the July–August 2017 issue (pp.133–137) of Harvard Business Review.
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Support and challenge your direct reports to help them reach their potential.