Michael Lee asked:
In this article, I’ll reveal some amazing motivation techniques and tips to bring out the fire in anyone. With the right words and encouragement, you can make anyone passionate about a certain task or subject.
Here’s a story to clearly illustrate the power of these motivation techniques.
Jason is the new coach of a basketball team. His team has won many games since he has arrived to replace the previous coach.
The players are more at ease with him and more open to discuss any concern with him. Moreover, they have become more confident and motivated to play now that he’s leading the team.
Before he coached the team, they were on a losing streak. Now the team is on a hot streak and they may even have a chance to win the championship.
What is Jason’s secret?
Whenever one player does something nice, Jason gives him a good name to live up to.
When a player makes good blocks or does a great job in rebounding, Jason will tell him, “Wow! Your rebounding and defense are very much like Tim Duncan. Keep it up.”
When a player shoots consistently, Jason will tell him, “Super! Your sweet moves rival those of Steve Nash. Wow!”
When his team wins, he’ll encourage them, “We will win one game at a time. We’ll win the championship, just like the San Antonio Spurs did.”
Jason’s motivation techniques are very effective. He knows how to praise his players and how to motivate them to do better. He assigns qualities and aspects that the players are inspired to adopt, even if the players don’t possess those characteristics yet.
The players, on the other hand, would try their best to establish the reputation that their coach has assigned to them. They don’t want to humiliate themselves by performing below the reputation that Jason has delegated to them.
These motivation techniques are powerful due to the persuasion law of expectation. Jason expects something exceptional from his players, and his players are inspired to fulfill or even exceed their coach’s expectations of them.
Whenever he needs something to be done by a player, Jason tells him, “James, you always shoot like Michael Jordan. In this play, you’re going to take the game-winning shot. Let’s win this!”
James feels like the MVP. He’s all fired up and his coach expects him to play like Michael Jordan. James simply can’t let his team down.
Sometimes Coach Jason will apply a slightly different approach.
When he expects David to defend Brian (the other team’s star player), Jason will tell him, “David, you’ve always been a great defensive specialist. Nobody has ever stopped Brian from scoring above 20 points in any game before. Would you be able to stop him this time?”
Coach Jason issued a challenge to David. David couldn’t back out now. He has to prove that he can defend Brian. He has to show everyone that he is one of the greatest defensive players ever.
This is another great motivation technique. When you give out a challenge to someone, that person will be much more motivated to prove to you that he can accomplish any task you assign to him. Moreover, he will want to enhance his reputation by trying to surpass that challenge you brought out to him.
These motivation techniques can be used in any other situations, not just in the basketball court. Remember to expect good results, assign positive qualities (even if they don’t possess those traits yet), and issue friendly challenges to get faster compliance.