I gave this lecture on December 21, 2024.
INTRODUCTION I am a word guy. I like etymology and linguistics. If my life had gone a bit differently, I may have tried for a degree in linguistics. But that is just me.
I enjoy looking at word parts, especially roots, and how they formed and are transformed to produce many distinct words in our vocabulary. One of those roots is Latin -spir, also written as -spire in some English words: “inspire,” “expire,” “conspire,” and “spirit,” among others and all their various forms. (But not “spire,” as in a steeple, which is Germanic in origin: “shoot,” “sprout,” or “needle” = “sharp point.”)
This root, -spir, deals with breath and breathing. The Latin word inspirare means “to blow into” or “to breathe upon.” II Timothy 3:16 reads, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” but the Greek literally says, “All Scripture is breathed by God.” In its figurative sense, “inspire” implies taking something from within and breathing it out upon—or endowing it upon or imbuing it into—others for their benefit.
SPS This “breathing upon” through speaking encouraging words is what the #10 “Inspire” speech asks us to do. It is like the #6 “Stir to Action” speech in that we want to motivate audience members to do something, but it is more than that—the #10 is a “Stir to Action” on steroids! This speech is, frankly, one of the most difficult in the Manual. So, when assigned this speech, a speaker has his work cut out for him!
Why is this speech so difficult? Inspiring others to do something they have not thought to do for themselves is challenging. The speaker must overcome physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual inertia: An object at rest remains at rest unless put into motion by sufficient force to overcome its resistance. People are sometimes perversely stubborn and intractable, so motivating them by the spoken word to do something good or beneficial is often a thankless, Herculean task. Sometimes, it is Sisyphean.
So, how does a person inspire others? The Manual has it right: To inspire others to take action, the speaker must himself be inspired to do it—and, I may add, be doing it himself. Thus, the speaker must start with a behavior, habit, observation, or perspective that stimulates him—that makes him get up in the morning or smile with pleasure or causes him to feel good and accomplished—better than he was!
Ask yourself: What makes you tick? What excites you? What changes your day from blah to awesome?
Once you figure this out—and it is something that will benefit others—then you have a foundation for an inspiring speech. It is something you will be excited to expound on because it will help the other men in the Club. The Manual emphasizes a spiritual habit, quality, goal, or success story, which is fine. The Bible and God’s way of life well lived are full of useful inspiration.
However, it need not be spiritual. It could be some physical activity, habit, or mindset others can benefit from to make their lives more joyful and complete. Remember, the speaker’s job is to move, motivate, encourage, or urge some sort of beneficial change. It can be simply to lead others to see something with a different perspective, which makes a behavior more attractive to include in their daily routines.
Peter writes in I Peter 3:15 that we must be ready to give reasons for the hope that is in us. In a way, that is what this assignment asks the speaker to do: to give motivating reasons for a person to see things from his perspective and attempt what he suggests. His goal is to be so persuasive that once he sits down, every audience member is thinking, “That’s intriguing! I’m going to try it!” Or, “I’m going to look into that!” Or, “He made me think about that from an entirely different perspective! I want to see where this takes me!”
In terms of delivery, this speech requires genuine enthusiasm and positivity. You should be excited about sharing something wonderful and helpful with your fellow Club members. You are selling them on an exciting idea, behavior, habit, or perspective that will make their lives better! So, make your case as if you have the very keys to success—but do not go overboard so that you come across as a used car salesman or a late-night TV pitchman. Your job is to inspire, not to overdramatize or clownishly oversell your point.
CONCLUSION Consider this observation from leadership expert Orrin Woodward: “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” In effect, that is what a speaker tries to accomplish in the #10 “Inspire” speech.