The Science of Pep Talks

在点评网站Yelp纽约分部，负责销售的高级副总裁艾丽卡·阿利奥托（Erica Galos Alioto）站在650名销售代表面前，穿着一条金光闪闪的裤子——她的“LDOM幸运裤”。在Yelp，LDOM意为“每月最后一天”（last day of the month）。这一天，阿利奥托要发表动员讲话，鼓励每位销售代表向70位陌生人（潜在客户）打推销电话，并在会计部门做完本月报表前拿下一单。

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.

她讲了20分钟，称赞他们是Yelp的顶尖销售团队。她点名表扬业绩最佳的同事，并推荐几种调整方法，争取让每个人都达到类似状态。她讲故事，也提问题。

She speaks for 20 minutes, extolling the group for being Yelp’s top sales producer. She namechecks the best performers on the team and suggests ways for everyone else to adopt the same mentality. She tells stories. She asks questions.

“纽约分部离这个月的业绩目标还差150万美元……我们已经有了行动方案。能实现吗？”不温不火的掌声。她提高声音又问一遍：“能实现吗？”掌声雷动。

“This office is currently $1.5 million away from target this month…. We have an action plan here. Are we going to execute?” There’s moderate applause. She asks again, in a louder voice: “Are we going to execute?” Big applause.

为打磨这类演讲技巧，阿利奥托下过一番苦功，因为她知道，她的成功取决于此。的确，发表激动人心的动员讲话，激励员工拿出更好的表现，是领导者必备的本事。但很少有管理者接受过正式训练，大多数都是靠模仿他人，如善于鼓舞士气的上司、上学时的导师，甚至《大亨游戏》（Glengarry Glen Ross）《华尔街之狼》（The Wolf of Wall Street）之类电影中的人物。有些人依靠高管教练的指点，但后者给出的建议也是基于个人经验，而非科学研究。

Alioto has worked hard to perfect these speeches because she knows her success depends on them. Indeed, the ability to deliver an energizing pep talk that spurs employees to better performance is a prerequisite for any business leader. And yet few managers receive formal training in how to do it. Instead, they learn mostly from mimicry—emulating inspirational bosses, coaches they had in school, or even characters from films such as Glengarry Glen Ross and The Wolf of Wall Street. Some people lean on executive coaches for help, but often the advice rests on the coaches’ personal experience, not research.

通过话语激励他人，这里面其实有一套科学。有一些工具，能够帮助人们在进行重要工作前提振精神。为更好地了解这些工具，我与学界、企业界和其他一些领域的实践者进行了深入交流。我发现，虽然各人有不同的诀窍，但研究显示，成功的动员讲话包括3个关键要素：指示方向、表达共情、构造意义。这个领域最深入的研究来自Texas A&M International大学的夫妻搭档杰奎琳·梅菲尔德和米尔顿·梅菲尔德（Jacqueline and Milton Mayfield），他们研究“激励语言理论”（MLT）在企业界的应用已近30年。他们成果的有效性，得到体育心理学和军事史研究的支持。所有证据都显示，只要理解了这3个要素，领导者就能逐步学会如何应用。

There is, however, a science to motivating people in this way. To better understand the various tools that help people get psyched up in the moments before important performances, I talked extensively with academics and practitioners in business and a variety of other fields. I discovered that while every individual has his or her own tips and tricks, according to the science, most winning formulas include three key elements: direction giving, expressions of empathy, and meaning making. The most extensive research in this field—dubbed motivating language theory, or MLT—comes from Jacqueline and Milton Mayfield, a husband-and-wife team at Texas A&M International University who have studied its applications in the corporate world for nearly three decades. Their findings are backed by studies from sports psychologists and military historians. And all the evidence suggests that once leaders understand these three elements, they can learn to use them more skillfully.

三要素的精确平衡

Three Elements, Carefully Balanced

梅菲尔德夫妇将指示方向定义为“少用不确定性的语言”。关于如何完成手头任务，领导者应提供确切信息，如给出清晰指示、恰当描述任务、明确评价标准等。

The Mayfields describe direction giving as the use of “uncertainty-reducing language.” This is when leaders provide information about precisely how to do the task at hand by, for example, giving easily understandable instructions, good definitions of tasks, and detail on how performance will be evaluated.

“共情性语言”应传达对员工的人性关怀，可包括赞扬、鼓励、感谢和承认任务难度等。“大家都还好吗？”“我知道这是个挑战，但相信你们能胜任”，“你们的福利是我最关心的事情之一”等表达都属于此类。

“Empathetic language” shows concern for the performer as a human being. It can include praise, encouragement, gratitude, and acknowledgment of a task’s difficulty. Phrases like “How are we all doing?” “I know this is a challenge, but I trust you can do it,” and “Your well-being is one of my top priorities” all fit into this category.

“用构造意义的语言”解释某项任务为何重要，将组织的目标或使命与员工个人目标联系起来。使用构造意义的语言时，讲话者通常会讲故事——关于努力工作或取得成功的同事，或某项事业给客户的生活或社区带来改变。

“Meaning-making language” explains why a task is important. This involves linking the organization’s purpose or mission to listeners’ goals. Often, meaning-making language includes the use of stories—about people who’ve worked hard or succeeded in the company, or about how the work has made a real difference in the lives of customers or the community.

无论听众是很多人还是一个人，好的动员讲话都应包括全部三要素。但三者的比例取决于情境和听众。对于熟悉的任务，有经验的员工无需指示方向；与领导者关系紧密的追随者，不需要太多共情性语言；构造意义在大多数情境下都有用，但如果工作的最终目标很清晰，也无须过多强调。

A good pep talk—whether delivered to one person or many—should include all three elements, but the right mix will depend on the context and the audience. Experienced workers who are doing a familiar task may not require much direction. Followers who are already tightly bonded with a leader may require less empathetic language. Meaning making is useful in most situations, but may need less emphasis if the end goals of the work are obvious.

例如，梅菲尔德夫妇研究过加州一家初创医药公司，该公司专攻心脏病和渐冻症（ALS）药物研发；很多员工的家人患有此类疾病，这份工作对他们有着特殊意义。因此CEO自然可以在公司全体会上说：“我知道，大家都想要拯救生命、改善他人的生活，这是我们工作的全部意义。”

For example, the Mayfields studied the CEO of a California pharmaceutical start-up focused on drugs to alleviate heart disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Many of the company’s employees have lost loved ones to these ailments, so they bring an unusual sense of purpose to their work. As a result, at all-hands meetings, the CEO can easily make statements like this: “I know everybody here wants to help save lives and make people’s lives better. That’s what our work is all about.”

与之相对，快餐店经理面对十几岁的打工店员，要在话语中涵盖3要素就没那么容易。仅仅下指令还不够。米尔顿·梅菲尔德建议使用共情性语言，如“我知道这工作很难，你们每晚都带着一身油烟味回家，还要熬夜做功课”；或赋予劳动意义，如“我们这家店的目标不只提供令顾客满意的快餐，也提供优质、稳定的工作，让你们这样的员工能够补贴家用、存钱上大学、在业余时间享受生活，你们越能帮助这家店完成目标，我们在这方面就能做得越好”。根据梅菲尔德夫妇的研究，构造意义几乎总是三要素中最困难的。

In contrast, the supervisor of a fast-food restaurant speaking to part-time teenage employees will need to work harder to incorporate all three elements of motivating language theory into his chats with staff, but he can’t rely solely on direction giving. Milton Mayfield suggests empathetic lines: “I know this work is difficult; you go home every night smelling of grease, and you’re working so late that you’re up until midnight finishing your homework.” Or, to creatively link labor to purpose, the supervisor might say: “Our goal as a company isn’t just to provide people with fast, satisfying meals; it’s also to provide good, stable jobs so that employees like you have money to help your families, to save for college, or to enjoy yourselves when you’re not at work. The more you help this restaurant meet its goals, the better we’ll be able to continue doing that.” According to the Mayfields’ research, meaning making is almost always the most difficult of the three elements to deliver.

关于如何将动员讲话的效果最大化，其他领域也有研究。蒂凡尼·瓦尔加斯（Tiffanye Vargas）是加州大学长滩分校的体育心理学教授，她发表了数项实验室和现场研究成果，均是关于不同情境中最能激励运动员的话语，其中一些发现或许能应用于企业中。

Research from other fields offers additional insight into what gives the best pep talks their power. Tiffanye Vargas, a sports psychology professor at California State University at Long Beach, has published a half-dozen lab and field studies exploring which types of speeches best motivate athletes in different situations, some of which may also be applicable to business contexts.

瓦尔加斯的研究显示，在多种运动项目中，教练的赛前动员都很重要：90%的选手说他们喜欢听赛前动员，并且65%的选手认为这会影响他们的发挥。瓦尔加斯发现，在面对不熟悉或曾惜败过的对手时，运动员希望听到细节丰富（减少不确定性）的讲解，如“我们要通过凶狠地盯人拿下对手，乔的任务是防住对方得分后卫，吉米要和他们篮板球特别厉害的那个人抢位置”；如果队伍处于下风或面临关键比赛，情感性的动员讲话（使用更多共情性和构造意义的语言）会更有效，如“这次赛事我们已经超出所有人的预期，没人觉得我们能赢，但我认为你们会赢，我知道你们能赢，你们也必须赢，为了队友，为了球迷——因为你们配得上胜利”。

Her research suggests that across a variety of sports, coaches’ pregame remarks do matter: 90% of players say they enjoy listening, and 65% say the speeches affect the way they play. She’s found that people prefer an information-rich (uncertainty-reducing) speech if they’re playing an unknown opponent or a team to which they’ve narrowly lost in the past. (For example: “We’re going to beat this team with tough man-to-man coverage. Joe, your job is to neutralize that shooting guard; Jimmy, you box out that star rebounder on every play.”) If a team is an underdog or playing in a high-stakes game, a more emotional pep talk (with more empathetic and meaning-making language) is more effective. (For example: “We’ve exceeded all expectations in this tournament. No one expects us to win. But I expect you to win. I know you can win. You have to win. For your teammates, for the fans—because you deserve this victory.”)

军队中的动员讲话，也不同程度包含激励语言理论提出的3要素——虽然相关研究使用的术语不同。基斯·耶林（Keith Yellin）曾是美国海军陆战队军官，他的《劝战：战斗领袖修辞学》（Battle Exhortation: The Rhetoric of Combat Leadership）一书分析了古希腊罗马时代以来的战前动员讲话（也包括莎士比亚《亨利五世》中“让我们再上火线”独白等文学经典），总结出指挥官们的23个“共同主题”。其中包括指示方向的元素（“按计划行动”），但大多诉诸士兵的理性（如强调本方相对敌人的优势）或情感（如“上帝站在我们这边”或强调敌人的邪恶）。因为士兵将冒生命危险，指挥官自然会强调战斗的意义，说明为何冒险是值得的。

Military speeches also tend to use the three elements of MLT in varying proportions, even if the terminology is different. When Keith Yellin, a former officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and the author of Battle Exhortation: The Rhetoric of Combat Leadership, analyzed precombat speeches dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans (including literary accounts, such as the “Once more unto the breach” oratory in Shakespeare’s Henry V), he found 23 “common topics” that generals call on. These include language that qualifies as direction giving (“Follow the plan”), but most of the themes appeal to soldiers’ reason (by comparing their superior army to opponents’ weaker forces) or emotions (by saying God is on their side or by highlighting the evilness of the enemy). Since the soldiers are about to risk their lives, it makes sense that a commander would focus on the larger purpose of the battle and why the risk is worthwhile.

耶林也承认，现代战争中的战前动员不如古代常见，所突出的要素也有变化。这部分是因为正面战斗减少，限制了动员演讲的机会；但也是因为军队更加职业化，由更多志愿报名的职业军人构成，而非平民或被强制征召的士兵。新兵或许还需要激情澎湃的动员，老兵清楚自己的目标，也不需要太多共情激励。

At the same time, Yellin acknowledges that precombat oratory is less common today than in earlier wars, and its balance of elements has shifted. That’s partly because today’s armies are stealthy (limiting opportunities for speeches), but it’s also because they’re now more professionalized, made up mostly of career soldiers who voluntarily enlisted, rather than civilian soldiers or draftees. While new recruits might still benefit from rah-rah pep talks, seasoned soldiers already know their purpose and don’t need as much empathy.

退役四星上将、曾指挥美国在伊拉克和阿富汗军事行动的斯坦利·麦克里斯特尔（Stanley McChrystal）的观点与此类似：“过去的这场战争中，如果你在三角洲特种部队、游骑兵或海豹突击队，我们每晚都在战斗。一切发生得那么快，而那都是我们的工作。”但在军旅生涯早期带领年轻士兵时，他更强调情感和意义：“在任务开始前的30分钟，重要的是建立信心和对彼此的承诺。”他一般会先指示方向（“我希望你们做到这些”），但很快转向意义构造（“任务很重要的原因是……”）和共情（“我知道你们能做到的理由是……”“想想你们以前做到的事情”），然后概括性收尾（“现在我们开始行动”）。

Stanley McChrystal, the retired four-star general who oversaw special operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, echoes this view. “If you went out with Delta Force or the Rangers or the SEALS in this last war, we were fighting every night,” he says. “Stuff is happening so fast, they’re all business.” Earlier in his career, however, when he was leading younger soldiers, he relied more on emotion and meaning: “During the last 30 minutes or so [before a mission], it was more about building the confidence and the commitment to each other.” He says he tended to start with direction giving (“Here’s what I’m asking you to do”) but quickly shifted to meaning making (“Here’s why it’s important”) and empathy (“Here’s why I know you can do it” and “Think about what you’ve done together before”), and then ended with a recap (“Now let’s go and do it”).

从上述研究和人物事迹中可以得出结论：在任何情境下，领导者都必须把握住激励语言理论提出的3要素，并注意在合适的时机突出合适的要素。

The upshot of all this research and anecdotal evidence is that leaders in any context need to understand each element of motivating language theory and be conscious of emphasizing the right one at the right time.

将理论付诸实践

Putting Theory into Practice

Yelp的销售领导阿利奥托从未研究过梅菲尔德夫妇的理论，但似乎自发地将其运用到工作中。她以共情开始：感谢整个部门的努力工作，点出表现卓越的个人或团队，然后强调称，如果一位Yelp销售员能完成出色业绩，那所有销售员都有这个能力，因为他们都受过相似训练、掌握同样的技巧。读过阿利奥托演讲的文字版后，梅菲尔德夫妇特别挑出一句话：“无论本月到目前为止你表现如何，今天都有可能成功。”接着，阿利奥托开始指示方向，对基本概念进行解释，如调整心态、积极行动等。例如，她会要求销售员将当日目标写在便签纸上，然后贴到电脑上。

Alioto, the Yelp sales leader, has never studied the Mayfields’ work, but she seems to have adopted the framework on her own. She leads with empathy—thanking the entire team for its hard work, singling out people or small teams who’ve been crushing it, and emphasizing that if one Yelp salesperson can put up spectacular numbers, all the reps are capable of it, since they have similar skills and training. After reading a transcript of her talk, the Mayfields point to this line in particular: “No matter what’s happened to you up to this point in the month, you can make it a successful day.” Then she shifts to direction giving, offering insight on a basic informational concept—often dealing with having the right mindset or a commitment to act. For example, she tells the reps to write one goal for the day on a Post-it and stick it on their computer.

阿利奥托以构造意义结尾，将LDOM与更大目标联系起来，让整个团队在情感上统一、充满活力：“每次赢得一位企业主的头脑和心，你们不只是在帮助自己——也是在帮助你的团队、你的部门、你的公司，帮助Yelp前往想去的地方。”

Alioto ends with meaning making—an emotional rallying cry that connects LDOM to a bigger goal and leaves the group energized: “Every time you win the heart and mind of a business owner, you’re not only helping yourself—you’re helping your team, you’re helping your office, you’re helping your company, and you’re helping Yelp get where it wants to be.”

梅菲尔德夫妇指出，阿利奥托可以更进一步将销售员的工作与Yelp的使命联系起来，即提供餐厅和其他店铺的推荐和评论，以提升终端用户的生活品质。但整体来说，他们给阿利奥托激励销售团队的话语打高分。

The Mayfields note that she could have gone a step further by connecting sales reps’ work to how Yelp improves end users’ lives by giving them access to recommendations and reviews of restaurants and other businesses. But on the whole, they give high marks to Alioto’s use of rhetoric to motivate a sales team.

不过要注意，销售员回到各自座位后，阿利奥托的指示、共情和意义构造并未停下。动员讲话之后，她巡视整个部门，与超过100名销售员一对一沟通，继续应用激励语言理论中的不同要素。在与一名销售员的对话中，她强调如何更主动地拿下潜在客户；面对另一位要给汽修店打电话的销售员，她讲授了此类沟通的细节；在其他对话中，她也尝试激发销售员的自信，或强调团队目标。

It’s important to note, however, that Alioto’s instruction, empathy, and meaning making don’t stop when the salespeople file back to their desks. After her speech, she walks the sales floor, talking individually with more than a hundred reps and continuing to employ the different elements from motivating language theory. In one conversation, she talks to a rep about how to more forcefully close an ambivalent prospect. With a salesperson about to call an automobile mechanic, she talks about the specifics of that category. In other conversations, she tries to boost reps’ confidence or emphasize the team’s goals.

这天结束时，纽约的Yelp团队完成了145万美元广告销售，完成当月指标，离拓展目标只差5万美元。很多销售员实现了BME，即Yelp人所说的“个人最佳月度业绩”（best month ever）。

By day’s end, the New York Yelpers have sold $1.45 million in new ads, meeting their quota and falling just $50,000 short of that month’s stretch target. Many individual reps achieve their BME, Yelp-speak for “best month ever.”

总结

CONCLUSION

很难说阿利奥托早上的动员讲话，以及与销售员的一对一沟通，对最终结果有多大影响，但她认为这一天是成功的。“我讲的并没什么新东西，但能让员工从不同角度思考他们是谁，以及他们能做什么，”她说，“我努力让每个人知道，他们有能力把握自己今天的表现。”

It’s impossible to say how much her morning remarks and one-on-one talks influenced those results, but Alioto felt the day was successful. “My speech wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it helped them think about where they are and what they are capable of in a different way,” she says. “I try to make everyone understand that they have the power to control their day.”

丹尼尔·麦金（Daniel McGinn）｜文

丹尼尔·麦金（Daniel McGinn）是《哈佛商业评论》英文版高级编辑，著有《提振精神》（Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help YouSucceed，Portfolio出版社，2017年），本文改编自该书内容。

王晨 | 译   蒋荟蓉 | 校   万艳 | 编辑