Having Trouble Motivating Others? Try WIIFM

Recently my fourteen-year old son Matt dressed up as Santa Claus and attended a Christmas caroling event for one of my professional organizations. Was my son excited about the idea of spending one of his evenings singing to seniors instead of being with his friends? Not really. Then how did I get Matt to agree so readily to come to the event and play Santa? It was easy; I told him that after we finish caroling we all go back to our host facility and enjoy delicious food. That was enough for Matt. He heard the word food and was ready and willing to go. I could have tried to motivate Matt by telling him what a wonderful thing he would be doing by making so many people happy.

While Matt is a caring teenager, that argument would not have been enough to get him to go. However, tell a teenage boy that there will be good food where you are going and you can get him to do almost anything. I motivated my son to participate in this activity by considering his WIIFM or What