How To Motivate Your Students To Behave Better, Work Harder, Care For Each Other… Or Anything Else You Want From Them

Lecturing individual students is a common classroom management practice—just another tool in a teacher’s tool belt.

But it’s a colossal mistake, born of frustration, that does nothing to curb unwanted behavior beyond several minutes.

The reason?

When you lecture individual students, it’s done out of anger and not out of a pure intention to help improve behavior.

And students know it.

It causes them to dislike you, lose respect for you, and desire to get even with you—greatly diminishing your influence.

Whole-class lectures, on the other hand, can work miracles.

How To Motivate Their Socks Off

I prefer to call class lectures “motivational speeches” because that’s what they’re designed to do: to motivate students.

Done a certain way, a motivational speech can light a fire under a lazy class, reverse poor attitudes, inspire altruism, or stop unruly behavior in its tracks.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Tell them what you don’t like.

Your students will behave/perform better when they know precisely what not to do. To that end, start your speech by pointing out what you’re unhappy with. What are you seeing from your students that you want corrected? Without singling anyone out, cite specific examples.

Step 2: Tell them why it’s wrong.

Explaining why is a powerful persuasion technique. Your students are much more likely to agree with you—and thus change their behavior—if you offer a clear explanation why their behavior is wrong. Make your reasoning brief, direct, and easy to understand.

Step 3: Tell them what you want.

Make clear to your students what you expect from them. In other words, how they should behave. Again, be specific. Show them how you want them to attend during lessons, raise their hand, choose a partner, greet their tablemates, or whatever behavior you want changed.

Step 4: Challenge them.

Ask your students, challenge them, to stand up if they feel like they’re not going to be able to do what you ask—for whatever reason. Tell them that, if this is the case, if they really feel like they can’t do what you expect of them, you want to know now. You don’t want to wait and find out later when you see the same old behavior again.

Step 5: Challenge them again, then finish together.

Challenge your class to stand and gather around you if they are committed to whatever you’re asking of them. If they’re not, tell them to remain seated (they won’t). Extend your hand into the center of the group. Ask them to do the same. Now glance around, looking them in the eyes, and say, “Now I want you to show me, prove to me that you can listen, learn, study, and become the best students you can be.”

Then finish with a bang: “Be the best on three. One…two…three… BE THE BEST!”

Add Your Passion

The above steps won’t work if you just go through the motions. It will be just another lecture, just another teacher droning on, unless you tap into that place deep inside you that believes in an individual’s capacity to overcome obstacles, to rise above their circumstances, to become more than the opinions of others.

You have to believe, to know beyond a doubt, that your students are capable of fulfilling the vision of excellence you have for them. Because if you don’t believe it, they won’t believe it either.

So don’t be afraid to let it out. Don’t be afraid to show your passion for helping students become more than they think they can. Don’t be afraid to show your desire to create your dream class, to make your classroom and this school year a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you and your students.

If you get goose bumps as you look into your students’ eyes, if they look back at you with intensity and determination to be better students, then you know you’re on the right track.