Do you need some motivational words to get you going in the morning? Perhaps there is a big game coming up and you want to hype up your team. If so, a pep talk may be in order. With a pep talk, you can encourage those around you into action with just a few well-placed words. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
A pep talk is a short or long speech intended to encourage and inspire. It is a way to trigger feelings of confidence and spur action in one or more people. A pep talk means to give targeted or general encouragement in a way that will inspire the target audience into action. It can also be explained as an enthusiastic way of speaking which is intended to promote higher levels of production or team cooperation.
In the US, a pep talk is most often used by sports coaches to trigger determination to overcome odds during a match. It is also meant to instill athletic vigor. In a business setting, it is used to encourage employees to reach a specific goal or to continue on during a particularly difficult work period. One can give themselves a pep talk to prepare themselves for a specific event or occurrence.
Example Usage
“The general went out to give his troops a pep talk before they shipped out to join the rest of the army on the front lines”.
“If you are feeling uncertain before you give your speech, just pop by my office and I will give you a rousing pep talk”.
“The teacher gave the class an encouraging pep talk before they walked across the stage for the graduation ceremony".
“When you are down to your last penny, sometimes a pep talk can be that final push that helps you place one more application that lands your dream job”.
Origin
As you might have guessed, the phrase “pep-talk” has not been around as long as many other idioms. The phrase actually came from the word pepper and was used starting around the mid-1800s. When the phrase first hit the scene, it was used to explain a sense of personal energy or spirit.
The meaning of the phrase changed to that of a motivational nature sometime in 1926. In the same year, The Mansfield News use the phrase to describe a motivational speech that the new outlet had covered. There is no exact point of reference for when the phrase became popular in the sports sector, however, that is how the phrase spread so widely.
Phrases Similar to Pep Talk
- Inspire
- Trumpet call
- Motivational speech
- Rallying cry
- Encourage
Phrases Opposite to Pep Talk
- Discourage
- Screaming match
- Dissuade
- Demotivate
- Depress
What is the Correct Saying?
- The proper way to say the phrase is – pep talk.
Ways People May Incorrectly Say Pep Talk
A pep-talk is used to motivate people or inspire them to keep going. It is also intended as a short speech as opposed to a lengthy lecture. If someone is trying to demotivate someone, it would not be considered a pep-talk. Also, if a speech is more than a few minutes long, calling it a pep talk would also be incorrect.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Pep Talk
Some ways that Pep Talk is used correctly are:
- If you are not quite ready to take the plunge and ask out your crush, give yourself a pep talk and then do it like a Band-Aid.
- I wonder what the coach said to the team during the half-time break. What type of pep-talk can spur them to come back from such a drastic loss?
- The sales figures from last month were less than impressive. I think if we give the team a rousing pep-talk, it can help improve sales.
- It is hard to wrap my head around what you have been through, but if you think a pep-talk will jolt you out of your current funk, I am here for it.