Motivational speaking is certainly no walk in the park. In fact, what makes for a great motivational speech is, first and foremost, a great motivational speaker. That is something you need to have a certain talent for.
For one thing, creating the speech is only half the battle; it also needs to be effectively delivered, and this is something that requires real skills of oration. Make no mistake, to have an audience walk away from a motivational speech feeling motivated, the speaker needs to be top notch.
The Value of Motivational Speakers
This is one the reasons why motivational speakers are in such high demand. For many companies, hiring a top motivational speaker to be featured as part of some corporate event is one of the best ways to create a sense of purpose and cohesion among employees.
It also boosts morale significantly, which is all down to employees feeling that their own professional futures are intertwined with that of the company, and that the company’s success is their success. At this point, personal professional motivation and motivation to make the company a success become one and the same.
And it isn’t just corporate events either. Consider Plurawl, a company specializing in T-shirts and hoodies in Spanish with designs aimed at the American Latino community. They also produce an inspirational podcast for their listeners.
In this case, it is the regular customers of the company who are targeted, and the issues discussed (and therefore the type of motivation imparted) are all relevant to that customer base.
What Are the Fundamentals?
So, being a motivational speaker certainly takes a certain natural talent, one that companies will often pay handsomely for. However, it might come as some surprise that what makes for a genuinely great motivational speaker is remarkably simple and comes down to three – not very well known – fundamentals. These are not easy to realize, but remarkably simple to understand.
Here follows the three most fundamental elements of successful motivational speaking:
Trust
A motivational speaker is there to give you advice to do nothing short of change your life, to alter your whole outlook regarding everything you do in your professional or personal life. That is a heck of a responsibility, and it is therefore obvious how creating a sense of trust among the audience is absolutely essential.
For sure, the audience needs to trust the motivational speaker. This might present some problems if they are part of a corporate event that feels purely about the company rather than the employees. If they are to trust the speaker, they need to believe that they are speaking in the interests of the audience.
The way trust is engendered is firstly by being clearly knowledgeable about the subject and by including lots of personal anecdote about how what they are recommending has helped other people. A welcoming tone, positive facial expressions, and body language are also essential.
Aspiration
A motivational speaker will set out a goal that their advice will lead to. The audience then needs to actively desire that goal – that is where the motivation comes from. If what the speaker is offering is genuinely desirable, then it is more likely the speech will be a success.
Clarity
The last fundamental is all about how the talk is delivered. In the context of motivational speaking, clarity means a clear take-away message around which the whole talk revolves. This should be simple and powerful and should be remembered long after the talk is finished.
So, these are the essential elements of a good motivational speaker. If you are hiring one, make this your checklist.