Want to learn how to become a motivational speaker?
At first glance, motivational speakers look like they have a dream job.
They travel around the world, meet new people every day, and tell impressive stories of their personal triumphs.
However, just like any other experts who needed to practice 10,000 hours to reach mastery, what you see in the spotlight usually happens after years of honing their messages and delivery skills.
If you believe you have what it takes to become a successful motivational speaker, here are some first steps to start building your career.
What’s Your Story?
Great motivational speakers all have their own “niche” – whether it’s business, personal development, or self-help.
If you think about famous motivational speakers, you can also attach their names to their unique ideas and messages. Nick Vuljicic’s message is about the immense mental strength that helped him overcome his physical disabilities.
Brene Brown has years of teaching and researching in academic environments, but she often talks about finding courage in everyday actions. They may have expertise in multiple areas but developing their speeches around one central idea can help the audience remember their messages better, and thus feel inspired to take actions.
If you have years of business success or training in a certain field, or a profound experience that helps you gain a new perspective about life, that is a good place to start.
From there, you need to find a story that only you can tell, a unique insight that you draw from your trainings and experiences. These stories need to be simple, understandable, and memorable to help the audience retain the message long after you are done speaking.
Set Yourself Apart
As humans, we share a lot of common experiences: loss, failures, tragedy, and healing. We have all experienced these things, to some degree. Many motivational speakers have suffered inconceivable trauma and loss, but what makes them greatly inspiring is their unique attitudes, solutions and perspectives towards these issues.
They wow the audience with their inspiring approach to life’s biggest challenges and encourage listeners to follow their footsteps.
Keep in mind that what makes motivational speeches so powerful is that the speakers don’t just stop at telling their stories.
They also draw learning’s and lessons, even breaking them down into small steps and actions that the listeners can apply to their own lives and tackle their own challenges.
The impact is seen in the waves that your speech creates in a business, an organization, or a community.
Hone Your Speaking Skills
You may know what you’re talking about, but if you’re not good at public speaking, you may not hit the right spot.
When you study great motivational speakers, you may notice that they have incredible charisma and gravitas, their words, intonation, pauses and body language all work together to make maximum impact in their speeches.
That often takes years of practice speaking in front of an audience, so don’t worry if you’re not an expert public speaker on day one.
The first step may be rehearsing your speech with friends and families and gain their critique and make any correction.
You may also film yourself and re-watch your speech to correct any awkward body language, ‘ahs’ and ‘ums’ and make your storytelling feel more natural and personal.
Many even hire a speaking coach to help them correct this problem, these are professionals who can help you eliminate any unwanted habits that may disrupt your speech and undermine your message.
Once you’ve perfected speaking in front of yourself and your inner circle, just like famous comedians who test out and perfect their new jokes at the local comedy clubs, you may start offering to speak for free in front of a small audience at a small venue.
There, you can learn more the audience’s reactions to your message and ideas, and gain insight on how to stick the landing in each of your point.
Market Yourself
Once you have a great story and a masterful delivery technique, getting your name out there to get speaking gigs is the next daunting process.
You may start small with uploading short videos of your ideas on YouTube or start writing daily blog posts to share your message.
Additionally, you can apply to speaking gigs, conferences, and conventions to start getting to know the industry and big players that can connect you to the right opportunity.
It may take months or years for you to hit your “big break,” but once you’ve gained a certain amount of experience and reverence in your speaking career, organizations and communities will invite you to speak to their people.
Many famous motivational speakers also write self-help books and biographies, host podcasts, and appear on television to spread their message to a bigger audience and make a bigger impact in our society.