If you think motivational speakers spend all of their time traveling around the country and delivering speeches, you’re in for a surprise.

Although speaking is inherently a part of the job description, motivational speakers do more than what you see on the stage (or in YouTube videos).

In this article, you are going to learn:

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The role of a motivational speaker

The role of a motivational speaker is to deliver a speech that inspires the audience to reflect upon their own life in some profound way that gets them to change their behavior or take a specific action.

The ultimate goal for motivational speeches is to spread new ideas and inspire a positive change among listeners, whether it’s a change in their mindset, lifestyle and everyday actions, their organization, or a bigger change in our society.

To accomplish this important goal, motivational speakers need to have a range of skills to stick the landing in their speeches.

Event organizers hire motivational speakers because it is a great way to engage an audience and grab their attention by driving home a specific talking point through the storytelling process.

How motivational speakers prepare

Motivational speakers spend a lot of time learning and reflecting on their personal experiences, especially those that profoundly affect their perceptions of the human experience.

Inspiring speakers often have unique approaches towards their past hardships and trauma, they view these as lessons and opportunity to grow.

Their stories are often extraordinary tales of healing and growth, that’s why their ideas are impactful, they help listeners gain perspective for their own negative experiences and feel inspired to change their current situation.

Motivational speakers are experts

Many motivational speakers have years of experience and professional training before they start their careers in speaking.

Whether it’s entrepreneurship, psychology and counseling, research, learning’s from their personal journey, or other areas, their expertise is what makes motivational speakers seem compelling.

They have the ability to translate academic concepts and theories into simple, easy-to-understand ideas to help readers investigate their own experiences and view them from objective eyes.

This gives the listeners the clarity and perspective needed to tackle their own challenges.

Motivational speakers tell great stories

If you have ever attended a long, boring lecture in school, you know that great story-telling abilities are among the most important skills to get any ideas heard.

Not only are the best motivational speakers equipped with personal experience and technical expertise, but their delivery needs to make a lasting impression among the audience.

Therefore, the stories they craft for their live events need to be interesting, inspiring and memorable to instill change in the mindsets of their listeners.

Just like fables and pearls of wisdom, these stories offer learning’s that the audience can reflect upon and implement in their everyday lives.

Motivational speakers have charisma

Great speakers have a natural gravitas that can captivate a crowd and make you want to believe them.

Each word they speak, each pause they take, every action and body language is well-rehearsed to help the message reach listeners and resonate with them.

This takes years of practice speaking in front of an audience, but the results are apparent – you remember their messages, you believe them and feel compelled to take actions.

When they are on stage, they are representing you and your organization which means that they must be likeable and relatable.

Motivational speakers inspire change

One of the goals of a speaker is to guide people towards taking some form of action in their life or business.

Not only do they inspire a change in attitude, but they also lead to immediate actions.

Motivational speeches guide listeners through a series of simple steps, sometimes, only daily, small changes that have a lasting impact in the long run.

That’s what makes them more impactful than the average TED talk – the crowd leaving a motivational speech often radiates a bigger sense of purpose and feels more motivated to change.

For this reason, companies and organizations can benefit greatly from a motivational speech, which can fuel their employees with an intense desire to change for the better and guide the organization towards a sustainable culture and purposeful business practice.

Motivational speakers are creators

In addition to traveling to their speaking arrangements, motivational speakers also create other content to spread their messages to a wider audience.

They write self-help books, biographies, make YouTube videos, write blogs, host podcasts and appear on television.

These contents never steer too far from the speaker’s expertise, they act as self-learning devices to help listeners retain the message longer and employ the techniques shared more effectively.

How long is a motivational speech?

The speech’s length varies depending on the topic and the setting, but common types of motivational speeches last from 60 to 90 minutes.

This duration is long enough so that the speaker can effectively deliver all the points he or she wants to make, while not too long that it will lose the audience’s interest and attention.

Depending on the topic, the speech will cover anecdotes from the speaker’s experience, bigger context from our society, learning’s and immediate actions that the audience can take to start problem-solving their issues.

Although this is a relatively short amount of time, the impact you see after a motivational speech often lasts much longer.

Businesses, youth organizations, non-profits, and communities witness long-term benefit from motivational speeches, thanks to their ability to instill a sense of purpose among their people.

Types of motivational speakers

There are many types of motivational speakers which can include:

Each type of speaker focuses on their specific niche so that they can establish themselves as experts for this particular audience.

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