Motivate Yourself to be a Motivational Speaker – How to Set Off on Your Journey to be a Motivational Speaker

Are you interested in being a motivational speaker? Not everyone is keen to take up such a role, especially when they first set out on their public speaking journey. For most, the step to take up public speaking lessons is mainly motivated by the desire to apply these techniques in their day-to-day setting. A motivational speech/presentation setting, however, may come across as daunting, especially for a new communicator.

That said, what if you are keen to try your hand at motivational speeches? Motivational speeches may go beyond your traditional speech setting before a live audience. It may involve specific scenarios such as a setting to motivate your colleagues or even a friend in a conversation setting. No matter the communication setting, there is always room as a speaker to expand your communication skills toolkit on your path as a versatile speaker.

On that note, motivational speaking is far from that scary nightmare. With a careful understanding of the underlying techniques, you can explore and experiment with various motivational communication settings. Here, we will share three quick tips on how you can grow as a motivational speaker!

Tip #1: Motivate Yourself!

Let us start with a quick cliché – to motivate others, you need to motivate yourself! To unpack this, you need to first believe in your message or speech to start convincing your audience members. On that note, you need to start identifying a strong, core message to your speech or presentation. Crafting a direct and strong message requires a committed and dedicated speech-planning process.

To help you along in crafting a motivational message in your planning process, remember to focus on the following three fronts. First, ensure that your motivational message is precise and relevant. Make an immediate connection with your audience throughout your presentation. Second, express your belief in your message with conviction (either through elaboration or evidence). Let your audience members see your sincerity with ease. Third, maximise your vocal quality by presenting with a clear, sustained pace and a louder volume profile.

Here’s an example of a speech with the simple message “Don’t just fixate on the RED”:

Tip #2: Remember Your Signature

A simple Google or YouTube search for motivational speakers will reveal a treasure trove of various speakers to choose from – all with their respective styles and stories. How can you stand out as a motivational speaker? To us, an important skill of a motivational speaker is his/her ability to carve a niche area for themselves. This would entail developing a signature story or signature style.

A signature story is a personal experience or journey of growth that can be presented as a powerful anecdote in a motivational speech. Such a story usually involves a powerful experience of overcoming a challenge or a barrier. From this, the audience gets to draw a valuable learning experience as motivation for their respective journey. A signature style focuses on speech delivery. You cannot be faulted for thinking that the only suitable style for a motivational speaker is to be highly energetic. Instead, there is room to adopt either a quiet and centred motivational stance, layering energetic body language with a professional emphasis on the speech message. By developing your signature story or style, your audience will learn to recognise your unique identifier as a motivational speaker!

Tip #3: Bring it Back to Earth

One common mistake of motivational speakers is the tendency to remain in the lofty and aspirational aspects of their speech. A lofty message, while appealing, may not be implementable by your audience members. This may dilute the substance of your motivational speech or, worse still, tarnish your credibility as a speaker. You need to remember to bring your audience back to Earth with a relatable and practical message.

One effective way of achieving this is by crafting a simple, relevant, and actionable call to action. A call to action needs to be easily understood and remembered. In short, it should have a long lifespan in your audience’s mind. Flowing from this, your call to action has to address a live and existing concern of your audience. This creates an attractive, relevant link with your audience to engage and retain their attention. Finally, your call to action should be practical enough for your audience to immediately implement on a day-to-day basis. An idealistic or complex call to action (“I urge you to seek joy in your existence!) is less likely to move your audience compared to a simplified form (“I urge you to seek joy in your existence by recording the things you are grateful for daily!”).

Motivate with Power!

Not everyone aspires to be a motivational speaker, especially given its nuanced and unique communication scenario. That said, we should not shy ourselves away from the underlying skillsets or techniques that underlie a motivational speaking style. Whether you aim to be a motivational speaker or otherwise, we hope the three tips above would help you to grow as a powerful speaker!

By The Way…

If you’re keen to take your public speaking skills & presentation skills (either business/corporate presentation / training for presentation to clients / kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that you may communicate and deliver speeches with greater flair and charisma, feel free to check out our offerings below!

For more about our Public Speaking Course for Adults :

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/courses-and-programs/group-classes-for-adults/

If you’re also looking for Public Speaking Course for Kids / Children:

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/