How can you inspire and motivate your audience with practicality?

You talk with an upbeat tone and with optimism. You explain to them exactly how you got wealthy. You explain it to the point where you give them the tools to generate wealth. You also let them know that they can reach out to you after your speech. You become their mentor. You enrich their lives.

Everyone needs to know the 'why' of their existence. Once this Northstar is identified half the job is done. This is done through much introspection. The motivational trainer then has to provide the course correction. the trainer or the life coach should be there to help pick you up through every stumbling. It is one continuous process 'find your north-set sails-take advantage of favourable winds - duck the storms-pick yourself up - and march on Bravehearts'

‘Engagement is key’ I’m talking not just at but ‘with’ the audience! Including and drawing in your audience by engaging them from your very first word or interaction! I personally call this ‘The Warm Up’ Once you have the attention of the room, take them on your journey and give real relatable examples that they too can resonate with! My goal is to always leave people empowered and motivated and impacted not just by my words and experiences but an action they too can take away and try in the coming day/week ??????

More importantly than knowing your audience is to answer these 2 questions: 1. What's the change I want my audience to make? 2. What's the action I want them to take? Until you have clarity around both these answers, you will find it very difficult to motivate or inspire the audience to feel or act differently.

Start with relatable stories : share real life experiences, stories & examples with practical solutions and outcomes. Use practical examples, share real world and life examples of individuals, organizations that have successfully implemented practical solutions to achieve goals. Faced challenges and overcame it. Talk on resources and references. Recommend tools, read, podcasts etc.

We are relational beings so a story helps connect us to each other and to our message. A story, told by someone who believes in the message, connects to the imagination and emotions of the audience. Telling stories comes more naturally to some than others. Clarity, relevance and practice can bring a 3d + effect to your conversation and when you know your audience you can typically feel the impact.

Sharing stories to illustrate your message, it's relevance and lesson is critical to being a motivational/inspirational speaker. As the oldest form of sharing wisdom and insight, the power of story-telling is hard-wired into the human brain. The more we can enhance our stories and involve the audience through emotion and imagination, the greater the impact we have as a speaker.

Show them the path to the action and change you want them to take. Them take them along it and show them the shift. However, don't try to impart more that 3-4 pieces actionable steps. They will remember how you made them feel more than they will remember what you said!

An example I recommend is giving your audience what to next after your speech. Be specific on what they should do with your speech. I spoke to a group of students and gave them a Bill of Responsibility. I got requests after the event to have the bill so I sent to the attendees. That was a life changing action.

Humour is a great tool to build rapport and bring the audience along on the journey. Not everyone feels comfortable or is good at being funny. So, don't get nervous and be hard on yourself. You don't have to be a comedian or crack jokes. Just be light and bright, keep smiling and lighten the mood. The more you speak, the better you'll get at inserting more humour into your presentations.

Share your personal story or that of someone you know. Let them see and feel that it’s achievable by someone like them. That’s is where inspiration takes place.

The old proverb " be yourself because everyone else is taken" ! Do not undermine the reason that you made it this far, YOU !!

I usually play a powerpoint about myself.. My educational qualifications, my competency certifications, upgrading in other knowledge and skills set.. How does the certification improves your work ethics and building a simple connections between you and them the audience..

Speaking is for awareness more than skill building (which is better done by training or coaching) so aim for a profound hit early on where you turn the common view on its head or share a surprising unknown fact or story. These are the great take-aways as they change what we believe and therefore how we speak and act differently - the how and the what of those paradigm shifts (profound perspective changes) and the stories that inspire and resonate form the rest of the speech.