How can you tell if you have the skills to be a motivational speaker?

Have you got something inside of you that you can't keep inside, that you want to share with the world? That's a great start. That passion will propel your words from the stage and into people's hearts and minds. Now you have to align this with what the market wants. If you don't you can be the world's best speaker with an amazing topic but you'll be speaking for free. Go and seek some professional coaching or start listening to some of the business of speaking podcasts. The information you get is top class and it's free. So keep your passion strong and channel it into what your market wants at tis time.

You don't need to be a motivational speaker, you just need to make senses to your audiences. If you can relate something from your and/or audience's life or surroundings that are plausible and inspiring to take actions, you can be an effective speaker which we often call motivational speaker. Of course, for relating something with your target group or audience, you need clear purpose and direction of what you'd like your target group to do. Then you make it a simple story to make it motivational.

Hear me out. If you are reading this, you are pre-qualified to be a motivational speaker. It's the motivational speaker in you that pulled you here. It's the motivational speaker in search of expression. No desire surfaces without the ability to fulfill it. Everything will fall into place for you once you believe what I just wrote. That said, the journey is longer for some and easier for others. If you knew me as a poor, diseased, introverted, and shy kid in a tiny village in Haiti, you would think nothing in my appearance indicated a motivational speaker in my destiny. You would be wrong. That's why most people cannot see an oak tree inside an acorn. Your gift of motivational speaking is a diamond in the rough. Refine it.

BE what you teach/ share. If you're not living it, what would make you think you should get paid to "teach" it. You don't need to be the perfect example, but the way you're responding to life's challenges should be a reflection of your content.

Everyone possesses the ability to motivate others in some way. And to do it as a profession is just like any other profession - get the basics skills right: - have life-long learning approach - focus on continual (incremental) improvement - adopt a growth mindset - master principles of adult learning - come from a position of curiosity - continually build your presence & charisma

Your knowledge articulation and connect with the audience are most critical. Know your topic very well. Research as much as possible and connect with people in that area to have the updates. Preparation will give you authority. Yet be humble as no one know everything

Too many speakers today speak from books they have read, stories they have heard and studies they share. When we speak from personal experience, with real stories with real people and real, quantifiable success, people listen. Couple this with the educational background and expertise, and you have a winning combination. Getting my Doctorate in Organizational Leadership was a Game Changer for me. All of a sudden I am an expert through experience and academic credentials. Today I am asked to speak to global, national and local audiences. Being open to share my downturns and lessons learned is just as critical as speaking about successes and how these were attained. Giving credit to others and humility are a must.

Mastering your craft is essential to embark on a successful career in motivational speaking. It involves: - Developing expertise, credibility, and exceptional communication skills. - Adaptability to diverse audiences and contexts - Continual learning, practice, and feedback - Establishing professionalism, confidence, and authority in your field.

They key to this is in the title - skills. You can learn them all and become amazing even if you are terrible to begin - it is just a matter of if you have the passion to continue to put in a lot of work over many years. Steve Martin wasn't naturally funny or good on stage as a comedian. He put in an incredible, mind-boggling amount of time into it and mastered his craft.

I observe that just motivating people is not sufficient, inspiring them is the key . Motivation fades away soon but when we are able to inspire them it lasts for ever . When one is inspired by the purpose or project or work his mind transcends all limitations and his consciousness expands in every direction. Hidden talents, dormant forces and facilities become alive .A sort of transformation takes place . Inspiring people is an art and science.

Connecting with your audience is essential if you don't want to get booed off stage, lose your audiences attention or worse. I recommend skipping the TED Talk performers as that is a very specific set of rules speakers must follow and instead, study comedians and magicians. Watch how these individuals use timing, physical (mis)direction and emotion to keep their audiences engaged. You can learn so much about how to become a great storyteller by watching others who do it in other genres.

When you are on a stage as a motivational speaker, you are a mirror reflecting the audience members to themselves. They feel what you feel. I always go to dinner or an event the night before the speaking engagement. The goal is to meet as many attendees as possible. I do my best to get to know a lot about them, including the names. That gives me an edge on the stage. I already have some allies to root for me. I would call their names and mention something wise they said in our conversation. Then the rest of the audience members would feel a sense of connection with me as a result. I'm perceived to be a friend to their colleagues. By extension, I am also their friend on some level. That's one strategy to connect besides many others.

Even though your speech may be ABOUT you and your story, but it’s not FOR you. It’s always for the audience and how your story will add value to them. The meaning of the message is with them.

When you step onto that stage or in the front of that room, your audience are there for themselves. You are the conduit to help them get at least one idea to move them forward. It is your understanding of the outcome of that engagement and the ability to weave the key stories of your experiences to create their momentum. Forget the AirBNB and Uber stories - they've heard them before... bring in your own stories, with your mistakes, your humour and tie the relevance of that story to their situation. Provide prescriptive solutions but remember, stories are the vehicle for change to happen .

Research and understand who your audience is, what they care about, and what their expectations might be. Use stories, anecdotes, or humour to evoke emotions. Emotional engagement can make your message more memorable. Be genuine in your communication. Authenticity builds trust.

Human emotions are complex. It is hard to tell from an external perspective if the person we're observing is scared or excited, is crying or laughing hysterically, is sad or serious. Therefore, I work in a story or joke in my opening that lets my nervousness, anxiety, and excitement out as early as possible. The audience only senses that I am exhilarated to be with them. If I'm excited, so are they! Even if that manifest excitement is fear!

Ensaya, ensaya y ensaya. Ensaya hasta que te aburras, ensaya hasta que aburras a los demás. No trates de memorizar el texto, hazte un mapa mental con todo lo que quieres tratar. Puedes llevar unas notas pero JAMáS leas tu discurso. Hay que saber hablar en público, no leer en público.

My speaking coach Stephanie Call taught me how to handle my emotions after my brother passed away from a Glioblastoma (brain cancer). I delivered the commencement speech at Pepperdine University while receiving an award at the graduation. She said to imagine a group of sheep walking right in front of the audience; this created an interruption in my brain and I was able to separate emotion just enough to be real, and deliver my message effectively. I also pray before speaking, and ask that God speak through me and prepare the hearts of the audience to receive what they need to receive. February 2023 I delivered a strong message to 1600 people including heads of state from 91 countries in Washington, DC. My life changed.

Not every speaking engagement will be a success, and rejection or criticism may come your way. Resilience is important to keep going and learn from setbacks.

Let's accept it first that it's absolutely OK to feel a little nervous and excited at the same time. And as per my experience spread over a decade, this nervousness and excitement ensured that I deliver my best. Its absolute normal to have fear anxiety and at times self doubt too. As we grow with experience, all this can be handled easily but during our early years, we must feel all these feelings as they open our context to all new challenges and prepare us to face them too. Creating a humour on ourselves is the best way of dealing with negative situations. Simply because we are our safest bet and we know we won't be hurting others in the process and ultimately it builds up our confidence.

Just like growing a regular business, speakers must treat their business in a similar way. Hire the right resources and collaborate with others so your business can expand exponentially. I have learned that my “We don’t do this alone” motto has been critical to my success.

It’s absolutely vital to learn business skills. Being a great speaker wont get you there alone. I relied on word of mouth for ten years and did okay. I then learned speaker business skills and suddenly business has taken off. You don’t know what you don’t know. I could have had more lucrative years had i learned these things earlier

If you are looking for an immediate return or an outcome then it won't work. Ofcourse we have to build our systems and processes to serve the client better but before that we have to work on the basics every time. At every engagement, we need to ensure that the audience is having amazing takeaways too. These takeaways make the audience come back to you for more and on frequent basis. If, at the end of the session, there is no call to action or something to connect for the audience then its not a fruitful proposition. Growing the business is not only about charging high but it's more about adding more value to your audience. Higher the value, bigger the returns.

Most of the aspiring motivational speakers lack entrepreneurship skill and mindset. Someone who wants to become a motivational speaker should gradually build sales skills as well as utilizing networking opportunities.

If you are speaking for money, you're running a business. If you're not adept at this, get a business coach and get organised otherwise you may find it turns into an expensive hobby.

Asking for feedback is critical to keep improving your skills. I learned a valuable lesson years ago, I was giving a presentation in NZ and asked a friend to assist with back of room sales of my resources at the end of the presentation. "I'd love some feedback after the presentation" I commented to her. The presentation was well received, the audience gave me a standing ovation, action plans were full of ideas I had suggested, the client was over the moon with compliments. I was feeling bullet-proof. As I paid her for her time, she pulled out a notepad and asked if I wanted her feedback & proceeded to tear strips off everything I did. I felt like s*&%. I thanked her for her comments. Lesson learned, ask for one point for improvement.

Learning is the process of life. The moment we are students; we are learning, we are growing. The moment we stop learning, we stop growing. A person who is not in the process of learning, growing, and then transforming; how can they transfer the transformation? One can only give what they have. Reading and learning keep you filled with knowledge and that's a continuous process. Moreover, I am a student till the moment I am alive.

I also encourage aspiring speakers to share personal stories on stage. Sharing the personal journey on stage needs courage and clarity. But listening to others sharing their personal journey is always inspiring and empowering. As speakers, trainers and authors, we can break the wall between our public presence and our authentic selves by sharing our personal journeys, small stories and learnings. Thus, we can transform ourselves into a compelling and impactful speaker.

Always listen back to your speeches. I know it's cringy but that's the only way to grow. You have to HEAR what other people hear. When you speak your voice sounds different to you than to others.

Improvement can be done by two ways, self assessment and feedback after the speech. This will help you to assess what can be done better.

I don't think there's anyone on the planet who doesn't have motivational skills. Everyone can self-propel himself or herself. And by dint of this fact they can inspire others around them It is not so much about what we say as motivators, but what we are! What matters is the vibe, the unsaid aura, the magnetism. Of course, motivational speakers who have the gift of the gab and are born orators, can truly mesmerise their audiences and create deep impacts. But oratorical skills can be honed and upskilled as well. One can emerge as an awesome motivational speaker years after a so so beginning. I myself have been lucky to have had some skills from my commencement as a speaker but I am sure that I have gotten better every day! Hopefully:)

The key word in this question is "motivational." Many people speak, and speak well, but not all speakers can motivate. As a motivational speaker, understanding your audience in aggregate, and determining ONE or TWO things that will motivate them BEFORE the speech, is critical. No one will remember your entire speech (unless they are required to in school), so you have to leave them with one or two items that will challenge them to act.

Having some level of eloquence is important. It’s a skill which can be worked on so even if you aren’t naturally gifted, you can work on it. Also, being good at story telling is important. Are you able to bring stories together and tie it into your motivational speech?

In the end to be a successful motivational speaker, you need public speaking skills, storytelling ability, passion, enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise in a particular field, and the ability to connect with people from all walks of life. You need authenticity - being true to you. Be vulnerable for it takes hard work, dedication, and practice, but these skills and qualities can be developed over time.

The first and foremost thing l see as extremely important to be a motivator is to be motivated himself/ herself. The person should have a positive frame of mind and enthusiasm about life. His or her own life should be inspiring for others. Thanks!