Being a motivational speaker can be very rewarding. As well as providing lucrative business opportunities, a speaker position can also lead to significant contacts and the chance to explore and enthuse others about an area that you are passionate about. Those that want to get into motivational speaking should think about some key personal strengths, and how to make the most of them. These areas can range from knowing your subject, through to being flexible about work and other arrangements, as well as being able to sharpen up your public speaking. More information on this is listed below:
1 – Know Your Subject
To be a good motivational speaker, you need to know your specialist subject inside and out. A niche area that no one else is working on in detail is important to consider, as is a fresh perspective on a popular subject.
2 – Be Flexible
Good motivational speakers are ones that can adjust to different goals and requirements on them. You may have to make last minute changes, or adjust your performance to the needs of a particular company. In this respect, it is worth having a comprehensive enough plan about what you want do in your speaking to be able to switch your approach for different occasions.
3 – Be Honest
Speakers that think they can get away with being all style and no substance will eventually be caught out, so make sure that you are honest about what your abilities are, and the kind of subjects that you are prepared to speak about to professional degree.
4 – General Public Speaking Skills
Public speaking skills take time to develop, and you will need to refine your performance over time, as well as building confidence to go off script. Practice your delivery as much as possible, and seek feedback from audiences.
5 – Be Passionate
A passionate speaker will be able to enthuse an audience, and will lead to a more memorable subject. Even if you do get a bit frustrated talking about the same subjects, try to remember what brought you to them in the first place, and why you are passionate about that area.
6 – Be Prepared
A big part of being a motivational speaker, or a professional speaker of any kind, is being able to understand different venues. Make sure that you have all of your equipment, and that you discuss issues like food, a dressing room, and any technical requirements beforehand.
7 – Know Where You Can Go for Advice
A professional speaker agency, or bureau, is perhaps the best place go to for when you need advice about building up clients and promoting yourself to prospective clients. It is also worth getting in touch with any established speakers for advice.
8 – Know Your Audience
Not understanding a target audience can lead to problems with tone and delivery. You want to be able to be flexible about what an audience can expect, as well as being prepared for questions.
9 – Refine Your Act
Again, lots of practice will make it easier for you to refine your act, and to become a better motivational speaker. Focus on cutting out anything that doesn’t work, or that means you run out of time when speaking.
10 – Market Yourself Well
Marketing yourself means being able to create a strong presence across a range of media. This presence might include a personal website and blog, as well as paper adverts and listings on a bureau website.
About the Author
Lisa Gan writes on behalf of Speakers Corner – a world-leading speaker bureau for live corporate events.
