It is a given that a motivational speaker motivates an audience, but how they do this varies depending on the type of speaking they do. The one thing they all share is the ability to come in and teach an audience how to make positive changes in various aspects of their lives. The best motivational speakers will draw on lessons they have learned to relate their experiences to the audience.
Motivational speakers often specialize into different niche areas. There are broad categories that can then be further broken down. It is important to know the differences before you plan an event so that you can hire the motivational speaker who will deliver the message that is most meaningful for your audience.
Read on to learn the different types of motivational speakers.
Table of Contents
#1. Personal Development Motivational Speaker
Motivational speakers who focus on personal development teach individuals how to improve their lives. They can cover a wide variety of topics from how to balance childcare and work to how to find happiness. They will have a specific message and purpose to their talks. People go to see them to learn skills for dealing with a particular area of their lives.
Often this type of motivational speaker uses a workshop format to allow the audience to engage and practice what they are learning. They usually cover topics that allow the audience to work toward achieving personal or career goals. Some of these topics include relationship skills, communication skills, balancing work with family, increasing motivation, and more.
These motivational speakers will have a message and life experiences to bring to the audience. They will also have worked out methods that the audience can use to achieve these results. For example, a motivational speaker who is speaking to a crowd of women on how to balance work and family is likely a woman who has had this experience and has come up with a method that works to improve the situation.
On the other hand, a motivational speaker who is speaking about how to find your dream job needs to be someone who has achieved this goal. Whatever specialty topic the motivational speaker covers should be something that they have personally experienced and come up with a system that they can teach the audience so that they can achieve the same thing.
#2. Business Motivational Speakers
Business motivational speakers normally speak to people who are involved in business, and the topics can cover any aspect of business from increasing sales to collaboration. They might meet with a group of people who work from home, or they might meet with a sales team at a huge corporation. There are many subtopics within the business world, and there is a motivational speaker for each one of them.
A motivational speaker who focuses on sales will motivate a sales team. He or she will teach them how to be successful and stay focused. Selling is hard for some people because they have to learn to accept rejection and focus on the sales, and it can be deflating. Motivational speakers will teach sales teams how to improve their sales skills and how to handle rejection and stay inspired.
Another aspect of business is effective leadership. Often these motivational speakers will be someone who has owned a business or worked in the higher levels of a company. He or she will teach other people in leadership positions skills for leading the employees in a way that brings out their productivity. There are motivational speakers for just about any aspect of business, and they have some great tools that help people to become more successful.
Small business owners and people who work from home often go to hear motivational speakers give talks. Owning a business can be a grueling task because you are on call 24 hours a day. Motivational speakers can give business owners tools for closing up at night or balancing family life with owning a business.
They can help first-time work from home people learn how to create a schedule and stay organized. One of the most difficult aspects of working from home is keeping a schedule. Motivational speakers who address this will likely have life experiences that they can share. They will tell audiences what they did to become successful.
#3. Community Motivational Speakers
Community motivational speakers usually try to bring a group of people together for a common cause. They may speak at an event for a dog rescue, or they may give a talk at a community meeting. Their primary objective is to inspire the audience to join together for a particular cause.
Often these motivational speakers are hired by organizations that are looking to bring their supporters together. They can offer a plan for creating awareness within a community. Sometimes motivational speakers specialize in one social issue, and they travel to different communities to help them put their plans into effect.
This type of motivational speaker is great for teaching an organization how to get people involved. The motivational speaker will motivate the group to get out in the community and draw more people in. Communities need to work together to achieve their goals, so motivational speakers are beneficial to helping this happen.
#4. Youth Mentor Motivational Speakers
This type of motivational speaker speaks to young people. They might speak at schools, churches, community centers, or other community-based groups. They have experience working with young people, and they have a skill for leading and guiding youth toward adulthood.
Teenagers are at a crossroads of sorts, and they need to be prepared to make decisions. When they are in high school, it is important for them to understand the reasons it is important to stay focused and do well in school. Motivational speakers can help these young people understand that their decisions today will impact their choices tomorrow.
Youth mentor motivational speakers also speak at churches. In addition to life and school, children who are involved in church may have other projects that they are working on. They may speak about faith or service projects. Young people learn a lot from motivational speakers, and this is also a popular area.
How Does Someone Become a Motivational Speaker?
People who become a motivational speaker usually have experience in public speaking. They are charismatic and able to connect with larger groups of people. They have had life experiences that complement the topics they want to cover. A motivational speaker who talks to sales teams will have been involved in sales.
When someone wants to become a motivational speaker, they need to pick their specialty and their message. It is important to have a clear message to the audience at every talk. It is possible to have more than one message, but they need to be reserved for different events.
If you have a message and some public speaking experience, and you are comfortable speaking to a crowd, the next step is to get some experience doing it. Check your local community and sign up to give talks, even free of charge. The path to paid gigs is to get your name out there and build up your reputation. If you are successful and well received, people will hire you.
Can a Motivational Speaker Do More Than One Type of Speaking?
Although a motivational speaker can do more than one type of speaking, it is always a better idea to pick one topic. If you want to get paid to do this job, you need to become established as an expert in one area. If you choose two topics, make sure that they are related. You might consider marketing and sales, as they are similar although different.
Someone who is a former president of a company or CEO may have a broader range of topics based on the diversity of his or her personal experiences, and it is important that you have experience in any topic you wish to speak about. Motivational speakers are most effective when they can draw on their personal experiences and teach an audience the lessons they learned.
The goal is to help people learn these same lessons without having to learn it in the field. You need to gain the confidence of your audience, so if you do not have experience, you will lose them before you get started.
Final Thoughts
Motivational speaking is rewarding for those who do it, and it requires certain skills. You must be good at public speaking and able to hold an audience’s attention. There are four main categories of motivational speaking, including personal development, business, community, and youth.
Motivational speakers often specialize within their categories, and they usually have experience in their topic area. This is critical because they need to draw on their personal experiences to teach an audience how to achieve something, whether that is higher sales, teamwork, or something else. Most of the time, motivational speakers have worked in the field they speak about or they have had life experiences that mirror what they teach. This is what makes them legitimate experts in their niche area of expertise.
