Hiring a phenomenal motivational speaker can be a great way to fire up attendees and add value to your event. Don’t make the mistake of hiring just any well-known influencer or self-proclaimed industry expert, though! The right motivational speaker should possess certain qualities that make them an ideal fit for your affair. Read on below for our list of qualities you should look for in a motivational speaker:

Can Speak on Topics Relevant to Your Event Goals

Defining your event’s intentions and goals is the first step towards ensuring its success. It also helps to guide your choices when hiring a suitable motivational speaker from the thousands of available options. If you’re not sure where to begin, check the speakers from past events with a similar theme to the one you’re planning on putting together. You can also utilise business and professional contacts to put together a list of likely candidates for the job.

Keep in mind that the impact of your event is directly proportional to the significance and applicability of the content you that you will provide. Ideally, the motivational speaker you call choose will have some knowledge or experience in your industry or can speak on specific topics that your attendees will find valuable. When speakers possess relevant credentials, they should be able to provide more meaningful insights to your event’s attendees.

1. Knows Their Audience

Of course, the content of the speaker’s message is only as good as his or her ability to successfully deliver it. Another important skill that you should look for in a motivational speaker is the ability to gauge the audience and adapt the content to relate to their needs and concerns.

Audiences can tell when a speaker is not being authentic. It puts them off from listening to that speaker, regardless of the quality of the content. A good speaker should be able to create a point of commonality with his or her audience by tailoring the keynote to experiences that are accessible to the event attendees. This not only ensures effective delivery of the message; it also fosters a sense of empathy and mutual understanding in the room.

2. Keeps Attendees Engaged and Inspired

In order to motivate people and inspire audiences into action, a keynote speaker should also possess strong speaking skills and the ability to add a persuasive touch to their speeches. This doesn’t just mean having high spirits and an impressive personality. The best motivational speakers have a cadence to their speech that’s just right, not too fast or too slow, and employ meaningful pauses during their keynotes where appropriate, and are able to clearly and properly pronounce words. They are natural speakers comfortable in changing tone and pitch, and volume to suit the content as necessary. They often use props and slide show presentations to support the content visually, and accommodate visual learners, but do not necessarily depend on them. They can still communicate their point adequately even without these additions. Good motivational speakers who make use of visual aids know that their tools shouldn’t be distracting or difficult to comprehend, too.

These speaking skills are crucial to capturing and holding the audience’s attention. An engaged audience is an audience that benefits more from the insights that a good motivational speaker can impart.

3. Has an Entertaining Personality

Let’s face it: most people can probably think of a dozen other things they’d rather be doing than attend a keynote. The fact of the matter is that keynotes can be long, prosaic, and can often be downright boring. It’s difficult to imagine a person who would choose to sit and listen to a self-described expert drone on for the better part of forty-five minutes.

Some of your event’s attendees may feel the same way. You may be able to find a speaker that is the perfect fit for both the theme of your affair and the audience you expect to be present for it, and he or she may be able to put together a relevant, content-rich lecture. However, if your speaker lacks charisma, he or she will easily lose the audience. Motivational speaking is a kind of performance in a way; it’s vital to keep the audience entertained so as to hold their attention. Being entertaining can also diffuse a tense atmosphere and keep the keynote from feeling too serious, stale, or monotonous.

Putting yourself in the shoes of an event attendee can be extremely helpful in determining whether a specific motivational speaker is appropriate for your event or not. Ask yourself, who is this person, and why is he/she worth listening to? The ideal motivational speaker doesn’t have to be a well-known celebrity or someone with a lot of clout in the industry. Seek a dynamic person that can provide your attendees with an intrinsically valuable perspective and can excite them to create positive change in their lives.

Looking for a motivational speaker? Contact MRS V today!