Do you think you have the skill to help? If so, keep on reading and learn how to become a motivational speaker yourself. Motivation is the precious gift we all hope to experience to the fullest and make the most out of every single day. Unfortunately, motivation does not have an endless supply and simply doesn’t work like that. This is precisely why so many people these days turn to motivationbeing a life coachal speakers for help. Changing one’s life, sticking to a certain goal, and making better decisions are just some of the things that large audiences need help with.
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How to start your journey
1. Take your talent online
“I want to be a motivational speaker!” You have made a decision to take your thoughts and feelings and turn them into advice for others who need a helpful nudge in the right direction. That’s amazing. Keep in mind that motivational speaking and being a life coach are part of the contemporary career choices. In that respect, you can’t do much without a strong online presence.
Not only do you need to update your social media pages regularly, but you also need to start an effective business website or blog. Your website will be your name and brand; make sure it’s professional-looking, with user-friendly design and ease of navigation.
2. Film a demo video
One of the most essential tips on how to become a motivational speaker is to make a demo video showcasing your skills and post it on your website. A demo video is much like a resume and cover letter for motivational speakers in one. It will give the clients and event planners alike a good idea of what your unique perspective is.
In order for this video to draw attention to what you have to offer, it should highlight your best qualities as a speaker and life coach. The length of the video should be between 2 and 4 minutes, with top-notch visual and audio quality.
3. Specialize in what you speak about
The biggest mistake you could make when you’re starting out is to market yourself as someone who can speak on any topic. However, the qualities of a good speaker include talking about specific subjects only, which clearly shows the person is specialized in these areas. This will make your clients see you as an expert; if you try to market yourself as someone who can discuss a range of different motivational speaking topics, you’re only going to come off as a charlatan.
Recommended Resources:
Become a Professional Motivational Speaker! by John Beede on Udemy
Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds by Carmine Gallo on Amazon
4. Focus on a specific target audience
Just like it can be counterproductive to try to cover a bunch of different motivational speaking topics, it can be even worse to ignore the importance of a specific target audience. After all, if you want to learn how to become a life coach, you really need to decide who you’ll be coaching beforehand.
Remember that you’re a business, a brand. And essentials of business marketing involve having a specific target audience to market to. The same goes for your motivational speaker career. Decide on who your target audience is as you’re starting out; later along the road you’ll have more opportunities to expand your reach.
5. Communicate your reasons
All highest paid motivational speakers are transparent when it comes to the business aspect of their reasons why they decided to become the speakers in the first place. In that sense, you can’t just say it’s fun and something you enjoy doing, and call it a day, even if that’s true.
People who are looking to hire you want to know more about the force that’s motivating you as well. Therefore, be very clear about what you’re talking about and WHY you’re talking about it. Remember, being able to relate is something the majority of potential clients are looking for in this case. This is the core of what makes a good public speaker.
6. Ongoing marketing efforts
It’s only natural that you’ll be getting more gigs the more you speak. However, if you want to consistently land great motivational speaking opportunities, you can’t get too comfortable. You’re not only working while you’re speaking!
In order to expand your reach and stay relevant, it’s crucial that you maintain consistent marketing strategies. After all, top motivational speakers never stop reaching out to their target audience, coming up with promotions, and engaging with them on social media.
7. Utilize testimonials
Social proof speaks volumes about the qualities of a good speaker. In the end, there’s no better way for a life coach to show their value to the world. That said, potential clients, decision-makers, and event planners will want to take a look at your testimonials before they decide to hire you. Therefore, it’s paramount that you maintain and regularly update the testimonial section of your website.
8. You don’t need an agent
Many motivational speakers make a mistake of looking for an agent to do all the work when it comes to gig searches and bookings. However, the fact of the matter is that life coach agents only work with experienced, already recognized, and established motivational speakers. Luckily, learning how to become a speaker doesn’t actually require an agent. You can and should do the work regarding your gigs on your own. This practice will put you out there and allow you to make the most out of your networking abilities, necessary for steady growth.
Put effort into your image
9. Look professional
One of the basic yet very important tips for motivational speaking is to reinforce what you have to stay with the way you look. It’s true that appearance shouldn’t be the crucial aspect of your career growth. But, keep in mind that you’re the one giving advice and motivational speech to affect people’s lives. Therefore, they will judge everything you do and say very critically, and this includes appearance, too. In that sense, you should make it a point to dress professionally. You don’t have to be overly formal if that doesn’t fit your image, but you have to make an effort.
Recommended Resources:
Transformational Speaking: If You Want to Change the World, Tell a Better Story Paperback by Gail Larsen on Amazon
Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun on Amazon
10. Calm the nerves
Just because you know the ins and outs of how to become a motivational speaker doesn’t mean that your theoretical knowledge will prevent the nerves. But feeling nervous just before you walk on the stage is completely normal. It doesn’t mean you’ve made a mistake in choosing your career. Actually, a healthy dose of nervousness is what makes a good public speaker.
So, you want to take that nervousness and turn it into positive energy on stage. Laugh, move, get physically active as you speak; it could easily help the people watching and listening to you connect with you more. And it’s definitely better than just having you stand in one place for the entirety of the show.
In case you have a bit of a stage fright that goes beyond mere nervousness, remember to practice your speech. That way, you’ll be 100% sure and confident that you are on top of things. A small ritual before taking the spotlight could also help, such as drinking a specific beverage, doing a couple of squats, listening to your favorite songs, and so on.
11. Don’t improvise
The world’s top motivational speakers never improvise their speech while on the stage. The key to success in this career is to thoroughly prepare every single word, pause, and audience interaction before coming to the stage.
Of course, some interactions with the audience will have to be improvised, especially if you want to answer questions and provide advice to individuals you know nothing about. But you still shouldn’t be winging it; the point is to prepare yourself for the topic so that you can offer heartfelt advice and know what you’re talking about. Prep to impress and land more motivational speaker jobs!
12. A thorough walkthrough
As mentioned, practicing and preparing for your talk in advance will calm your nerves and establish you as a reputable authority within the industry. After all, if you want to know how to become a speaker, you should also know how to do thorough walkthroughs.
Make sure to practice as if you were on a stage in front of the audience. Use all the props you’d normally use, and even hold something resembling a microphone. Also, don’t hesitate to check out the stage you’ll be on beforehand, too. This will let you get a feel of the space you’ll have at your disposal, which is crucial for moving around naturally and confidently.
13. Practice self-care
Think about it – can you really motivate anyone if you have dark circles under your eyes, feel groggy, tired, and/or hangover, and generally look like you’d rather crawl into the bed than be there? Obviously not. That said, one of the best tips for motivational speaking is to practice what you preach – at least before your talks.
So, make sure to eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water in order to radiate a healthy and energetic image to your audience. Refrain from drinking alcohol in days leading up to your event. Most importantly, don’t stay up late the night before.
Yes, you’re only a human and you can enjoy everything that life has to offer when it comes to food and drink and partying. But your body and well-being are also your tools and you should polish them in days before you get them out for work.
14. Address the audience
In order to truly engage your audience and set them up for a meaningful speech, it’s important to get a bit personal before the actual speech. If possible, mingle with the people at the event, get to know a couple of them, shake hands, and simply act friendly. In case you can’t do that, don’t hesitate to take some time at the stage before you start giving your speech to address your audience in a more familiar and personal manner.
After all, what makes a good public speaker is their ability and willingness to open up to their audience and take the time to reach out in order to be reached to.
Master your ability to deliver motivational talks
15. You have to be appropriate
When you want to learn how to become a motivational speaker or life coach, the first thing you have to understand is that you’re not a comedian. It’s true, the qualities of a good speaker include the ability to make your audience laugh from time to time – but not at the cost of your image and reputation.
That said, make sure that you’re never crude or inappropriate during your talks. Funny remarks are more than OK when incorporated well. On the other hand, foul language and inappropriate behavior for the sake of a few laughs will only hurt you in the long run. This would become something people remember you by, and that’s not a good trait to be memorable.
16. Stick to your time slot
Conferences and events featuring motivational speakers often have other things planned. If you want to ensure that you’re acknowledged as a professional, it’s crucial that you don’t go over your time slot. For instance, if you have an hour to speak, it would be better to finish after 55 minutes than 65.
Not only can extending your own speech time create problems for the event planners, resulting in a poor relationship with your main employers, but it can also make the audience feel a tad bored. And if you want to land many motivational speaker jobs in the future, you should always leave the audience wanting for more.
17. There’s no need to apologize
If you want to learn how to become a speaker that gets many gigs and is loved by the audience, you also have to learn that your speeches don’t require apologies. The audience is there to get their dose of motivation; they don’t want to know whether you’re feeling well or not, whether your time slot got cut a bit, whether all of your slides and props are working, and so on.
Your audience cares about what you can do for them. This is why you’re there. Not to talk about yourself or apologize for technical difficulties. Chances are your audience won’t even notice something’s wrong if you don’t mention it.
That said, it’s perfectly fine to just roll with it. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re winging it; it just means you’re professional enough to deliver a speech even when the tech and the time you have at your disposal are not ideal.
18. Relax and take it slowly
Remember, your audience is not there to belittle you. They’re there because they trust your skill to motivate them and change their lives for the better. Therefore, there’s no need to add additional stress to your performance by feeling stiff and insecure. Relax and talk to the people listening as you would to your friends.
One of the crucial tips for motivational speaking is to never rush your speech. Even if you feel energetic and have limited time, it’s always better to speak slowly and clearly so that the audience can understand you. Also, give them time to react, engage, and laugh when necessary. Make pauses to highlight the importance of your speech. Otherwise, rushing your words and overall performance will only make you appear less trustworthy. It could also seem as if you don’t truly believe in the things you’re saying either.
19. Mistakes are normal
Renowned and highest paid motivational speakers will still make errors from time to time when they’re delivering their speech. This doesn’t make you less of an expert on the subject. If anything, it only makes you more relatable. And your audience is there to learn that it’s OK to fall if you can get up again.
If you make a mistake, laugh it off. If you forget what you have to say next, skip it and go to the next phase. You can always come back to the important points later. Have fun with potential tech mishaps. Managing to stay enthusiastic even when things like that happen will only strengthen your influence and engage your audience even more.
How to become a motivational speaker with solid income
20. Create a comprehensive fee structure
Just because you want to learn how to become a motivational speaker or life coach doesn’t mean you should give away your advice for free once you make it. Quite the contrary. This is your career and it’s only natural that you have to earn money from it. That said, establishing an effective fee structure could help you a lot.
It would be really helpful to provide your potential clients with several options. For instance, you can price speech delivery at $X price. If someone wants speech and workshops, that would cost $X + $Y. In case the client also wants your books together with speech and workshops, that would cost $X + $Y + $Z. This is a very transparent and hustle-free structure to go about your pricing that even the highest paid motivational speakers today tend to utilize.
If you’re wondering how much do motivational speakers charge, you could easily do your own research and check out their pricing online. For instance, John Jantsch organizes his fee structure like this:
- $12,500 + travel expenses for 1-hour speech and keynotes
- $15,000 + travel expenses for a speech and 2-day workshops
- Get in touch to discuss fees for more than 2 days
21. Stick with an all-inclusive pricing
Learning how to make money as a motivational speaker doesn’t only involve the money you get from your work; you’ll also have to include your travel fees. In general, it’s possible to discuss travel costs separately, but if you want to avoid potential issues and additional trouble, the sure way is to go all-inclusive. The ability to get practical like this and save everyone’s time is what makes a good motivational speaker as well.
22. Trust in the value you bring
“I want to be a motivational speaker, help people, and learn how to make money as a motivational speaker”. Good for you! But, once you get past the how to become a life coach to actually being one, it could feel a bit strange to charge people for something you wholeheartedly enjoy and do in order to help others.
It’s time to take a breather. Remember that you’re also looking for motivational speaking opportunities in order to make a living. You also need to take care of your own needs. What’s more, it’s not that you’re charging people with thousands of dollars for just that one hour of speech delivery. In order for that hour to proceed smoothly, you have to put tons of hours and effort into creating and practicing your speech. You also need to throw yourself into learning and research so that you can do good with your words.
Yes, being a motivational speaker and life coach is rewarding, life’s calling if you will. But it’s also your job.
23. Offer discounts smartly
Agreeing to discounts just for the sake of getting a gig is not what makes a good motivational speaker. If you’re interested in how much do motivational speakers charge, you’ll encounter discounts, but only when those discounts are valuable and justified.
That said, make sure that you know why you’re agreeing to a discount. Maybe you can get a free stay in a hotel. Or maybe you can get extra amenities during the workshop. Every choice you make in regard to your job will affect your motivational speaker salary. Therefore, you need to have a clear reason for making these choices without inherently creating the impression that you don’t value your own work.
In Conclusion
It’s OK to have fun with what you do! Recognize your own value and importance; after all, you’re actively changing people’s lives for the better. How amazing is that? What’s more, you’ll get to travel the world, experience many different stories, and practice gratitude during every single moment of your journey. You’re already putting your heart and soul into your work – it’s more than alright to let them show through!
