Types of Speeches: The Motivational Speech

The purpose of a motivational speech is to encourage personal or professional growth in the audience. It is very similar to the inspirational speech (which I will talk about later in this series) but has a slightly different intent.

Both types of presentations are positive and upbeat, but where a motivational speech has the intention of motivating an audience to take a specific type of action, an inspirational speech’s main goal is to create an emotional experience that may or may not lead to a specific action.

Types of Speeches: The Motivational Speech

If you decide to become a professional speaker or use speaking as an integral part of your marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the various types of speeches you might be asked to give. In this series of posts, I’ll give you the basics of a variety of types of presentations you can prepare. At the end of this post, I’ve listed previous articles in this series.

How to motivate

I read in my Toastmasters manual that the purpose of motivation is to “cause others to think, believe and act as you want them to, and have them like it.” I love that definition because that part at the end is the key … anyone can use force, authority or other techniques to get people to do what they want them to … but to have them like it at the same time? That takes skill and finesse.

There are some key elements to making a speech motivational:

1. Clearly state your intention.
People can’t behave the way you want them to if they don’t know what you want. Depending on what type of behavior you’re trying to motivate the audience to do, this can be done quickly or may take some explaining. Take the time to make sure that your audience understands what you want them to do.

2. Clearly explain the benefit of the new behavior.
People will eagerly change if they understand the benefits they’ll gain … as well as the pain of staying where they are. Be sure to not only touch on all the counter-arguments they might have to behave in a new way but emphasize the benefits of this new behavior.

3. Create vivid “pictures” in their minds.
The reason why you want to use word pictures in quotes is that not all members of your audience will be visual learners. You’ll need to tell stories in such a way that visual learners can see it in their mind’s eye, audio learners will hear it in their mind’s ear and kinesthetic learners will experience it in their mind’s imagination.

Openings and Closings

As with any speech, how you open and close your speech will make or break it. But with the motivational speech, it is especially important to open with something that captures their attention and imagination and close with something that is so emotionally powerful and dynamic that they can’t help but take the action you suggest.

Resources for developing motivational speeches:

Did you miss these?

Here are the previous posts in this “Type of Speeches” series:


The next post in this series is The Entertaining Speech.

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About the author

Carma Spence, is author of Public Speaking Super Powers. She is fiercely committed to guiding women to Owning their Superpowers and turning their knowledge and interests into a profitable business. She is masterful at helping her clients see what is possible for them and supporting them on the journey from where they are to where they want to be, releasing the Mind Goblins of self-doubt, self-sabotage and second-guessing that keep them stuck.

With 20+ years experience in marketing communications and public relations, natural intuitive skills and certification in using some of the most effective transformational coaching tools available, Carma’s mission and commitment is to unleash the inner power every woman entrepreneur possesses so they can boldly go out into the world, transforming the fabric of people’s lives in meaningful and positive ways.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Her website is CarmaSpence.com.

2 comments on “Types of Speeches: The Motivational Speech”

  1. Pingback: Types of Speeches: The Motivational Speech | Public Speaking Super … | | The Money BooksThe Money Books

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