Lets be honest the majority of human beings are anxious speakers or deathly afraid of public speaking and presentations. Even some professional speakers are nervous before a presentation. Why would  anyone ever want to stand in front of a group of peers and be judged and ridiculed over a presentation. At least that’s what our fear is. So we always have this fear yet we keep giving presentations that fall flat without making any changes to that boring powerpoint slide speaking style.

To be a great speaker  you first have to loose your ego. Yes even the most shy and insecure still has an ego getting in the way of speaking. First admit that you are not the most captivating, funny, entertaining speaker they’ve every heard. Next get help and training from a professional speaker. The public speaking class you take in college actually may actually lead you down the wrong trail with ineffective and 100 year old speaking techniques. Toastmasters can be helpful for the very beginning level speaker who may have problems with diction and speaking clearly. But if you plan on getting paid to speak and be a top notch motivational speaker you’ll need more advanced speaker training than what Toastmasters can offer.

Developing your presentation skills can take you to a new level; bringing you more pay, more recognition, and even the opportunity to launch a professional speaking career if you choose.

First, you must understand that you are not an information speaker but a motivational speaker. It doesn’t matter what your speech is about as much as how your speech touches people. How it is delivered and how you say it. Let me illustrate an important point about being in the motivational speaker business.

Did you ever see the documentary that came out about the Titanic a few years before the  blockbuster movie did? The documentary was unbelievable. Someone had spent a lifetime of research, and found out every fact, detail, that involved that ship. This is new stuff that a lot of people hadn’t even heard before. It was an incredible two-hour documentary, but you havn’t heard of it and neither have I, and it didn’t make any money because no one really cared to see a documentary on the Titanic two or three years after that the Titanic movie comes out. Was the movie true in every sense of the facts, no. Did everything happen the way the movie said, no. The difference in the two films was that the Titantic movie won more Oscars than any movie in the history of cinema. There in lies the difference. Your keynote speech must be more than just a compilation of facts, or wisdom. It’s got to be so much more than that.hen you craft a motivational speech be thinking as you write it  that your not doing a documentary right but a movie. In the end were in the entertainment business. It doesn’t matter what your speech is about because were in the entertainment business and if you’re not entertaining people, people could care less what you’re talking about.

2) Laughter enhances creativity.
“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung
into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.”
– Jean Houston

3) Laughter is the ultimate escape.
“Laughter is an instant vacation.”
– Milton Berle

4) Laughter gives purpose and meaning to life.
“The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed.”
– Sebastian Chamfort

5) Laughter is spiritual.
“Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”
– Carl Barth

>>Tip 1-It must be your own speech. Don’t ever take anyone else’s material and try to make it yours. You have to speak in public with authenticity. It’s got to be your own stuff to start with.

>>Tip 2-It must get them laughing. You have to thinking in terms of entertaining and funny. In my business we say “funny as money”. That’s what we tell each other all the time. If you can tell the story that can move a heart, awesome. If you can get them laughing at the same time, even better. If they can laugh and turn it into a cry you just hit pay dirt. I don’t care what your material is.

>>Tip-3 It has to crystal clear what you message is. First of all, you got to decide what is my message. A lot of people come up to me and say “James I want to be a speaker like you, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. My friends say I speak well, I want to join so where do I start.” My first question I asked them is, “what’s your message?” People look at me dumbfounded sometimes and say “I don’t even know what you’re asking me?”. What is the message that you need tell everybody? What is this message that is burning on your heart so much the you have to tell everybody? People look at me and say I can speak on anything, whatever they want me to speak on I can speak on. Wrong! This may be the only time they ever hear me and I want them to hear this special message that I have that no one else has. In other words, your speech will be powerful if it is coming from your heart. If it is just a powerpoint information presentation. Cancel the event and just email it to them. Your presentation skills will shine when you put your heart into the message.

>>Tip 4 It must move the company or audience forward. Does the message help them improve as a company or in their personal lives? Don’t let them leave the room after your presentation the same way the came in. You have their attention so go for it!
Give them inspiration and a call to action.

>>Tip 5 It needs to be a signature story. In other words, it is a story you have practiced, rehearsed and tested for impact. You can test it at dinner with family, on video and get feedback. But it needs to be a great story. As a professional speaker, I have several signature stories, as many speakers do. My favorite one is, the Nordstrom Story, so that’s my story about customer service that audiences rave about every time. I use props and get them laughing at my mistake of leaving my dress clothes at home. I talk about a real life drama where Nordstrom opened their doors early to help me buy clothes before my keynote speech. (Listen to part of it by clicking here) These are just some quick tips to consider as you first write out your speech. In my workshops I spend 3 hours just talking about how to tell a story so you can see there is much more to learn about making great speeches.

Presentation Fire School-Training Course for Speakers  will help you maximize your presentation skills and will take you to another level. Click Here.

I’ve recently attempted something radically different in my reading, just to see where it would lead.  I started reading ten different books simultaneously.  This synchronicity has led to several new ideas, both personal and entrepreneurial, as well as to a little shifting and realigning in the good old gestalt. You might give this a try and see what happens to speaking and writing.

Here’s a list that was helpful for me starting out as a presentation skill trainer.

1- Taking Center Stage- Masterful Public Speaking Using Acting Skills, by Deb Gottesman and Buzz Mauro

2- Adaptation to Life, by George Vaillant

3- Simple Abundance, by Sarah Breathnach

4- Access to Inner Worlds, by Colin Wilson

5- The Transparent Self, by Sidney Jourard (one of my favorite books)

6- Hidden Power:  How to Unleash the Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by James K. Van Fleet

7- The Speaking Industry Report, by Lily Walters

8- A Whack on the Side of the Head, by Roger von Oech

9- The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, by Debbie Ford

10- The Pre-Publishing Handbook, by Patricia Bell

#2- Decide what market and audience your message and expertise would fit best. If you had 30 minutes to speak on your best content and strategies what would your message be and who would your ideal audience be? Corporate full day training? Company executives? College students? World class athletes?

#3- Get competent help with your marketing.  Like any business, in your speaking career you have to market yourself and your small company which is YOU. The interesting thing about a career in speaking is that your product is you, your credibility and your message. If you have the world’s most important keynote speech but no one can find you then your message will not be heard, and you will not get paid. And then you will be out of the speaking business. It’s not enough to have a great message. Hire an expert who knows the speaking industry and how to get you maximum exposure with with the search engine and social media. Click here for my recommended Rock Star marketing specialist.

#4 Invest in your self by getting speaker training .

The best investment I ever made in getting my speaking career going was getting training from individuals or organizations who knew how to craft a keynote speech and all the delivery techniques. And then I invested thousands of hours in rehearsing in front of a microphone, a video camera and small no-fee audiences until my message was great! Click here for my speaker training course.

How much do great motivational speakers get paid?

Speaking fees paid to professional keynote speakers, whether motivational or not, vary based on the speaker’s skills, star power, and experience. Speaking fees for trained professional speakers range from $2,500 $35,000 per speech. Of course celebrities often demand fees from $50,000-$100,000. They are not always the most talented speakers on the stage but brand recognition can bring the crowds so they can demand higher speaking fees.

As you enter the new year and complete another year it is good to reflect. I have a question for you that may help guide you in this exercise. How do you view your life today? Is your life like a candle…or is it a firey torch? How would your partner or close friends describe it? Is it just flickering or is it burning brightly?

Throughout your life, we’ve all had many opportunities and privileges of life in such a free land as America. As a motivational speaker you will experience some of the most rewarding work in speaking to people and helping them find motivation and inspiration in their lives… to help light their flame. In becoming a motivational speaker you get impact the lives of others and share hopes, fears, strategies, laughter, and warmth with your audience. All men and women who enter this profession will not only be a giver but you’ll receive countless, remarkable blessings and you absorb the qualities in others that you meet along the way. Do you make an effort every day to make sure your internal flame is burning brightly? When you do this people take note and it will be the key to your success as a motivational speaker. Olympic flame gets passed on from one person to the next, I, too, in my speaking job want to honor others and hand to them some of the inspiration I’ve been given.

1-Learn from others! Always take notes and study the best speakers. With out being a critic observe their weak spots while being imitating their strengths.

2-Take risks in your keynote speech. Don’t be so predictable. Enter from the back of the room, or dress in a costume, use a shocking prop.

3-Disclose more in every keynote speech! Ok. Nobody likes this one. Rarely will anyone use this technique. Why? Because of our ego. We only want to be perceived as strong and superior. Share a weakness, failure or a fear and you just got booked for a return meeting.

4-Believe in yourself as a motivational speaker. You really can’t fake this one. Everyone in the audience knows if you have a presence about you. The perceive internally and know if you are confident in what you are about to share.

5-Honor your audience. Before you ever step up to speak make sure you’ve done your homework on how you can build up the crowd! Make warmth and kindness your greatest asset because it is. Having a great motivational speaking career will always be about love!

6-Get speaker training. The best athletes have coaches and continue to hone their craft. Always be working to improve and to take your speaking career to the next level.

Finally, Lincoln Steffens said:.…”The greatest picture is not yet painted, the greatest play isn’t written, the greatest poem is unsung”. Click here to kick start your speaking career today.

Most of my life, I wanted to be a motivational speaker. But I had to believe and visualize myself already as a good speaker. This is the most fundamental 1st step to becoming a professional speaker. We can reprogram our subconscious minds to serve us in our motivational speaking careers.

There are two types of motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the feeling of personal benefit or reward for doing something that seems worthwhile to the individual. People can fill this need by participating in activities that interest them, or because they enjoy it. Workers can also be intrinsically motivated by challenges, or when they overcome an obstacle or reach a goal.

The second type of motivation is extrinsic. This involves a person becoming involved in a task due to outside rewards, separate from their emotions. Extrinsic motivation can be given in the form of recognition (think “Employee of the Month”), promotions or raises.

Why should an employer know this?… Because an employee who feels rewarded for their work, will work harder, faster and produce more. Several studies show that productivity is directly correlated with pay, and that workers making twice as much as the starting rate of pay at a company were likely to double, and in some cases triple their output. Workers with more intrinsic incentives to work also reported being happier and feeling more secure with their jobs.

Employee satisfaction can be attained by fulfilling simple needs and wants of the workers. By setting difficult-but-attainable goals, the employee can gain rewards and a sense of accomplishment. All the while, the company benefits from having a more responsive work force that is faster, happier and more efficient.

By taking a few small steps and paying attention to the wants of their employees a company can maximize its gains and create harmony in the workplace.

It never fails to amaze me that top speaking professionals, working for a top company, will

come to a presentation skills workshop without a presentation! Moreover, these motivational
presentations are being video-taped and conducted, not only in front of their peers, but
also many times in front of their bosses. Still, remarkably, many do not prepare.
Often, I’ll try to break the “avoidance-syndrome” tension by reading those e-mails
aloud, evoking some embarrassed chuckling and confessions of “Oh yeah, you’re right.”
(I sincerely believe that if I didn’t read these “Exhibit A Evidences” to them, there would
still be a few who would stubbornly hold to the claim that they’d never heard about the
presentation requirement.)At this point, the room energy is comprised of a dangerous combination of
embarrassment and guilt. So I use humor to make the bitter truth more palatable. I
offer the following explanation: You probably did peruse the course description and signed up for the
course with every intention of doing a good job on your presentation for
yourselves, your peers, and your supervisors. You knew that it was important
and would be beneficial to a professional speaking career but you still had some time. Procrastination in preparing to speak is a toxic potion for one who wants to become a motivational speaker. You can’t wing it you have to take the prep time that is necessary for every presentation. I’ve heard people describe their talents as not needing preparation that they think better on their feet. You are deceived. It takes:
…reading for your speech
…note-taking for your speaking opportunity
…outlining for your speaking opportunity
…writing for your speaking opportunity
…editing for your speaking opportunity
…memorizing for your speaking opportunity
…developing supplementary materials for your speaking opportunity
…finding appropriate props
…and as many essential etceteras as you can shake a stick at!

Don’t make the mistake of so many who start in the speaking industry and then bomb when they have to stand and deliver as a motivational speaker. It takes preparation for public speaking…and lots of preparation to become a motivational speaker.

Click here to go to Motivational Speaker School.

The Following is 2004’s ranking:

1- Public Speaking

2- Heights

3- Insects/Bugs

4- Financial Problems

5- Deep Water

6- Death

Each year, the ratings are likely to change, sometimes considerably.  Death, for example, has been as high as the second greatest fear. Most of the others have shifted around as well, but one response has never changed in the history of this survey:  Public Speaking has always maintained the #1 spot as our greatest fear.

Accordingly, we would rather be penniless, covered head-to-toe with a crawling mass of vicious bugs, and plunging from an airplane to a horrific death in the deepest part of the ocean than standing in front of a group of people and giving a speech.  Or as Jerry Seinfeld humors: Soooo, if you have to be at a funeral, you’d rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy. I wondered why the prospect of public speaking engendered such fear and trembling to the extent that we are less fearful of even the “Sickness Unto Death.” I’ve asked many audiences to give me their thoughts on the issue. They answer:

• Fear of criticism
• Fear of failure
• Fear of making a negative lasting impression
• Fear of rejection
• Fear of ridicule

Fear will smother the confidence of competent public speakers. It is impossible to be motivational when we are trembling with nervousness. The three points I teach in my workshops are ways to overcome these debilitating fears.  They are Preparation, Practice, and Passion, which not only make for better speeches, but also are the ultimate Fear extinguishers.
Don’t think that those who’ve already started their speaking career don’t have struggles with this same fear.
The key to overcoming the habit of fear is to replace it with the habit of confidence, preparedness and much rehearsal. Top Comedians, Oscar winning actors and top public speakers work hard on their craft with hours and hours of behind the scenes memorization of lines and even practicing in the mirror.
In our Presentation Fire Training School we will walk you through not only designing your message, but give you preparation methods that will launch you to new heights in your motivational speaking job.

It takes effort just like anything else, anybody listening to this must be really confident. The key to making a great speech as a motivational speaker is that you have to rehearse so that you can make it appear as if I’m just telling a story spontaneously, off top my head. I think there has to be some tension in the story that you are telling. There’s got to be some built-in tension, there’s a struggle. There’s got to be a reason for the listener to say my gosh how is this going to work out, what will happen here?When you get that going, now they’re listening and even pulling for you. One of the biggest things is to paint a picture as a motivational speaker.

If I can tell you a story and without even realizing it you are there, you are actually visualizing it. You’re walking with me on the side of the you’re watching the fire burn in that house, that’s the key. If you can get there, your stories will captivate. Ask yourself as a motivational speaker , ‘do I always have a story for every point’? Absolutely you should!  I think people learn through stories. Whether or not you’re religious you have to accept this, Jesus Christ decided how can I get my message out to the whole world. He told stories. People relate to that and identify with them. I don’t know the cannot to many stories to be honest. In a 45 minute speech there’ll be one longer story, maybe a signature story, it’s can be five minutes long. But there are other stories that are 90 seconds long and there may be as many as eight or 10 of them in one keynote speech.

A signature story can be the one story that comes to everybody’s mind when you think of that speaker. Les Brown talks about the time that he became a DJ, as his all-time dream job of being a DJ. He tells us so wonderfully well, I’ve heard him tell it 10 times. What would really open up the hearts of listeners and they would relate to you and that would be the biggest part is that they would be pulling for you. If they’re pulling for you to succeed. Stories are what we want in our jokes, songs, movies and the books we read. The best motivational speakers are also the best story tellers.

Following are several great quotations that I hope you’ll find motivational. Copy and print the ones that motivate you most. Laminate them. Use them as motivational bookmarks. Post
them up on your job. Tape them to the ceiling at home and work. Carry them in your notebooks, purses, wallets, and in your car. Also work them into speeches for your motivational speaker jobs.

• “We become what we habitually contemplate.” — George William Russell, Irish Poet
• “Take charge of your thoughts. You can do what you will with them.” —Plato
• Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.”  Vonnegut “Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso“What we are is what we have thought for years.”  Gautama the Buddha

Let me offer you one self evaluation that will help you qualify yourself for the public speaking industry. The great English poet and artist William Blake said it best when he described the energy he felt as a writer: “Sparks emit from my fingertips, in anticipation of my day’s vocation.” That is it! Step one in making a decision to go after a public speaking job is passion. It’s as if you have a burning desire to become speaker. Do you remember the 60′s rock singer Janis Joplin? She not my favorite but one thing I do admire about Janis Joplin is — she had passion.  Her passion comes through in her songs. And when I listen to her stirring music, I hear someone who has set her soul on fire. There are many times when I am contemplating making a statement to an audience that may be a bit risky, and I glance down and see Janis’s picture in my notebook, and she literally encourages me, saying: Say it, man.  Go for it! Speak like it’s the last time you’re going to speak.  It may be the hundredth time you’ve said these things, but it’s the first time they’ve heard it.  So, go for it!

Janis= Passion. Passion,” contends Richard Chang, “is not a privilege of the fortunate few, it is a right and a power that we all possess.” Passion, then, is neither a gift nor a talent.  It is a choice, a decision. In my training course for speakers I help you identify your “Passion Point” in your presentations. Every great keynote speech must have one.  Practice and rehearse with the great passion and it will generate within you. Make it something you believe in, and you’ll be on fire every time and keep your audiences enthralled.

Careers in Public Speaking

One tip I want to pass on to anyone considering a motivational speaking career is this-Take Risks.Taking risks ensures originality.  Taking risks also ensures some fear.  The following poem stirs me to take risks.  It encourages me to play my own symphony in the performance hall of life.

Risk
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.
But to risk we must!
Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing—
The man and woman who risks nothing,  has nothing, does nothing,  is nothing. Author-Unknown

When I was first hired by AchieveGlobal, they flew me to Las Vegas for a five day certification program. The first three days were instructional.  The last two were spent actually doing a couple of forty-minute public speaking jobs in front of the leader and the group. While preparing for my Thursday presentation on Wednesday night, instead of simply doing my assignment, I risked it.

Wanting to impress everyone with my creativity, I went way out of bounds and came up with some wild exercises that I hoped would dazzle them all.  The next day, during my public speaking opportunity, I proudly unveiled my elaborate, intricate, complex exercise to the group!  Knighthood would not be far away!  And…It bombed! I’ll spare you the details (and spare myself the painful memories of dazed expressions, empty stares, and total silence)……It bombed! Never in my life had I been so humiliated.  Never had my ego been so blistered.  My boss, Kelli Lynn, quickly called for a break.  During that break, alone with Kelli Lynn, I did something I hadn’t done in years… I cried…just sat there…and cried. Turning to my manager, I began mumbling. “I blew it.  I was trying something new, and it bombed.  You’re probably regretting ever hiring me…” She interrupted my confession by handing me a brightly colored paper.  On it, written in bold neon letters were the words: Keep  on Taking Risks in your motivational speaking career!!! ]]> http://www.presentationfire.com/careers-in-public-speaking/feed 2 http://www.presentationfire.com/motivational-speaking-career http://www.presentationfire.com/motivational-speaking-career#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:52:42 +0000 Motivational Speaking Team http://presentationfire.com/?p=168 Motivational Speaking

The Primary reason I take motivational speaking jobs is that I want to impact people’s lives. I once saw a bumper sticker that read: “Make a living, not a difference.” Now, I know it was intended to be humorous, but I thought, how sadly true. It’s just what so many people are doing.

I think it’s so important that we search for the “worthwhileness” of our our speaking careers –and don’t become a motivational speaker until we find it. Beforehand, if I cannot think of the statement in my speech that will make the difference, that motivational speech is not yet ready to give.

Click Here to view my Speaking Course.

Ask yourself this Motivational Speaking Question

After every speech, I ask myself, “Did I make a difference?”  After every day, I ask myself, “Did I make a difference?” There are days when I answer…“No.”  I then think of situations where I could have handled things better.  Could I have been more creative and innovative — perhaps more compassionate or patient?  What else could I have done to make a difference? There’s a definite connection between worthwhileness and passion. You can see one brick mason at work and ask what he’s doing. “I’m building a wall,” he replies.  You see another brick mason and ask the same question. “I’m building a home,” he answers.  Each is performing the same task, but they have different perspectives, different philosophies. Perhaps, too, a different quality of work.  One probably finds it much easier to “call in sick.”  After all, he only has bricks waiting for him, while the other has a family depending on him.   In our public speaking jobs, are we building walls or homes?  If we’ve shown love,  if we’ve played our music,  then we’ve made a difference. After public speaking opportunities, when I ask myself if I’ve made a difference, one of the criteria I consider is whether or not I’ve empowered my audience? Have I shown them that they are important? Have I proven that each of them makes a unique difference?    This is the most fulfilling part of my motivational speaking career.