Become a Motivational Speaker » motivational speaking jobs

How to Become a Speaker Tip #3

Motivational Speaking Team — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 01:39:22 +0000

After registration at one of our Speaker Training Workshops, on motivational speaking, we send out a confirmation e-mail reiterating our request that they prepare a five to seven minute speech. Three days before the speaking workshop, we again send a reminder about the speakers workshop and the speaking presentation. So each attendee receives a speaking course description and two reminder e-mails. And yet, when I stand before them and say, “Now, of course, you all have your presentations this afternoon,” I’m met with a room full of confused “it’s-the-first-time-I’ve ever-heard-about-it” expressions. “What?” I add. “You didn’t know?”

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.

How to Become a Speaker Tip 1

Motivational Speaking Team — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 01:37:31 +0000

Starting your job in motivational speaking is no easy task. I always advise everyone to not quit their day job until they have a full understanding of what are the entry level tools required for a speaking career. The speaking business, in many ways, parallels the entertainment business. When the hit show American Idol rolls into your city for auditions reports of 4000 plus will wait for days to audition. Only a small handful will be selected from each city. The speaking business is a great career but the first tool you need to start working on is finding your message and writing a book about it. If you do not have a book you can still get speaking jobs. Having a speaking career is different than getting some speaking jobs. A career is about crafting a great message that is worth writing about and becoming a motivational speaker. There are several ways to get your book finished. In fact, you may be a great speaker but not very good a writing. Ghost writers can take your hand written notes or even audio CD’s of your ideas and turn it into a work that you’d be proud to publish. In our Public speaking training course we’ll give you lists of writers and publishers. You’ll also want to self publish your first book, unless of course, you have already been signed by a publisher. If that is the case then you must know Oprah personally.

Public Speaking Bombs

Motivational Speaking Team — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:57:06 +0000

Public Speaking Jobs-James Lloyd

We often think of the comic who can’t get a laugh a performance that bombs. Did you know that in your public speaking jobs that going past your allotted time can turn a good speech into a bomb? It is called Overtime public speaking.”Stand up so you’ll be seen. Speak up so you’ll be heard. And then
sit down so you’ll be appreciated.”–John Davies, Business Speaker and Trainer

Ready for a stiff motivational speaker to motivational speaker challenge? I submit there is a direct correlation between the overtime minutes of a speech and the Motivational speaker’s ego! If you just had a distinctly negative reaction to this theory, the red warning ego light may be flashing– Ego! Ego! Addressing an audience is a blessing; not stopping in time is a curse. “Leave ‘em wanting more” is an adage most business speakers can quote, but few can follow. Even when we know that it is always advantageous to cease while the fire is still hot, the dreaded ego too often has the last word (or words). While I was visiting a friend in Texas, a motivational speaker I know invited me to sit in on his Saturday morning class. This presentation skills workshop was scheduled from 11 to noon. The class was fantastic, and we were all involved and learning a great deal. However, high noon was approaching quickly, and I noticed that people were getting just a little bit antsy. The bell to end class rang at noon, and the teacher went on as if he hadn’t even heard it. Students still listened to him, but I could sense a significant energy change. A few of them began gathering their books together and looking at their watches as polite signals to the teacher that it was time to go. He continued to speak. Ten minutes later the late-bell sounded. He responded that he had one more thing to say regarding this…and another regarding that… He talked on until about twelve-twenty, when all of a sudden he paused and said, “How’s everybody feeling right now?” There wasn’t a word in response. “Please be honest,” he said. “How is everybody feeling right now about the fact that this class went twenty minutes late?”
Finally, it began to come out. “Well, I’ll be honest with you. I really like your class and always look forward to it, but this is kind of an inconvenience for me. I had a twelve o’clock appointment with
someone.” Someone else added, “My wife has been upstairs for twenty minutes! She always picks me up at twelve, and we go out and have lunch together.”

Similar comments were also made. The teacher then surprised us all by informing us that he had held us overtime on purpose, adding that he would never again hold us past twelve o’clock. “But as future preachers and teachers,” he concluded, “I want you to remember how this feels. I want you to remember how important it is not to keep people overtime.” This was a major motivational speaker training lesson for me because, even though he had one of the most enthralling motivational speaking careers speaker business I knew, people resented even him for going overtime. Just don’t do it.

Speaking Careers

Motivational Speaking Team — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:09:02 +0000

With the dismal job reports and the decline in our economy many U.S. employees are looking at alternatives. Some are considering a motivational speaking career in the public speaking industry.

Some have attended keynote speeches and thought to themselves “if that speaker can have a motivational speaking career…then I can do that too”. Well don’t underestimate the time and energy it takes to prepare a keynote speech. Learn from Winston Churchill. One day, while Prime Minister Churchill was splashing in his bathtub, his valet overheard him loudly talking. Believing he needed assistance, the valet entered andinquired, “Did you call, Sir?” “No,” Churchill replied. “I was just giving a speech to The House of Commons.”

At the small risk of leaving myself open to a charge of splitting hairs rather than implanting new growths, I’ve decided to separate speaking practice out from underneath the umbrella of speaking preparation. Practicing, or rehearsing, stands alone in effectively extinguishing fear. That said, let’s explore the value of vigorous rehearsal. You’d never have caught Sir Winston standing before Parliament and winging it. In fact, according to James vanFleet, in his book, Hidden Power, Churchill never made a speech of major importance without first rehearsing his speaking in front of a mirror. Imagine the man voted to have one of the greatest careers in public speaking but not be willing to rehearse?

Public Speaking Job Requirements

Motivational Speaking Team — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:38:27 +0000

To have a public speaking job

is to go beyond comfort and stretch yourself toward greatness.
My Friend, boxer, minister, and real estate developer Chris
writes: “Average is the top of the bottom… the best of the worst… the bottom of the top…
the worst of the best… The saddest epitaph is this: ‘Here lies Mr. Average. Here lies the remains of what might have been, except for his belief that he was only average.’”

When I ﬁrst met Chris, he was, by his own account, an average public speaker. He had limited education and very little motivational speaking experience. He was determined to improve and was willing to go to any lengths to do so. He watched other public speakers, always taking notes on each little detail of how they went about their public speaking job. Chris would always asked for feedback after delivering a motivational speech or sermon.Many nights I remember Chris, in my garage, practicing his
upcoming public speaking. Using my ironing board as his podium, he enthusiastically spoke to an audience of one. At each juncture I would offer suggestion after suggestion. After a some scribbling, he would begin again…and again. Chris became a powerful as a minister and later went to be successful in his Public speaking career! Chris now has spoken all over the world. Today, he is a favorite of many, including myself…and there is nothing average about as a public speaker.

Motivational Speaking Jobs

Motivational Speaking Team — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:48:55 +0000

Motivational Speaking Jobs-By James Lloyd

I love my motivational speaking job and the following quote by Daniel Webster says it all.
“If all my talents and powers were to be taken from me by some
inscrutable Providence, and I had my choice of keeping but one, I would
unhesitatingly ask to be allowed to keep the Power of Speaking, for
through it, I would quickly recover all the rest. Helping others to become a motivational speaker and helping others get into a motivational speaking career is our mission in forming this company.
One issue you must resolve as a business speaker is the mystery that I call “The Paradox of Front Rows.” Let me explain. I now live in southern California, and it didn’t take me long to marvel and the staunch Laker fans. During games, I always see the front row seats occupied by the likes of Jack Nicholson and Dyan Cannon, because the cost for those seats is just so out of reach for anyone else. And why not? Your view is at bench-level. You’re nearest the action and the players, and you might, should fortune smile, spend a few unforgettable moments sharing your lap with a hustling, leave-it-on-the-floor, professional basketball player.
Front rows are the place to be. Recently, “The Lion King,” one of the top hits in theater, came to Los Angeles. As a birthday surprise, I bought three VIP tickets for my wife and two daughters at $125 a piece! There were several back-row seats available for that performance for one-fifth that amount. I was willing to pay the higher price, because the value is greater the closer you get.
Yet, you visit a typical motivational speaker presentation anywhere in the United States, and
the first rows are probably empty. The back rows seem to be of greater value. Now,
would this make sense in theater or sports? One valuable skill you must learn is how to fill the front rows and fill the room with your powerful skills as a motivational speaker. By James Lloyd

From Church Speaking to Motivational Speaking Jobs

Motivational Speaking Team — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:49:56 +0000

Of all the flammable fuels you must study for your motivational speaking job, enunciation has been my number one nemesis — my biggest challenge. I’ve never fully understood some of the difficulties others experience with such things as volume or pauses, but I think I can empathize when it comes to this one. I’ve had the hardest time with enunciation. I was born and raised in North Carolina, and have a distinct Southern accent. Shortly after college, I moved from North Carolina to Boston where I got my first speaking job. Boy, did I “catch it” there! It must have been during Jimmy Carter’s administration because I kept hearing things about being a “peanut farmer.” However, it wasn’t just my accent. It was also my enunciation of words. From Boston, I moved to London. A Southern Yank! Caught me a lot more flak in my motivational speaking! From London to Sydney. Same thing. And I’ve always found it interesting that people across the world could pick up that I had not only an American accent, but a Southern one as well. I finally learned that my accent is something I could never change. But I could learn to better enunciate my words. This would lessen the distraction that my accent might create for others. There was a time, however, when I went to considerable lengths to rid myself of my, shall I say, “oratory Southerninity.” When I was a minister in England, I spoke regularly to a large, British congregation. They never complained to me, but it was suggested by other leaders of the church that if I were to drop my Southern accent and acquire a more English elocution, it would give the entire church a boost. The intention was to minimize any existing anti-American sentiment the congregation or visitors might have had. Heeding this advice, I tried to overcome my provenance. I really tried hard! I took lessons from RADA, the world-renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. A stately
woman who was convinced that she would have me speaking the Queen’s English “in
no time at t’all” personally tutored me. (She’d successfully tutored Dick van Dyke for the
movie Mary Poppins.) And so it began… I’d meet with her two nights a week, each time for an hour.
Very expensive — but I figured it was well worth it. Week after week of lessons soon became month after month. Nothing changed. And, believe me, I practiced. I did the homework. I progressed to the point where I could read the Queen’s English pretty well. I couldn’t speak it, though, particularly when
I got excited in my public speaking jobs. Every time I was in front of the congregation and “caught fire,” I’d revert
back to the “Land of Cotton” — a source of considerable amusement to the brethren. I continued to press. Stiff upper lip and all that. It was “tally ho” until the night I came to tutoring and my teacher told me, “This evening’s lesson will be our last.” “No, no, no! We’re just getting it going here. I’ve got the money. I’m paying you on time!” “No, that’s not the point. James, I’m afraid it’s a waste of your money and a waste of my time.“ Ooooh… I was so humbled! She was getting paid a lot of money to do this with me, and she could no longer continue with a clear conscience — it just wasn’t working. I,
thus, sadly, (really – gladly!) took my leave of the Queen’s English. That was the last
time I tried to change my accent. Years later, in a three-day workshop in San Diego, I met an extraordinary man named Larry. His passion was accents. When I related this story to him, he told me that deep down, I didn’t really want to lose my accent — my regional dialect — nor should I.
He called it my “voice fingerprint.” I liked that. And he was right. I probably never should have tried to lose my accent because it’s really an essential part of who I am. I used to get offended when people would make fun and try to imitate it. My friend Daniel once told me that it was funny how sensitive I was about my accent, while Jeff Foxworthy has made millions of dollars exploiting his.
I started thinking about that comment, did a little research, and discovered something interesting. When Foxworthy first started performing in New York, the advice he got, coincidentally, was to take lessons to get rid of his Southern accent as well. New Yorkers were always kidding him about being nothing but an “ol’ redneck from Georgia.” Well, that “ol’ redneck” is the top-selling comedy artist in recording history. His first CD sold more than three million copies! He’s published ten best-selling books, and has starred in numerous television specials. Jeff Foxworthy remained who he was. He kept his accent as part of his uniqueness, and it paid off. If he’d lost it, what else might he have lost? It’s also worth noting that his style is not one of boasting and bragging. He is poking fun at his culture, his habits, his family, and his accent. That kind of fire burns brightly! Some people’s prejudices will make them disconnect when they hear an accent. If you can find ways to circumvent this, it will contribute greatly to your success. In Smart Speaking, by Laurie Cliff and Marcia Yudkin, the practice of “plosives” is introduced. I won’t go into detail, but it’s the practice of pronouncing two conjoined consonants as a method of speaking more clearly. The best and most complete audio workshop that I’ve encountered on diction, elocution, correction of foreign accents, and local dialects is Zoller’s Speaking Effective English. This two-tape audio delves deeply into the science of speech. It includes numerous exercises to alleviate problems with vowel sounds, diphthongs, consonants,
etc. It even has pauses that allow time for the listener to practice aloud with the tape.
If you want to speak more clearly in your Motivational speaker jobs, you may also wish to consider emulating Demosthenes. In ancient Greece, Demosthenes was the greatest orator in an era of
exceptional oratory. As a child, he heard the magic of the spoken word and decided that
speaking was his destiny. But he had one big problem. Demosthenes was born with a
speech impediment that greatly affected both his volume and enunciation. As I’ve
mentioned earlier, we are not born with talent; talent is developed through the hard work
of practice. And work hard he did. Demosthenes would go to the beach. To work on his volume, he would stand on the rocks and practice speaking, shouting against the sound of crashing surf. He’d also pick up small pebbles and put them in his mouth to practice enunciating his words. By intentionally adding further impediments to his inherent one, with passionate practice, he was victorious. I often imagine what he looked like, standing proudly, shouting at the waves.
And sometimes, when I am alone at a beach where waves are crashing, I hear the ghost of Demosthenes…and I’m motivated.