5 Steps to Launching Your Career as a Motivational Speaker

Words have the power that can change lives and while many of us cringe at the thought of speaking in public, there are a few who have ventured bravely into this domain. Now, they enjoy a life that allows them to travel, share their ideas and inspire thousands. If that is your idea of a great job, here's how to launch your career as a motivational speaker:



Use your life experience.

Many of the best motivational speakers tap their life experiences during their lectures. Erin Brockovich, a mom and activist and Olympic great Mary Lou Retton are just two very well-known speakers who have taken their experiences and used them as a rich source of inspiration for other people.



However, don't think that you have to be famous or do something radical with your life in order to become a motivational speaker. Think of all the things that you have accomplished in life like completing school, getting a job, starting a dream business, writing a book, building relationships, even successfully overcoming a destructive habit. These experiences can be an excellent source of examples for your speeches and lectures.



Find a value in what you have to offer.

Telling people about your life story won't do the trick. To be able to launch your career as a motivational speaker, find out how your lectures can guide or help other people who want to make their dreams come true, solve difficulties and generally make their lives better.



Define your 'specialty'.

Determine which niche you want to specialize in. You can't do it all even if you want to. Imagine how suspicious your audience will be if you offer solutions to everything in their lives. Pick an area you can truly specialize like improving leadership qualities, finding romance, losing weight, getting rich, becoming a better parent, selling more, etc.



Prepare a series of lectures.

Giving a series of small yet connected lectures is more effective than having one big lecture. This helps you get a feel of what it would be like to work as a motivational speaker. It also helps you improve yourself over time. Try to develop a succession of lectures that can help people improve, a sort of like a step-by-step series that allows people to move from one level to the next.



Improve your public speaking skills.

This is the core of everything you will be doing as a motivational speaker. Learn how to use your voice, gestures and general body language. You also need to practice the appropriate facial expressions and intonations. And yes, the way you speak will make a huge difference in your success, so practice, practice, practice.