Motivational speaking may seem to be quite a simple concept, but motivation itself is quite complex, and this means it takes some expertise to encourage motivation in your listeners. There are a few basic ideas that can form the basis of a motivational speaking talk and provide the best starting point for the people you are trying to help.

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Small opportunities

When listening to successful people, whether they are businesspeople or elite athletes or in some other profession, it often becomes apparent that they did not start at the top of their game. Their key to success is in how they are able to seize the smallest opportunity when it appears. A motivational speaker could point to seemingly minor incidents that became a platform on which they grew their bigger achievements, and use that to encourage the listener to be alert to unexpected opportunities presenting in the strangest places.

Marginal gains

Along with seizing small opportunities, you also need to be prepared to accept marginal gains as an acceptable outcome. You may want to jump straight to the maximum level of success, but for many successful individuals, reaching the top was a process of many small steps over many years, each of them taking them a little closer to the goal. It is even a technique used by Great Britain’s successful Olympic 2012 cycling team. One aim of motivational speaking is to help listeners appreciate these small gains and understand that they are an important part of reaching the final destination.

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Fear

There are many emotions that can help motivate an individual, but fear can, perhaps surprisingly, be one of the most effective. Complacency is the enemy of progress, so a small amount of fear can provide the motivation to keep moving. Having the strength to feel fear and carry on anyway can be a source of positivity and focus. Learning to handle fear is essential for the motivational speaker who wants to stand on stage and address an audience, and it is something they should also be able to teach that audience to do.

In many cases, the problems motivational speakers can help you deal with are the same challenges faced by the motivational speakers themselves. As such, sharing their personal stories and techniques is how motivational speakers can help share their success with others.