If you’re organizing a motivational day for a group of employees, an increasingly popular feature is the inspirational keynote speaker. However, finding the right keynote speaker is not as easy as it seems. Whilst there are plenty to choose from, finding an appropriate speaker will depend on your aims for the day/event. Not all speakers can achieve great results and a number of them fail to provide the results you’re looking for. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when finding the right speaker.
Relevant speakers
While many speakers can generate high levels of motivation during an event, carrying that forward into an individual’s daily working life is often harder. Speakers who can focus on attendee’s personal goals and aspirations, making their speeches relevant to those individuals, are more effective in the longer term (and therefore a better investment for you). Strangely, not everyone has a burning desire to be an Olympic athlete or an astronaut; speakers who have accomplished out of this world (literally) achievements may demonstrate qualities and experiences that may be hard to for employees to relate to. Relevance to both your message and the real lives of your employees is a key aspect of inspirational speaking.
Journey or destination?
Keynote speakers who have achieved great things and produced incredible results are often keen to focus on those results. However, results are usually achieved by careful planning and processes. Many speakers will enjoy telling great anecdotes that make for inspirational stories, but will focus less on the detail of actually achieving those results. Audiences will be impressed, but learn little from a speaker who focuses on results, not the method of achieving them.
Motivation and results
Achieving anything in the corporate world involves a high level of self-motivation on the part of your employees. Speakers who focus on broader pictures are not always successful at encouraging self-motivation. Those who can inspire individuals to take action on a day-to-day basis are usually more suitable as keynote speakers. Those who clearly demonstrate that they’ve achieved results through their own willingness to act will provide a valuable message that will help to motivate your staff.
Motivational speeches
Perhaps the most important factor to consider when choosing a speaker is your own needs. If you simply wish to entertain – and there’s no harm in that – a high profile speaker will often be the best bet. If a more subtle message is required, which motivates, inspires and changes methods and processes in your own firm, consider speakers who focus more clearly on personal achievement and encouraging individual success.
Doctor Sanjay Jain, M.D. is a qualified medical doctor, life coach and inspirational keynote speaker. Having had his fair share of failuWres and challenges in life, he shares his own personal experiences with others, teaching them the principles he has used to transform his own life.
