You're the CEO of a large company and you want to bring somebody over to speak to your employees, to get them all pumped up about the new advertising campaign. Or maybe you're a high school basketball coach and you want someone to talk to your kids about competition and having that killer instinct. Regardless of who you are, who your people are and what you do, choosing a motivational speaker is more than just finding somebody who is knowledgeable about your business, sport or whatever it is you do. Hopefully the following tips will give you a good idea of what to look for when searching for a motivational speaker.

The first thing you want to look for in a motivational speaker is somebody who can speak clearly. So many people who are intelligent and knowledgeable have terrible speaking voices or thick accents that nobody can understand. You may want to get the top shortstop in the major leagues to speak to your little league team but if he speaks like Jose Reyes of the New York Mets (no offense Jose) then you're going to have a lot of problems. An accent that thick will not be understandable and the purpose of the talk will be lost.

In addition, you want somebody who has a commanding voice and presence. The last thing you want when hiring a motivational speaker is someone who speaks quietly and doesn't command attention. This doesn't mean that he has to come into the meeting waving pom poms and doing cheers, but he should be energetic and full of enthusiasm. It should be more than obvious that he it not only good at what he does but enjoys it.

On top of that, it doesn't hurt to have somebody speak who has a sense of humor. This doesn't mean that he has to tell jokes every 2 minutes but listening to him should be amusing as well as informative. Let's face it, when you're listening to someone speak, if all they are doing is just fill you with a ton of facts and figures, it can get very boring after a while. You want somebody who can mix in a humorous remark once in a while, somebody who can keep the meeting interesting.

Probably the most important thing to look for in a motivational speaker is credibility. Most likely, after he or she is done speaking, your group is going to have questions. It is very likely that many of these questions will have to do with the speaker's qualifications. They're going to want to know what he has done that makes him qualified to speak on the subject. For example, if you have a little league baseball team and you get Tom Seaver to come to speak to the kids, well, he certainly does have credibility having won over 300 games in his career. Bringing a college coach who's never had a winning college team in 20 years probably won't carry as much weight with your kids. Credibility is everything.

The last thing, and unfortunately something you can't overlook, is how much this speaker is going to cost you. If you're on a limited budget, there is only so much you can do. Tom Seaver may be beyond your means. However, if you go through certain organizations it is possible to get a motivational speaker for free, depending on other agreements that are worked out such as providing other services in exchange such as endorsements.

Anybody can speak in front of a group. Getting somebody who can speak well is a whole other matter.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Motivational Speakers
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