Motivational speaking is a unique career opportunity for those who enjoy motivating others to achieve their goals. To become a motivational speaker, you must be comfortable giving public speeches, find your niche, and market yourself. There are no specific educational requirements for this career path, but you will need a specific skill set to attract employers, and having a mentor can help you succeed. You must be able to provide members of the audience with something they would not otherwise have, which is a difficult but achievable task if you are interested in this line of work.
If you want to be a motivational speaker, one of the first things you should do is seek out a mentor. Being able to speak with someone who has achieved what you want to achieve can be extremely beneficial. Attending motivational speaking sessions and talking to the speakers, or writing letters to speakers you admire, can help you find a mentor. When you begin expressing your admiration for him or her and discussing your desire for a mentor, he or she is more likely to assist you. Another advantage of finding a mentor is that after you get to know each other, he or she may be able to serve as a reference for you.
Finding your niche, or the area in which you excel and can help others, is the next step in becoming a motivational speaker. Some motivational speakers, for example, focus on procrastination, which is an important aspect of motivation. Find a topic about which you are comfortable speaking, and do it better than others who are discussing the same general topic.
Although education is not required to become a motivational speaker, it can help you gain credibility. You must be able to market yourself as an expert in a particular area of motivational speaking, and having college credentials on your marketing materials makes you appear more professional. Brochures, business cards, compact discs, and anything else that will help you attract speaking engagements in your area are examples of marketing materials.
It’s time to start distributing your marketing materials to find speaking engagements once you’ve finished creating them. You can take the materials to local businesses, organizations, and corporations to see if they are interested in providing motivational training to their employees. There are organizations that focus on motivational speaking and may be able to assist you in finding work.