Inspirational speakers deliver speeches to inspire and uplift listeners in various environments, including business conventions and workshops. They differ from motivational speakers as they aim to provide general support and encourage people to look at their lives and attitudes in new ways. No formal training is needed, but skills such as a powerful voice and the ability to connect with the audience are useful. Becoming an inspirational speaker can be a lucrative career choice.
Inspirational speakers are professional public speakers who make a living delivering speeches designed to inspire and uplift listeners. Loudspeakers of this type can function in many different environments, delivering speeches that target a broad audience or a niche market within a particular industry or culture. A speaker may offer seminars or workshops to accompany the speech, for an extra fee.
Many people assume that a motivational speaker and an inspirational speaker are the same. While there are many similarities between the two, each fills a specific need. In general, a motivational speaker will try to clarify, inform and call people to a specific course of action as a result of their presentation. While an inspirational speaker also seeks to enlighten and inform, the ultimate goal is to provide general support that encourages people to look at their lives and attitudes in new ways. Thus, the words of the inspired speaker are also motivating, but they are intended to encourage people to apply general principles to their own situations in unique ways.
One of the settings in which an inspirational or motivational speaker can flourish is the keynote speaker at a business convention, conference, or celebration such as a retirement dinner. Depending on the overall tone of the event, the inspired speaker can choose to take a serious approach or keep the speech a little light and fun. In general, speeches at events of this type are kept to a shorter period than in other settings, usually in the area of twenty to thirty minutes.
For seminars or workshops, an inspired speaker can take center stage and continue his or her presentation for anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours. Depending on the setup, the speaker can offer the audience a brief interlude at a strategic point in the presentation and then come back to finish the speech. Such a strategy can be especially useful, as the break can be timed to occur just after the conclusion of a key point that the speaker wants the audience to take away from the event. Once everyone is back and settled into the rest of the speech, the speaker can build on that point, helping to reinforce the importance and increasing the chances that the audience will carry away the main intent of the speech.
There is no formal training needed to become an inspirational speaker. Certain skills are useful in this type of career, such as a powerful voice that adapts well to large spaces, strong language skills including clear enunciation and a versatile vocabulary, and the ability to be comfortable in front of a crowd. The best speakers possess the ability to connect with people in the audience by making eye contact, using gestures and facial expressions, and generally drawing the audience into the flow of the speaker’s spoken words.
As a career choice, choosing to be an inspirational speaker can be a lucrative decision. Speakers who build a strong reputation or become a recognized authority in a particular field can fetch high prices for attendance at conferences and other major events. In addition to live events, a growing number of inspired speakers are also offering recordings of their speeches for sale, as well as hosting teleconferences designed to motivate and inspire people willing to pay a flat fee to attend the event.
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