How to Put Across Your Ideas Like a Motivational Speaker

Motivational-Speaker

Naturally, if you are going to become a motivational speaker, you need to learn how to do it. There are few “naturals” where this is concerned though; it is a serious discipline that takes training.

Everybody’s professional and personal lives are structured around interactions with other people, and this is the one simple reason motivational speaking skills can serve you well in almost any area of life. It is all about being able to put your ideas across influentially, in such a way that they will be listened to.

As it happens, “listening” is a skill that is currently in short supply. In fact, few people really know how to listen properly nowadays. But what does listening have to do with putting across your ideas? Well, believe it or not, convincing people with your ideas involves also putting across the impression that you are listening to the person that is listening to you. How often do we see politicians taking pains to seem like they are “listening to the concerns of voters”?

If your audience – be that a board room, podcast listeners, or even just one single person – feels like they are not being listened to, they will be less inclined to listen to you. This is the default position among audiences, and you need to convince them out of it by giving the impression that you are listening.

How to Listen

Nevertheless, in many settings, putting across your ideas will not be a two-way conversation. How, then, can you “listen” to the audience. Well, as mentioned, this doesn’t always literally mean shutting upand letting the other person speak, but instead seeming as if what you are saying has the concerns of the audience in mind.This is what is meant by listening.

Plurawl, creators of a Hispanic/Latino podcast, say that their podcast does this in many ways, including discussing the concerns of that community and by interviewing guests typical of the community who listen to the podcast. Even though the actual listeners cannot be heard by the podcaster, they feel like they are “listened to” and tune in as a result. This simple example illustrates exactly what is meant by listening.

More Tips for Selling Your Ideas

This point about listening is fundamental so it deserves a special mention and explanation. If you can get that down, you’re already well on your way. Here follows some other tips for putting across your ideas like a top motivational speaker:

Build an Emotional Connection

To do this, express your ideas in two ways, both by conveying what the listener has to gain from listening to you and by covering the topics that are important to them. This creates an emotional connection based on a sense of understanding. It is essential.

Match Your Speaking Style to The Audience 

Creating a connection is very much about fostering empathy, listening and, of course, the content of what you are saying. But it is also how you say it, on the style level.By matching your style to your audience, you can avoid any disruptions caused by a sense of alienation.

Don’t Preach

You can be very passionate about what you have to say, but you will alienate your audience or listeners if you come off like you’re giving commands and demanding your point of view be accepted. You should always give the impression that the audience should only consider your point of view or ideas.

As mentioned, all these tips have applications far beyond the world of actual motivational speaking. They can be applied in circumstances ranging from the stage to the lunchbreak canteen table.