Motivating Speaker - Tips to Help You Choose by Motivation Expert John Bell

1. Why Motivational Speakers are Necessary

Find a quality speaker with the special ability to motivate and you can be assured your meeting, seminar, convention or conference will have the success all of your hard work, no-doubt, rightly deserves.


Motivating speakers turn ‘average’ event evaluation scores into superlatives such as, brilliant, fantastic and superb.

Correctly motivate your delegates and you receive credit for helping to install in them an internal energy that determines all aspects of their future behaviour. This is why motivational speakers are hired and your final choice is so important.

2. Watch out for Pretenders

It is essential you understand that any Tom, Dick or Harry can legally call themselves motivational speakers. So simply finding someone listed as such on a website, or in a business directory, is no guarantee as to his or her ability to motivate an audience.

Would-be speakers are inventing themselves on a daily basis. They see the perceived success, and other associated privileges that the top international, professional speakers appear to have, and think along the lines ‘I could do that – easy money, travel to exotic places, fast cars, top hotels etc’. Ask a top motivational speaker if that is fair reflection of their lifestyle and he or she is likely to reply ‘If only’. So what do you need to look out for?

3. Sourcing a Speaker

Type motivating speaker into a search engine and you can expect well over three million hits. This, of course, only partially helps you in your quest for the perfect speaker for your event! How many days have you set aside for this task? If you are thinking in hours, rather than years, then you are advised to read on:

Choosing a short list of potential candidates from the first two or three pages of a search engine listing seems, and is to some extent, a logical way to proceed. However, there are further issues that are worthy of your consideration:


4. Agents, Bureaus or Direct to a Speaker?

Speaker agents and bureaus represent the majority of the best, professional speakers. Many of the top motivational speakers are also a business in their own right and, as such, will additionally represent their own best interests.

Agents are only interested in top speakers and proactively promote them, putting a speaker’s name forward to conference organisers and the like. They charge a fee to the speaker for this service, usually based on a percentage of the speaker’s fee for the occasion. For effective ‘numbers’ management reasons, the choice of speakers found through an agent, can be limiting.

Bureaus tend to be dedicated to providing conference organisers, corporations, associations, and educational institutions with a large selection of professional speakers from which to choose. Too much choice can be their biggest disadvantage.

Speakers, good and bad, experienced and amateurs, also often represent their own interests, and so it may be useful if I now provide a few tips on how to identify an established, professional speaker of quality from a large pool of the Johnny-come-lately brigade.

5. Quality Shines Through

Type motivating speaker into a search engine and you can be overwhelmed by the choice that is presented for your consideration. Top position for individual speakers usually fluctuates from one day to the next, so compose a short-list from the first two or three pages, and you are ready to begin.

It is worth of bearing in mind that sponsored links are there because someone is prepared to pay, sometimes-large amounts, to jump to the front of the queue. Whereas this is an admirable indication that they are prepared to invest in advertising, it does not necessarily follow that you will receive the best value for your money. Here is any easy way to narrow down your short list:

6. Establish Experience

Retype that which you originally searched for, into the search engine, and add one of the names you have recorded in your short list e.g. Motivating Speaker + His or Her Name.

Now you can determine whether that particular speaker has any expertise associated with the topic you are researching. You will also have an indication as whether or not an agent or bureau represents them.

7. Research Testimonials

Any speaker, worthy of consideration, will have a selection of testimonials from previous clients available for you to view on his or her website. Ensure companies and individuals are named. Descriptions such as ‘A senior manager at a large well-known company said….’, are of little to no value, and should start alarm bells ringing. Look for named sources from quality companies. Such individuals are usually very selective about whom they are to prepared recommend as their own reputation can be on the line.

8. Can they Motivate?

It may sound obvious, but the most important trait required by a motivational speaker is an ability to motivate. Tragically, some meetings organisers have previously discovered, to their considerable cost, that it does not necessarily follow that a professional speaker can motivate.

Nor can it be assumed that someone described as a ‘celebrity’ can be expected to somehow inspire your audience by simply turning up on the day. Motivational talks are a speciality based upon a science that is studied by few and practised by even less.

Ensure your choice has proven credentials, and don’t assume that members of a related, professional body, are somehow qualified and suitable. Minimal experience and the price of a membership fee are all that is required, in qualification, to becoming members of some such organisations.

Being published on the subject of interest, through a reputable source, is a good indication of expertise on a particular topic. Use the method described in Tip 6 above to obtain a quick and easy result.

Ideally, watch videos of the person performing, and listen to the audience reaction to determine whether he or she has a rapport with the audience. Rapport and humour are essential ingredients in the motivational cake.

9. Cost Issues

Ideally you should have some idea of a speaker fee budget before commencing your search. The professional costs in hiring a motivational speaker can vary dramatically and are dependent on the location of venue, numbers of delegates attending, the duration of the required speech and the quality and popularity of the speaker. My advice is this – if your meeting is worth holding it is worth investing in an experienced, proven, motivational speaker. Paying the little bit more often produces an immensely worthwhile investment.

Whether you deal with the speaker direct, or through an agent or bureau, should purely be a matter of choice. In theory fees, quoted from an agent, bureau or speaker, should be the same.

If you are interested in a celebrity speaker you are unlikely to find direct contact details for that person, and your only line of enquiry will be through an agent or bureau.

Agents that actively promote a speaker have a good idea of the fee normally required to secure a speaker’s services and will share that figure with you when you make your initial enquiry. It is wise to obtain an all-in-fee from an agent.

A bureau’s commission is obtained from the speaker. This commission can vary but normally falls between 15% and 30% of the fee for the appearance. If they do not have a particular speaker on their books they are usually happy to trace them and make any arrangements on your behalf.

Few professional speakers work with only one agent or bureau. If there is no mention of exclusivity on promotional material you can assume there is not. This, in effect means, that if you come across a speaker of your choice, and he or she supplies contact details, this is an implied permission for you to contact him or her direct and independently negotiate a speaker fee. Your aim should be to obtain value for money.


10. Information Required by a Motivational Speaker.

If you are contacting a speaker direct, and you have researched him or her as advised, you will be confident in knowing you are speaking with the right person for the job.

Should you decide on taking the agent or bureau route, the first thing you need to make perfectly clear, for the reasons described in Tip 8 above, is that you are seeking a motivational speaker.

Next supply the date of the event. Top speakers are very popular and you can save yourself a lot of time, and disappointment, by establishing their availability early in the proceedings. It is perfectly acceptable to ask if you can provisionally hold a particular speaker until a final decision is made.

Good meetings organisers will usually provide a description of the objectives and purpose of a conference, venue, size and type of audience and the duration of the talk required. The objectives are the desired outcomes of the event.

The best speakers provide tried and tested presentations that are skilfully adapted to fit in with the theme of your meeting and will usually meet your requirements fully. For your own peace-of-mind obtain a written agreement of the terms agreed and, were possible, a guarantee of total satisfaction.


To Summarise

a) Use a search engine to source a motivating speaker.
b) Produce a short list of potential speakers.
c) Establish credibility by including their name and area of expertise in a further search of the web.
d) Where possible watch videos of the speakers in action to determine whether they establish a rapport with the audience and their overall style of delivery is as required.
e) Check for quality, named testimonials provided by previous clients.
f) Contact the speaker, agent or bureau and establish availability, cost etc.
g) Supply the necessary information.
h) Obtain some form of contract with a guarantee of satisfaction were possible.

So there you have it; ten top tips on acquiring a motivational speaker. I wish you every success in your search.