How To Become A Motivational Speaker

So you want to know how to become a youth motivational speaker?

Speaking to audiences doesn’t sound like a fun job to most Americans. Why? The number one fear in America today is public speaking. The number two fear is to die. The running joke is that people would rather be laying in a casket than having to give the eulogy at a funeral. Still for many speaking would be a rewarding career because of the impact you can have on the lives of people.

Youth Motivational Speaker

A true speaker can capture an audience and take them on a rollercoaster ride emotionally. A youth speaker can attain young people’s attention and impact their lives so that they walk away making wiser choices.

There is not a one way road to becoming a youth motivational speaker. In fact it’s probably the opposite because you will find two way streets and many with forks in the road. But as a youth speaker you must be ready to hang on for the ride.

If you have set your mind on becoming a speaker here are some suggestions that are often overlooked when starting out.  5 tips to keep in mind when you are starting your speaking career:

1.  Make sure you feel called to help young people. If you are in this for the money, please do us a favor and get an office job. But if you truly want to help people, start off doing it for free until you get your feet wet and then start charging. You’ll get more bookings when you don’t charge.

2.  Get your story straight. Don’t lie about where you’ve been, tell the truth, the whole truth or people will see right through you and lose trust in your services. Some speakers tend to exaggerate their shortcomings. You don’t have to have a notorious background in order to help young people; in fact you can talk about all the right choices you made in life.

3.  Determine who you are going to speak to. If you enjoy speaking to elementary kids, then work more on humor. If you plan to speak to middle and high school students you are going to have to being more energy and stories that relate across the board.

4.  Develop the way you speak. Practice makes perfect in anything you do but especially in public speaking. Record yourself on video and listen to what you say and how you say it. Also watch what you do because your body language has a lot to do with what you actually say.

5.  Make sure you document every keynote that you present to an audience. Do this via photos and emails. If you could get people to testify about your speaking ability on video, you may have gold. People who book youth speakers like to hear what others who have booked those same people had to say about you. So give them what they want. Give them a testimonial page with a ton of quotes.

It’s not easy to break into the speaking business. But if you love what you do, it will come natural and people will want to hear your story. So be yourself and don’t try to imitate what others are saying as far as content. Pick a speaking niche and put yourself out there as a youth speaker and you will be fine.