Self Leadership and
The New Leadership Playbook
Blog by Andrew Bryant

The term "business motivational speaker" can seem generic and vague, possibly like something from the TV Show, The Office. Far from being comical, a business motivational speaker is someone who inspires, informs, and motivates audiences to think differently, feel differently, and act differently. They are typically hired to speak at conferences, seminars, and other events to help motivate and inspire business professionals to reach their goals.

The professional, rather than the comical, business motivational speaker typically has deep subject matter experience that they can use to energize and motivate employees to take action. They will often provide strategies to help their audience reach their goals, with a mindset of enthusiasm and positivity.

Delivering results is essential for any team or organization, but delivering results when employees are fatigued, stressed, or unclear of priorities is impossible. A business motivational speaker is not a...

Whether in a one-to-one conversation or giving a presentation, you owe it to yourself and to your audience not to be boring.

The number one reason for boring your listeners is being too focused on yourself and or your topic. This could be because you are nervous and shy, or because you have not yet realized a fundamental truth that is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt:

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care"

3 Strategies for How Not to Be Boring

1. Be Curious

A great maxim for connecting with people and not boring them to death is, "if you want to be interesting, be interested." Be interested in the people you are speaking with, ask questions, and listen carefully to what they say. When you do this, you can connect what you want to say with their worldview.

Curiosity and open-mindedness will also mean that you can talk on multiple topics and have interesting perspectives.

2. Be Passionate

A guaranteed way to not be boring is to be...

If you want to be a better leader, presenter, or influencer then you must embrace diagrams or models to amplify your message.

The human brain is brilliant at pattern recognition but has a limited capacity for language or numerical manipulation.

“A picture is worth a thousand words” 

When it comes to ideas and information, a diagram or model communicates much more effectively than words. Here are seven of the many diagrams that I use in my leadership coaching, and keynote speeches. 

1. Find your Sweet Spot

Success in life and career is a Venn diagram. You must find your passion, but passion alone is not enough, you must develop your talent and find a market for your skills. 

Jim Collins used this diagram in his book, 'Good to Great'. The Japanese have a concept, Ikigai which means reason for being. The Japanese diagram has a fourth circle, what the world needs. Imagine doing what you love, doing what you are good at, and being paid for it, and it makes a...

Whether it is for the company conference, sales kickoff, or client event, somebody inevitably searches for ‘the best motivational speaker’. Most professional speakers and subject matter experts despise this term, but it is the number one Google search phrase, for this role.

Every corporate event can be improved with a top motivational speaker who tells great stories and elevates the thinking beyond the spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentations, but who is the best motivational speaker for your conference or event?

Getting a Top Motivational Speaker 

Getting a top motivational speaker depends on your budget and their availability but there are other factors to consider:

1. What outcome are you looking for, how do you want the audience to think, feel, and act differently after the speech?
2. How much is your audience ready to be challenged? Or are you looking for corporate entertainment?
3. What is the theme of your event?

If your motivational speaker provides the keynote,...

Motivational talks have long been a popular corporate practice. These talks or speeches encourage managers and employees to stay focused and motivated to reach their goals. By inspiring and encouraging employees to strive for excellence, motivational talks are an effective tool for achieving organizational goals. This blog will discuss how motivational talks can achieve goals in your organization.

Hear From Inspirational Speakers

An effective motivational speech is a great way to boost morale in the workplace. Giving employees a chance to listen to inspirational stories and advice from a knowledgeable speaker, helps them create a positive and productive work environment. Typically a speaker will share stories and anecdotes that enable employees to reframe their perspective of their work and to push themselves to higher levels of performance. They motivate and encourage employees to reach their goals and explore new opportunities. 

Learn from One Another

Motivational talks also...

Spain is an excellent location for a Global Conference or Convention. Spain has a warm and pleasant climate, making it an attractive destination for events all year round, and it is well connected to the rest of the world through its international airports and high-speed trains.

Spain has a well-developed conference infrastructure, with modern and well-equipped convention centers in major cities, and Spain is known for its hospitality, and conference attendees can expect to receive warm and friendly service.

Barcelona, Madrid, San Sabastian, and Zaragoza

Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. Barcelona is inventive, and international and attracts investors from all over the world. The biggest events and conferences are held in Barcelona. It has the infrastructure to host a world-class Global Conference or event.

Madrid, the capital of Spain, and the second largest city in Europe welcomes some of the biggest...

Are you looking for the perfect motivational speaker to boost energy and motivation for your event in London? Keep reading for advice on how to find qualified, professional motivational speakers and ensure that your event is a success!

Begin with the End in Mind

Regardless of your industry or conference theme, when engaging a motivational speaker, you want to ask yourself, what will the audience takeaway be?

• What will they think differently?
• What will they feel differently?
• What will they do differently?

An inspirational story is essential, but unless your speaker has an impact on the audience, it's not motivation, it's entertainment. So, define your objectives and then research the speaker's style to your event theme and outcomes.

Match Speaker Style to Your Event Theme

Motivational speakers come in different styles and with different specialties or subject matter expertise. Think about what type of energy or style you would like to influence the event – do you need an...

Who is the best motivational speaker and do motivational speakers even work?

These questions get asked each year when organizing the company conference or offsite. Whether leaders and employees are grappling with change, dealing with disruption, or setting some ambitious targets, everyone needs a dose of motivation.

Do Motivational Speakers Even Work?

With inspirational quotes on LinkedIn and Instagram, every manager or social influencer can consider themselves a motivational speaker, which raises some legitimate cynicism about the effectiveness of hiring a motivational speaker.

Here are some common themes that might make people feel good for a few minutes but have no lasting impact:

1. I did it so you can too

   I climbed a mountain, beat cancer, or some other trauma so you can too. As inspiring as these stories are, they ignore survivor bias and can lack practical takeaways for achieving this quarter’s goals.

2. Mindset is all that matters

   Yes, being aware of your current frame of...

You hear the MC say, “Please welcome to the stage, our Keynote Speaker”.

Is your heart racing? Are your palms sweaty? Are you wondering what you are going to say?

Public speaking is purported to be the number 1, fear or phobia, beating out the fear of death, so why would you want to be a Keynote Speaker, and if you do, how can you be good at it?

I have been a Global Conference Speaker for over 20 years, and I have coached and mentored hundreds of executives and upcoming speakers to present with poise and confidence, to leave a lasting impact on their audiences.

Keynote Speaker – or Main-Stage Talk?

Sometimes the term ‘Keynote Speaker’ gets misused; it’s like someone who has posted a blog on HBR calling themselves a ‘Harvard Business Review’ columnist.

A keynote speech is a presentation, usually of 20 to 60 minutes, that establishes a main underlying theme, framework, or ‘big idea’ of the conference or...

I clicked on the link in the email and the video from a motivational speaker began to play; it revealed a surprising truth.

This well-known ‘Success Coach’ starts by telling us that he works with billionaires with big houses, cars, and expensive watches, BUT these people are empty and insecure on the inside. In guru-like fashion he tells me that:

“The door to success doesn’t open outward, but inward”

He goes on to expand on the virtue of working on our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical selves.

So far, so good. As a Self-leadership author and Motivational Speaker, myself, I’m fully aligned with the message. But then, comes the twist.

In the next part of his pitch, he tells us that if we do all this ‘inner work’, we can have houses, cars, and expensive watches. That my external wealth will be in direct proportion to my inner growth!

"WHAT THE BLEEP!"

Did he not just tell us that all the people with the big houses, cars, and...