Friday, October 7, 2011

How to Find the Right Candidate Among Many Available Motivational Speakers

The market of motivational and inspirational speakers has developed tremendously in the past few years. What was once seen as something of side activity has matured into a profession in its own rights, with some practitioners starting to address audiences practically straight out of college rather than after a successful career in politics or sport. It would not be an exaggeration to say that motivational speaking can be treated as an industry comparable in size and workings to that of corporate training or professional development. Its biggest target group are businesses that seek inventive ways to energize their own staff, impress their partners or stakeholders or otherwise generate a lot of positive energy, which is a critical element for lasting success. Here is a quick step by step guide for those who wish to make use of motivational speakers on how to go about hiring them best.

As with many other services, in motivational speaking there are no solutions of one size fits all type. Clients need to be aware of what they need and what effect they want to achieve. This means deciding what audience is going to attend the event and what is the point of inviting the motivational speaker. Are you worried that your employees are losing the enthusiasm for their daily routines? Do you want to highlight a common goal you are all trying to reach? Are you aiming to motivate them to rally against a new corporate strategy? Do you want to use a professional speaker to drive some specific message home? Needs analysis is the first stage in the recruitment process.

When you know what you really want for your event, it is a good idea to compile a list of names you would be willing to see. The source for such a selection might be your own experiences at other business conferences where you saw good speakers or recommendations by other people, including business partners or friends. You can always check out comments and reviews on the Internet, although it is important to be careful about their impartiality.

Next, as most motivational speakers have already established presence on the Internet, either individually or through speakers bureaus, the web is a fantastic place for in-depth research. You can read up on what kind of areas your candidates for the job specialize in, where they feel comfortable and where they are likely to have the biggest impact.

The fourth piece of advice is to watch video speakers or their audiences have left on the web. This tends to give you the most direct glimpse into their possibilities, personalities and mannerisms. Do you really want the man or the woman in the movie picture to motivate you and your employees? The choice is yours.

As the last tip that many people give in relation to hiring motivational speakers is to decide whether you need somebody with a major name, like an ex-politician or sportsperson, or somebody without such a background, but competent and promising as an inspiration force anyway.

By Torri Myler

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