Okay, so you may not want to be a motivational speaker (and live in a van down by the river). However, all of us, at one time or another, will want to be a more inspirational speaker. Sometimes, we just want to motivate our team. In other situations, we may be asked to speak at an annual meeting and want the audience to see us as being an inspirational leader. Whatever the case, there are times when the purpose of our speech is not necessary to inform or persuade but to motivate and inspire. These are a few tips that will help you be a more inspirational speaker and presenter.

So what is the point? If you look at some of the most inspirational speakers of the last 60 years, you will notice a few important things. Each and every one of these speakers designed their inspirational talks around either a single concept or a few simple steps. Almost all relied heavily on powerful stories to build rapport with the audience and insert humor. However, each of these speakers adapted to the media of the time.

For instance, Nightingale designed his speeches to fit a single side of a phonograph record. Why? Well, for those of you who are old enough to have ever played one, the good stuff was always on “Side 1” of the record. Side 2 was the filler. So, Nightingale, a radio guy, was creating a message that fit his media.MLK wasn’t concerned about recordings. He was more concerned about inspiring crowds in-person. So, his repetition and cadence made it easier for the crowds to remember his words and act upon them.

Most of Zig, Les Brown, and Brian Tracey were most popular in the era of cassette tapes. Most of these tapes could hold 60 minutes of content. I have no research to back this up, but I believe that this is probably why most keynote speeches are still 60 minutes long today. (Although 60 minutes is just about a perfect time to keep people from having to leave the room when nature calls.)Anthony Robbins was one of the first speakers to create comprehensive box sets of inspirational speeches. He made a bunch of money selling CD-Rom sets on QVC. So, he began to create a series of shorter, bite-sized presentations that people could digest over a longer period of time. So, the Story, three-point-talk, story technique was perfect for him.

Although Ted Talk seminars have been around for decades, they have become incredibly popular in the YouTube age. Ted’s normal time frame is about 20 minutes per speech. So, interestingly, many of the most-watched Ted Talks follow Earl Nightingale’s technique. So, it appears that we have come full circle.

In the near future, I’m going to do a similar post about YouTube. I will do a similarly in-depth view of what people are looking for, today, from professional speakers on YouTube. I will give you a hint, though, most professional speakers aren’t yet giving this new market what they really want. Stay tuned!