how to write a inspirational speech

How to Write an Inspirational Speech

How to write an inspirational speech: intro.

“Greatness is inspiring others to be their best.”

It’s very hard and even wearying to inspire someone to accomplish great things in their life. And it’s not because you lack persuasion skills or the depth of sincerity. Yes, to inspire people, you need them to have perseverance and determination, which is not superficial and can be attained through various inspiration-rousing tools like an inspirational speech. Very powerful by its nature, this type of a speech has become insanely popular over the years and been given wherever it is important to uplift the mood. So, what is an inspirational speech, anyway? A speech used to uplift the audience and make them feel inspired – this is probably one of the simplest and most concise definitions. To inspirit your audience, you don’t have to be a rhetoric god able to mesmerize someone with your speech. What you need to have is a good grasp of the pivotal elements that make up the art of creating a weighty inspirational speech. So, if you really want to plunge into how to write an inspirational speech, help yourself to our vital solutions and suggestions below!

Steps to Write a Masterful Inspirational Speech

“I don’t believe in luck, I believe in preparation.”

We begin our inside-out guide with steps, as they help generate the strategy of your speech, as well as form its framework. Before you start writing your speech, you definitely want to make thorough preparation, such as develop a plan. In order to prepare brilliantly for your inspirational speech, or get some insight into how to write an inspirational book, you need to think through several crucial cornerstones.

1. Consider your qualification

This aspect is all about realizing why you are qualified enough to write this speech. That is, what advantage you have over the other candidates that made them choose you to fulfill this mission. You need to consider this aspect so as to figure out and shortlist your milestones. Then, you should highlight them in your speech, as this is what plays a tremendous role in encouraging the audience.

2. Regard for your audience

Another important element of planning your speech is knowing your audience. Research and give thought to fundamental factors about your audience: their demographic, occupation, etc. Based on these factors, you have to choose the theme, style, and even length of your speech.

3. Establish three main points of your speech

This is essential to avoid rambling in the speech. Try to identify the keystones of your inspirational address and center it around them. Before you tackle those points, keep in mind that they have to resonate with your audience.

4. Choose your topic

The topic of your speech is supposed to convey your main message and unite all the points you make in your address. Defining the topic is highly critical when it comes to how to write an inspirational letter. Again, the topic has to be chosen with regard to the aforementioned factors of the audience.

Tips for Creating an Inspirational Address

“The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others.”

Author Unknown

Now it’s time to move to suggestions. Skilled and competent as you may be, it never hurts to broaden the horizons of your knowledge with wise suggestions from others. Just take a look at them, and who knows, maybe they’ll come in handy when you start creating your piece of inspirational art.

• Stay sanguine. Otherwise, there’s no point of writing an inspirational speech. To lift the audience up, you have to remain uplifted yourself.
• Be emotional. Overcome your timidity and empower your speech with emotional vocabulary. Uncovering emotions in your speech helps bridge the gap between you and the listeners, as this appeals to their own emotions and feelings towards what you’re speaking about.
• Tell a story or several stories. People love listening to stories, so they will especially appreciate one in your speech. Moreover, storytelling better illustrates your point as well as the overall topic of your speech and enagges the audience.
• Be sincere. Although listed near the end, this must be by far the most important aspect of writing an inspirational address. If you want your speech to actually impress people and brighten their lives, you have to write from your heart and mean what you write about.
• Leave some room to think at the end. The ending of any great speech urges the listeners to question the matters raised in the speech, much as the beginning of their favorite songs makes their hearts jump. Fill your ending with open-ended questions, or focus on some challenging thoughts and ideas. And remember that it has to pertain to your audience.

Inspirational Speech Example Analysis

We have provided an analysis of an inspirational speech to help you understand how to create one yourself. Just take a look at the pictures below (click them to see the full size).

All said and done, we’ve come to the conclusion that getting inspired is much easier than actually inspiring others. But having some useful and comprehensive guide at hand will smooth the way for your writing experience and make it seamless. Well, no one says that you should confine the range of your writing habits and solutions to just these tips and suggestions. What you can do is supply your writing proficiency and expertise with these effective guidelines, learning something worthy from them. And keep in mind that to inspire someone, you have to inspire yourself.

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How to Start a Motivational Speech: 5 Strategies for Capturing the Audience

Inspiring people to take positive action is a superpower for CEOs like you. The five strategies for starting a motivational speech covered in this article are meant to help you acquire this superpower and use it to motivate clients and employees alike.

Imagine standing on stage in a room filled with people in your target audience. You have been booked to give a motivational speech. How are you going to start? You have to capture the attention of your audience before you can motivate anyone. Each type of audience requires a different attention-grabbing tactic. The best motivational speakers are masters at knowing their audience and adapting their speeches accordingly.

Master the following five strategies for how to start a motivational speech and you will leave your next audience feeling energized and inspired.

1 – Ask a Question to Make the Audience Feel Like Part of a Conversation

A dry, one-way lecture is the fastest way to lose your audience. Great motivational speaking makes the audience feel like a part of a conversation. Starting with a question is a great way to start that tone. Your question should act as a lead-in to the core topic of your speech.

If your speech is on how to stay motivated when their business is struggling , then your question could be something like “By a show of hands, how many of you have ever felt like you just wanted a give up and close the business down?”

2 – Engage Your Audience With an Activity

Your audience is much more likely to pay attention to you if you can get them moving. The key to successfully using an activity to start a motivational speech is to pay attention to detail. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many people are expected?
• What are the demographics of attendees?
• How much time do you have?

These seemingly insignificant details are the difference between a hit activity and a flop.

Just like asking a question, you want your activity to be a lead-in for the content of your speech. The best activities include a physical element. Say your topic is the relationship between your mood and your motivation to improve your business . You could start your motivational speech with a breathing exercise for calming one’s mind or a quick smiling exercise.

3 – Tell a Story to Make Your Motivational Speech More Relatable

We are instinctually wired to learn through storytelling, dating back to our days as cavepeople . There are a few different types of stories you could tell to start your motivational speech – each with a different effect.

• Historical Stories

You can use a story from history that relates to the subject matter of your speech. This story could be based on a popular fable or a factual historical event. The benefit of a historical story is it is easy to find a story that fits with your topic perfectly. The downside is they are not as personal as your other options. Your audience may relate to the story, but do they relate to you ?

• Professional Stories

As a successful CEO you have a bunch of professional stories you can use to inspire your audience. These stories are especially effective when trying to motivate employees or speaking in front of industry colleagues. 

The key to using professional stories is to make sure they fit the context of the speech topic. If you are speaking to fellow CEOs, tell a story about overcoming a problem a fellow CEO would face. If you were speaking to aspiring business owners , tell a story from when you first started your business.

• Personal Stories

It takes courage to be vulnerable and tell a story from your personal life, but it is one of the most powerful tools for connecting with your audience. You have to prove you have motivated yourself in your darkest times if you want to motivate your audience to do the same.

Again, context is key. A personal story is only powerful if you can use it to segue into your main topic.

4 – Quote a Scientific Study to Give Your Motivational Speech Authority

A scientific study gives your motivational speech instant authority. A piece of interesting research related to your topic signals to your audience that you are not just going to pull information out of thin air.

You can even start your motivational speech with research on motivation. This article here  from Business Insider is a good place to start. It has 42 different studies on motivation for you to choose from complete with visual aids.

5 – Tell Your Audience Something They Were Not Expecting to Hear

So many motivational speeches start the same way. The speaker will ask the audience how they are doing, and then they will give an overview of the main point of their speech. It is ineffective because it is what your audience expects.

If you cannot think of a good way to use the other four ways to start a motivational speech, just say anything besides what they expect. Do not be afraid to be different – the more you let your personality shine through in your introduction, the more likely your audience is to actually be motivated by your words.

5 Inspiring Motivational Speeches From Highly Successful People

How to start a motivational speech is, literally, just the beginning. The best way to write a motivational speech that is impactful from start to finish is by studying amazing motivational speeches. Watch the following speeches with a pen and notepad. Answer the following:

• When is the first point in the speech where you feel drawn in? What were the words?
• What is the speaker’s tone of voice? Does the pace change throughout? How?
• What pieces of information stuck with you after you got to the end?

1 – Denzel Washington Commencement Speech – Fall Forward

Denzel Washington’s 2011 commencement speech at the University of Penn. He says he doesn’t want to fall back on anything, but rather fall forward by taking risks.

He mentions how Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiences before he created the light bulb.

The motivational message is that failed experiences are a necessary part of success. He backs it up with a personal story from his own failures auditioning for roles early on in his acting career.

2 – Eric Thomas Speaks to Olympic Athletes – I Can, I Will, I Must

In 2016, Dick’s Sporting Goods brought in Eric Thomas to speak to the Olympians they sponsored.

Knowing that his audience was a bunch of high-achievers, he tailored his speech to them. He talks about how important it is to stay hungry when you have already achieved a high level of success.

This point is driven home by saying how an alligator can be killed by a human with their bare hands right after the alligator eats. Why? Because they go into a state similar to paralysis once their hunger is satisfied.

3 – Arnold Schwarzenegger – Work Your Ass Off

Arnold Schwarzenegger gave this motivational speech in 2018 and it has since racked up millions of views on YouTube.

He gives some secrets to his success, but his most important message is that nothing else matters if you don’t work your ass off.

The speech is filled with personal stories from his own life that show how he worked his ass off to become a successful bodybuilder, movie star, and politician.

4 – Jim Carrey Commencement Speech – Passion is Worth the Risk

Jim Carrey’s 2014 commencement speech at the Maharishi University of Management is one of the most highly viewed motivational speeches on YouTube.

He starts his speech with classical Jim Carrey humor, but by the middle of the speech, he shares profound wisdom on pursuing a career in what you love.

Jim Carrey shares his own personal story of resilience, but perhaps more powerful is the story of his dad, who settled for the “safe” career and still ended up failing.

5 – J.K. Rowling Commencement Speech – The Fringe Benefits of Failure

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech is all about the benefits of failure.

She starts the speech with her typical sense of self-deprecating humor, even though she is the most successful children’s author who has ever lived.

Rowling shares how the first Harry Potter novel was rejected dozens of times, and how her faith in herself kept her going through the rejection.

Fictional Motivational Speeches That Provide Real Inspiration

A fictional motivational speech may be scripted, but that doesn’t mean it can’t give you real inspiration. These are the most popular movie speeches.

1 – Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness – Protect Your Dream

At first, Will Smith’s character discourages his son’s dream of being a professional basketball player.

He quickly realizes his mistake after seeing his son’s reaction and tells him to never let anyone discourage him from pursuing his dreams – even his own father.

2 – Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday – Inch by Inch

Pacino’s character gives an inspirational speech at halftime that applies to both football and life.

He says life is a game of inches, and those willing to fight and claw for every single inch are the ones who are the most successful.

3 – Sylvester Stallone in Rocky – Take the Hits

Sylvester Stallone’s character is talking to his adult son, who he feels has lost his way.

It is a great motivational speech on the power of resilience, and how success comes from taking the hits and getting back up until you achieve your goal.

4 – Kurt Russel in Miracle – You Were Born for This

Kurt Russel’s character is speaking to the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team in the locker room before they take on the highly favorited Russians.

His speech is a great message about how the odds of success don’t matter. If you only believe you can succeed when the odds are in your favor, then you really don’t believe in yourself at all.

5 – Mel Gibson in Braveheart – They Will Never Take Our Freedom

Mel Gibson’s character rallies his troops before heading into battle against a much bigger army.

This speech is one of the most popular motivational movie speeches of all time because makes people think about how they are failing to fight for their own freedom in their lives.

How to Start a Motivational Speech: Final Thoughts

Now that you are armed with the firepower and secrets for instantly capturing your audience, don’t forget that the real challenge is how to keep their attention throughout your time on stage!

Capture their attention and inspire them to do things they never thought possible without using anything but your words. That is the true superpower you can have if you learn the secrets to inspiring others to take action .

Knowing how to start a motivational speech is just the first step towards being an effective motivational speaker. Stay tuned to the Titanium Success blog to learn how to select a good topic for your speech and how to conclude your speech so your audience remembers you.

As a business coach and CEO advisor , one of the things I help my clients with is establishing themselves as experts in their industries. I teach you how to use educational content to build trust and generate opportunities to speak within your industry. Schedule a consultation with me if you want an advisor to help you become a magnetic speaker.

This video below shows me in action as a motivational speaker. If you want to book me as a motivational speaker, check out this page .

If you have any questions about how to start a motivational speech, leave them in the comments. I will answer as soon as I can.

Comments (7)

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I am going to be the number one meditation speaker in the world

I am a long distance runner and walker for 50 years. it is about time I start telling people what I know and how to succeed in life and sport. I am also a Christian and have talked to groups of men. I live in the Central West of New South Wales. it would be good if someone could help me get started.

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How to Give an Inspirational Speech in 5 Minutes or Less

Is it possible to motivate your team in under five minutes? Yes! People are more distracted than ever today, and they need short bits of inspiration to keep them focused. The biggest challenge most leaders have is they speak for too long, and the audience gets bored or distracted. 

Studies show   attention is highest in the first ten minutes of a speech and decreases steadily after that point. Some of the best motivational speeches in history( Gettysburg address,  Winston Churchill  ) have been less than twenty minutes.

A leader's best way to motivate others is to give regular short motivational speeches.

An Inspirational Speech in Five Minutes or Less

A motivational speech is a collection of small snippets of inspiration that can be taken apart and delivered on their own. The best motivational speeches are short so that the ideas are memorable.  The most strong statements are those that don't conjure up the traditional image of 'speech' but, instead, take the audience on an enjoyable journey from one thought to the next.

Here are some tips to construct a quick and timely motivational speech:

OPEN. Get their attention. Keynote speakers know you have   10 seconds or less   to get people's attention. Don't smother the group with facts and information. Open with some drama and create some excitement:

Say something startling or provocative. 

Use relevant, timely information.

Share a short, funny, motivational story that links to the goal of your motivational speech.

Decide what needs to be said and what doesn't . Something most people overlook, people will only remember a few points from your speech.  Don't overwhelm people with too much information, especially technical information that requires study and deliberation to understand. Decide what your primary goal is (what you want to motivate people to do), then focus and simplify your message around this.

Close with impact . To end an inspirational speech, quickly sum up your points and leave the audience with an inspirational and uplifting message. Every motivational speech should give people hope, a feeling that things are progressing, and that their efforts are making a difference.

Delivery.  An inspirational speech is part content and part delivery. I believe delivery is even more important than information. Content has become a commodity easily accessible through Google. People can get information quickly online, why should they listen to you? 

 Your ability to deliver the message with charisma will make your inspirational speech impactful.

Prepare . Don't wing it or read a script. Looking effortless requires effort.

When giving an inspirational speech, focus on increasing your energy level, pausing after important points and speak  to  the audience, not at them.

Capture People's Attention with Humor,  funny motivational speakers  Lecture, Say Hello to Humor and Goodbye to Burnout!

Topics: inspirational speech , funny motivational speeches , funny motivational speakers

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