How to Give a Motivational Speech

¶ … motivation speech? Every individual needs at least once in their life a source of motivation and inspiration. The role of a motivational speech is that to inspire and to create a motivation in people's actions and reactions. It should influence them and provide them with food for thought in their future activities. This is why it is important that the speech be a well thought of structure and take into account several key elements. A speech that is given at graduation is a good example in this sense.

This type of speech needs to inspire and impact the current and future courses of action for the students that finish a school cycle and must provide the necessary elements for this motivation to be strong enough to influence. There are several steps in considering a motivational speech. The first and perhaps the most important one is to have a good view on the audience the speech is aimed at (Swanson, 2014).

This is not simply an aspect that is directed for a motivational speech but rather one which needs to be considered in any type of communication. However, for instance, in writing literature, a public chooses the piece of writing, and that becomes a targeted audience for future references of the genre. In other means of expression such as television or media, however, the tendency is to know the public and the targeted audience and tailor the message in order to address that audience.

It is the same thing with motivational speeches. However, in this case, given that the speech has a precise role, that of motivation and therefore of influencing rather than simply transmitting a message, the targeted audience needs to be identified with precision in order to create a message that would appeal to their main characteristics and concerns. In the case of a graduation speech, the audiences are young adults, on their verge of taking on an adult life, with responsibilities and choices ahead.

Another step in creating a motivational speech is to understand the reason for such a speech. The rational behind the motivation is crucial because it establishes the motivational approach. This is to say that depending on the occasion, the reasons for a motivational speech are different.

In the case of the graduation speech, the motivation needs to focus on the way in which graduates take the new opportunities and make the best of them; the speech needs to inspire them into benefiting from the studies and knowledge they accumulated and use it in building a happy life. Another key aspect in a motivational speech is the personal touch one needs to set to it.

In general people tend to disregard friends' advice or even similar stories particular because they are not tailored to the specific concerns that they have regarding their personal issues. However, in a motivational speech, the speaker can add a personal touch to the ideas set out that are to a certain extent rather general. This personal touch can be a personal story, a similar situation, or simply a personal account of the life the speaker envisages after graduation, in this case.

This allows the audience to relate to the speaker and to see the speech set in a reality situation. At the same time though, the speech must also contain elements on which the audience can fall back on. That is to say that given the role.