When hiring a motivational keynote speaker, your goal is the motivation of your audience. You want a professional speaker who kicks off your event in the best possible way, of course. But the long-term goal is one of transformational growth.
Consider the data. Statistics on workplace engagement show motivated employees are more engaged, while “low engagement teams endure turnover rates that are 18% to 43% higher” than their highly engaged counterparts, according to Gallup. Above all else, motivational keynote speakers enhance that engagement and increase the sense of purpose among your audience. That means activating deep, personal engagement not only during your corporate event, but for years to come.
But is it worth it to hire a motivational speaker? To answer that question, we’ll look at the role they play, the types of motivational speakers available and when (and how!) to book one.
What is a motivational keynote speaker?
A keynote speaker does more than kick off your event. Like a musician or singer in a troupe, they set the key or tone of your conference, convention or virtual event. Unlike a guest speaker who may dig into the nitty-gritty of highly specialized topics, a professional keynote speaker provides an overarching message.
This ability to introduce and frame the theme of your event in a message that uplifts the audience makes motivational speakers especially valuable as keynote speakers. Like the opening theme of a great movie, they excite and invigorate everyone in attendance. They open minds through wisdom, performance and humor, preparing your audience to receive more information.
What kinds of motivational speakers are there?
As with any profession, motivational speakers develop areas of expertise. This expertise includes learning and training, but it goes beyond that. They often develop wisdom based on deeply personal, transformational experiences, which may include anything from personal tragedy to intense military training and service. Additionally, backgrounds in overcoming poverty, severe health issues and even abuse often play an equally important role in their motivational keynote speeches by providing deeply personal and emotional narratives.
Just a few of the many types of popular motivational keynote speakers include:
Women’s leadership
Cultivating women’s leadership within your organization makes bottom-line sense, and women’s leadership keynote speakers such as Suzy Batiz bring out the best in your female workforce. Drawing from their personal experiences of working and fighting for success, women’s leadership motivational speakers encourage your leaders of tomorrow.
Self-care and well-being
Motivational speakers with specializations in self-care and well-being understand human performance. That is, we cannot perform optimally when we don’t care for ourselves—without care, we break down. Motivational speakers such as Karen M. Allen and Shawn Achor open your event with motivational messages of finding happiness in ourselves and in our work.
Health and fitness
Getting motivated to eat well and stay healthy may be one of life’s most difficult challenges. It’s also one of the most important. Fitness makes us feel and perform better in every area of our lives. Keynote speakers specializing in nutrition and health have the knowledge of what it takes to take your team to the next level. Nutrition experts such as Mo Brossette and Trent Shelton do more than deliver motivation to stay fit. They provide high-impact changes in mindset and lifestyle that amplify teamwork.
Personal development
Resilience, creativity and communication skills each involve—in fact, require—personal development. High-demand keynote speakers such as Jay Shetty and Anne Grady embody the importance of that development. Their messages of continual growth in the face of adversity drive audiences to become better, stronger people, which in turn creates a happier, more productive work culture. Suitable for nearly any live or virtual event, personal development speakers stimulate your audience to learn more while cultivating maximum engagement.
Motivational keynote speakers have other specialties, too. Sports, sales, real estate and financial speakers—among others—can each meaningfully help you kick off your event with humor, deep truths and excitement.
When should I book a motivational speaker?
We are all familiar with keynote speakers kicking off live, in-person conferences, conventions and corporate celebrations such as groundbreakings or product kick-off events. But motivational keynote speakers assist with virtual events such as client product education programs and prospective sales outreach events, too. Just as a keynote speaker kicks off your live event in a booked convention area, they serve the same important purpose for your virtual event. And with the popularity of hybrid events, some speakers may appear from remote locations to tie together multiple, regionally-based events.
Whatever your needs, the most important aspect is that you research and book your motivational keynote speaker in advance. We recommend starting the process up to a year in advance and—when possible—no later than six months prior to your event. This guarantees choices for access to your preferred professional keynote speaker.
Is it worth it to hire a motivational keynote speaker?
Booking a motivational speaker absolutely adds value to your event. Yes, their keynote addresses are uplifting in and of themselves. Yes, they provide emotional impact and add critical takeaways. But just as importantly, they make your ensuing presentations more memorable by providing an overarching context. Professional keynote speakers open your audience’s minds, better enabling them to receive important messages throughout your event.
From there, your decision to book a motivational speaker is one of cost-benefit analysis. We have provided data on the price of professional keynote speakers and the cost of virtual speakers specifically for a deeper dive. In either case, the most important thing you can do to get started is to work with a reputable booking agency such as The Success Speakers Bureau. That way, you are not only assured of a wide choice of keynote speaker experts, but you will also save on your time-benefit analysis, too. That’s because SUCCESS will handle all of the booking details and arrangements for you.
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