Every time you speak, you’re not just informing — you’re persuading, nudging, inspiring – changing the audience, changing the world. So whether you like the title or not, you are a motivational speaker.

Now, motivational speakers sometimes get a bad name for capitalizing on a handicap or a life trauma – and for shaming their audiences into change. But strip away the stereotypes, and what remains is this: every meaningful talk is about movement. It’s about helping people see something new, feel something deeper, or do something differently. That’s motivation. Without it, a speech won’t change the world – it will be instantly forgotten.

So, how do you actually motivate people to move into action — especially when you’ve only got a short time to do it?

Too often, speakers spend their preparation thinking about themselves: their stories, their slides, their content. That’s a natural instinct — but it’s a mistake. The audience is the hero of the moment, not the speaker. And when speakers forget that, they risk delivering a talk that vanishes as soon as people walk out the door.

That’s not just a missed opportunity — it’s expensive. Getting a room full of professionals together takes time, energy, and money. And if the outcome is a forgettable 45 minutes, what was the point?

If you talk to conference-goers — as I often do — you’ll hear a familiar refrain: “If I leave with just one good idea, it was worth it.”  I appreciate the optimism, but that kind of lowered expectation should worry us. It suggests that most speeches don’t stick. They don’t shift thinking, stir action, or light any lasting fires.

So how do we do better?

Motivation comes in two forms — and we need both. The first is the pull of a compelling goal. That’s what grabs our attention. It’s the future vision that feels exciting, possible, and personal. It might be a picture of ourselves ten pounds lighter, a team working in harmony, or a business thriving in a new market. It says, “Look what could be.”

But that’s only half the equation. Humans are wired for comfort. We hesitate. We backslide. That’s where the second form comes in: the push of consequence. If the goal is the carrot, this is the stick. It’s the reminder of what happens if we don’t act — what we might miss out on, or regret.

Want to lose weight? Sure — picture yourself fit and radiant. But also imagine staying stuck, struggling with your health, and feeling disappointed every morning you look in the mirror. We need both visions — the future we want and the future we want to avoid — to create real change.

As a speaker, your job is to illuminate both scenarios. Give your audience a reason to reach — and a reason not to stay where they are. The positive lights the fire; the negative keeps it burning.

No matter your style or subject, when you understand the two sides of motivation, you unlock something powerful. You don’t just deliver a message — you create movement.

So yes, you are a motivational speaker. And that’s not a punchline. It’s a responsibility — and an opportunity — to change lives, one audience at a time.