You want to inspire your team with a motivational speech. What are some new trends you should consider?

You should always start with the end in mind! The clearer that you are about the purpose of the message that you want to convey, the more focused your message will be. Anything that does not contribute to the purpose of your speech needs to go. Another thing that you have to consider is what kind of emotions do you want to leave in the audience after your speech. It is these emotions that have the greatest power to move people to action. You must be able to write down your purpose in 1-2 sentences, period. If you are unable to do so, it means that your purpose is not clear enough in your own mind. And if it’s not clear to you, how can you expect it to be clear to your audience?

1. Embrace change: Emphasize the constant evolution of your field and the team's ability to thrive in it. 2. Personalize: Share stories of individual and team achievements to connect and inspire. 3. Interactive elements: Encourage participation through polls, questions, or even games for better engagement. 4. Visuals: Use compelling slides, images, or videos to enhance the message and appeal. 5. Focus on purpose: Connect daily tasks to the team's broader purpose and impact to spark deeper motivation. 6. Celebrate diversity: Encourage open communication and value different perspectives for collective growth. 7. Micro-learning: Deliver short, impactful messages in multiple formats. 8. Transparency and feedback: Broadcast honest feedback.

Digital Engagement: Incorporate interactive digital elements like live polls, virtual Q&A sessions, or multimedia presentations to enhance engagement and connectivity. Wellness and Mindfulness: Integrate themes of wellness and mindfulness into your motivational speech, addressing the team's holistic well-being and resilience. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Embrace the trend of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in your speech, emphasizing the strength that comes from embracing diverse perspectives within the team.

Plain vanilla motivation does not last for too long. It fizzles out but still motivation is important but not standalone. I will use stories from the work place as well as mine to convey the message. For example, If I am addressing the Sales team that is finding it difficult to convert meetings into business, I will use my stories and experiences and how I managed. The relatability is very important. At the end of the session they should have few take aways and action points that would help them. And finally I would also touch upon what is in it for them.

Storytelling is the easiest way to get information into people’s minds. The reasons being that: 1. Stories are easy to follow. They follow a natural logical order i.e. start, middle, end 2. Your audience will mentally put themselves into your story as you take them along on your journey 3. Stories help you to “preach” to the audience indirectly, without actually preaching to them. If done/used correctly, your speeches will create powerful, long lasting emotional bonds between you and your audience.

Humor is always a big bonus for any speech! The only time that I do not recommend using it, is at the very beginning of your speech (If you are not a gifted/trained comedian). The reason being that if people do not laugh at your opening joke, you will loose their respect and esteem for you immediately and you will struggle to regain it for the rest of your speech. After the opening you can feel free to use it. Humor is powerful because the height of a human being’s concentration comes just after they have laughed! It is also like a muscle. The more you use it, the better you will become. Humor does not have to be heavy either, with people rolling on the floor with laughter. A few light jokes/moments here and there is also perfect.

The human mind thinks in terms of pictures, not words, numbers or statistics. The more that you use visuals the more easier it will be for your audience to follow along with what you are saying. Also as the saying goes “A picture speaks a thousand words…”

In delivering motivational speech, it's crucial to involve the audience by asking questions, seeking feedback, inviting participation, and conducting polls. Utilizing pauses, eye contact, gestures, and vocal variety enhances engagement and connection, making the message more impactful and memorable. These trends create a collaborative and interactive atmosphere, fostering a deeper connection between the speaker and the audience, ultimately inspiring motivating the team.