Munch’s “The Scream” (via wikipedia)
In self-defence, before I start, let me make it clear I’m not saying all motivational speakers are a waste of time. I’ve seen some great ones – recently! So I’m not saying the whole niche is full or jokers. Nope, not at all. Far from it. There are some great motivational speakers doing some great motivation. Honestly. I’m not just saying this to stop them trying to sue me. Nope. Not at all! 
Clear? Great!
I’m talking about the others. The ones that, well… who fit the descriptions below…
Am I talking about you? Well if you’re offended, I probably am!
So what’s the problem? Well, as I see it there are a few risks that too many motivational speakers fall afoul of. Let me run through them and see what you think.
Problem One – No story
C’mon, admit it, you’ve met them too – they don’t know what they want to do with their lives or, more often, they know they want to be a speaker… but… they don’t have anything to say or they don’t know what to speak about. Without a topic, without an area of expertise, without the experience a professional speaker needs, they pick what looks like the easiest topic.
“I’m a motivational speaker.” is easy to say – but hard to do.
So what we end up with are people who are speakers because they want to speak – but not with much to say.
Solution one – Walk out on them.
Problem Two – Too much story
What do I mean by that?
I’ve seen a lot of (so called?) motivational speakers who have a very personal story to tell. Sometimes those stories are stunning, simply stunning. And very personal.
Unfortunately sometimes one gets the feeling that their speaking is cathartic; it’s part of their process of coming to terms with what they’ve experienced.
As an audience member you’ve got to ask yourself “What’s in this for me? What am I getting out of this? What’s my take-away?” If what you’re getting out of it is a feeling of how hard it must have been for the speaker – and only that – you’re being spoken to by someone who’s using you as an unpaid therapist. I’ve even heard of speakers collapsing in tears on stage as they struggled to deal with their story.
Would I pay money to see actors who can cry if the part they are playing needs it? Yes I would. Would I pay money to see speakers who need to cry because they need it? Not twice, no!
Solution two – charge them for their therapy.
Problem three – No tools for the audience
So what do we do if the motivational speaker in front of you is successful and makes you motivated? You rush out of their presentations wanting to do something, right? Right.
But what?
No idea. If all you’ve got is an urge to do something, you’ve got nothing. You need focus, you need tools. Without those, all the motivational speaker has done is fire you up with no place to go.
And without knowing what to do, all that energy is wasted. So you can’t use it. So you can’t make the changes you feel you need to make. So it all goes wrong. So… so what…?
So the motivational speaker has let you down, that’s what.
Would you go to a doctor who repeatedly told you the diagnosis but who nothing about how to treat you? Would you go to a dentist who could tell you why you had toothache but who didn’t have the tools to repair the hole in your tooth? Would you take your car to a mechanic who said “Your brakes don’t work but I don’t know how to fix them?”
Solution three – Get some tools!
Problem four – No variation
Let’s face it, if all you’ve got is your life story, you’re a one trick pony.
And how easy is it for you, as a motivational speaker, to modify what you say for different audiences?
Tricky? Yeah, I thought so.