As an event planner for over 15 years, I know the importance of finding a good motivational speaker for a conference. The performance of that speaker can make or break an event and weigh heavily on whether or not the client thinks the event was successful or not.
Over the years there have been motivational speakers who were only able to motivate the audience to nap, and others that thought yelling equated to motivating. There were those that were funny but not overly motivational and those that were serious, dry and left the audience wanting some excitement.
Fortunately, you learn from your mistakes and you start to realize that taking a little extra time to research and learn about a motivational speaker will help things go much more smoothly.
Fifteen years ago when I started in this business there was no Internet to speak of. Or at least if there was, I was not aware of it. You relied on word of mouth and hoped for the best. As the Internet gained in popularity my industry changed. We are now able to see photos, videos, reviews and commentary. There is no excuse for not doing our homework.
When I am considering a motivational speaker for an event the first thing I do is consider my audience and what type of person will they respond most to. Typically people respond best to someone who is engaging, polished, funny, and entertaining. It may sound like a tall order, but it is not.
I typically go to YouTube and search for motivational speakers and watch video clips. When I find the names of speakers I go to their websites and try to find more information, photos and video clips. While I watch the video clips I try to notice what the audience is doing. If I see an audience that is engaged then I know I have found a good motivational speaker.
From there I do some more homework and try to find out what organizations the speaker has worked with, ask for referrals and do Google and Yahoo searches for there name to find out more information. I do my homework so I can be confident that I am choosing the right motivational speaker.