We’ve all been there. Sitting in a stadium or other large venue, listening to a speaker that captivates the crowd. Their words pierce the air, and their call to action is so powerful that hundreds or thousands of people rise to their feet, and move forward. Whether it’s a passionate preacher, a compelling leader, or someone that can tell you how to pull up your bootstraps and change your life, the true motivational speaker will leave you a changed person when you leave the event.
I’ve often dreamed about being that person. The bright lights, the thousands of faces, the powerful words, the life changing material… and more than anything else… the voice of someone who comes up after the event and says their life has been changed for the better. That they were able to overcome and charge on.
Then I wake up and realize that that huge venue won’t just happen. That the crowd I’ll likely be motivating will be my local Rotary or Kiwanis club. That the 15 people in the audience will want me to do something for them. Just like the crowd in a stadium or conference hall. They have come to the event with expectations in mind. They are sitting at apt attention. The audience wants me to…
Solve their problems.
If I can give them solutions, I’ve done my job.
If they leave with answers, they can do something that may change their lives.
Because with answers, they can take ACTION.
And action produces RESULTS.
I had a chance to hear two of the best speakers in the world last week. Darren LaCroix and Ed Tate were previous winners of the Toastmasters World Championship of Speaking. Over 225,000 people compete each year and only one person makes it to the top. Ed did it in 2000 and Darren did it in 2001.
To hear these guys speak was a real treat, but their material was amazing. One thing they shared was called the P.A.R. method of motivational speaking. It’s actually rather simple
1. Identify a PROBLEM
2. Call your audience to ACTION
3. Help your audience receive the RESULTS they are looking for.
To become a motivational speaker, you just need to identify the three things..
What problem is your audience facing?
What action do they need to take to solve the problem?
What results can they expect when they take action?
Ed came up with a great way to visualize the situation. He called it the CSI method. If you have ever watched any version of CSI you know that they always begin with the crime scene. It is usually covered in vivid detail. The investigators examine it in great detail, leaving no clues unturned.Then they take action to find the perpetrators and then they find a solution.
What you need to do is visualize the Problem Scene. What problems are your audience members facing… identify the pain… identify the struggle… get all the details
It might be…
- The loss of a job
- A foreclosure
- Not making enough money to pay the bills
- a computer that doesn’t work
- learning how to use social media
Then find an action plan that provides a solution. You want to come up with a workable methodology such as…
- A seminar
- a book
- a workshop
- a webinar
- CD’s or DVD’s
Then you just need to provide tangible results from your program such as…
- New career
- Get out of debt
- Make extra income
- Learn how to use a new tool
- Retire early
To help you get started on your motivational career, I’ve put together a simple P.A.R. worksheet. In the first column write down the problems, in the second, suggested actions, and in the third, the results that your audience can expect.
If you are a speaker, why not download the sheet and get started.
Fill out the sheet with the problem, the action, and the suggested results.
Later in the week, I’ll show you how to find an audience for your solutions.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a history lesson in How To Become a Motivational Speaker, Part 2.
Question: What problems do you have unique solutions for?
