Types of Speeches: The Inspirational Speech

The purpose of an inspirational speech is to inspire and uplift your audience. It is very similar to the motivational speech, which I covered earlier in this series, but has a slightly different intent.

Types of Speeches: The Inspirational Speech

If you decide to become a professional speaker or use speaking as an integral part of your marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the various types of speeches you might be asked to give. In this series of posts, I’ll give you the basics of a variety of types of presentations you can prepare. At the end of this post, I’ve listed previous articles in this series.

An inspirational speech doesn’t need the audience to take action. Its intention is to create an uplifting emotional experience that leaves the audience feeling inspired. The goal of a motivational speech is to motivate an audience to take a specific action, usually in regard to personal or professional growth.

How to inspire

There are several techniques you can use to inspire your audience. Here are just a few. You don’t necessarily want to use all of them at once, just keep them in mind as you develop your inspirational speech.

  • Give them hope
    Hope is a very powerful emotion … one that can keep people going even during the darkest of times. If you can evoke this emotion with your stories or information, you can inspire an audience to “hang in there.”
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  • Stand in your power
    You cannot inspire your audience if you don’t come across as confident. People are inspired by leaders and leaders are confident. Be aware of the subtle messages your body is sending … work on maintaining a confident, self-assured posture and use gestures that show authority, while still conveying compassion.
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  • Believe in your message
    Audiences can tell a fraud when they hear one. Your inspirational message must come from your heart and be fueled by your passion. If your message does not inspire you, how can you expect it to inspire your audience?

Resources for developing your inspirational speech:

Did you miss these?

Here are the previous posts in this “Type of Speeches” series:

The next post in this series is The Q & A.

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About the author

Carma Spence, is author of Public Speaking Super Powers. She is fiercely committed to guiding women to Owning their Superpowers and turning their knowledge and interests into a profitable business. She is masterful at helping her clients see what is possible for them and supporting them on the journey from where they are to where they want to be, releasing the Mind Goblins of self-doubt, self-sabotage and second-guessing that keep them stuck.

With 20+ years experience in marketing communications and public relations, natural intuitive skills and certification in using some of the most effective transformational coaching tools available, Carma’s mission and commitment is to unleash the inner power every woman entrepreneur possesses so they can boldly go out into the world, transforming the fabric of people’s lives in meaningful and positive ways.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Her website is CarmaSpence.com.