Have you ever noticed that after watching an inspirational video or film, your motivation to start realizing your goals and plans increases significantly. The effect of motivational speech on intrinsic (or inner) individual motivation) is supported by research conducted by Nasarullah and Anjum (2024). You can produce such an effect through learning how to write a motivational speech using these simple steps with an example.

Table of Contents

• Feel the Mood of Your Audience if You Want to Learn how to Write a Motivational Speech
• Engage the Audience with a Strong Hook
• Use the Power of Storytelling with Positive Language
• Write a Motivational Speech Based on the Example Below
• Create a Compelling Ending
• Examples of Simple and Actionable Motivational Speeches

1. Feel the Mood of Your Audience if You Want to Learn how to Write a Motivational Speech

You should adjust your speech to a specific audience. If you deliver it to college students, think what they may anticipate from your speech: maybe, recommendations how to start a career or how to become motivated to study more.

Questions to consider when adapting the speech to the audience:

• What challenges may the audience experience at their age? (Consider audience age groups and psychological needs)
• What resources do they have at their disposal to address these challenges?
• How can you inspire them to use these resources to solve challenges?
• What positive and motivating language can you use for inspiration?
• Are there any didactic stories or analogies that you can draw?

CHALLENGES – RESOURCES – INSPIRATION – POSITIVE AND MOTIVATING LANGUAGE – DIDACTIC STORIES AND ANALOGIES

Focus on such psychological needs as autonomy for the youth, recognition for adults, and belonging for the elderly – conduct further research on psychological needs of different groups.

2. Engage the Audience with a Strong Hook

Start your speech with a strong message that can address needs of the audience. You can do this through:

• Citing an interesting quote
• Presenting a related fact
• Telling a didactic story
• Drawing an analogy between the situation of the audience and a personal story or abstract concepts
• Appealing to emotions and psychological needs

Considering the research by Nasarullah and Anjum (2024), you can engage the audience through using concepts of self-determination theory, namely, autonomy (personal decision or choice), competence (resources and knowledge that the audience possess), and relatedness (unity, attachment, and association with a certain group).

3. Use the Power of Storytelling with Positive Language

The next step is to create and retell the story of overcoming challenges and struggling to show that the audience can achieve their goals despite difficulties. The key characteristics of storytelling:

• A real story
• Success on overcoming challenges
• Imagine that the result has already been achieved
• Emphasize that something is better than the audience perceives (“they know more than they think, the audience can achieve more,” etc.)

Overall, if you want to learn how to write a motivational speech, you should SHOW WHAT the AUDIENCE CAN ACHIEVE or MAKE THEM BELIEVE IT IS POSSIBLE.

Positive and motivating language is important:

• Fell what the audience may feel (be empathetic)
• Give the audience autonomy to choose a direction
• Emphasize the meaning of choice in their life
• Never say that something is never achievable
• Positive language is about saying “Yes, you can” instead of “No, it is impossible.”

4. Write a Motivational Speech Based on the Example Below

Follow a simple structure to learn how to write a motivational speech:

• Invitation
• Personal or didactic story
• Empathy for audience’s challenges
• Positive thinking and outcomes
• Call to action (the audience can do more than they think they are capable of doing
• Follow the structure of INTEREST – RELATEDNESS – MOTIVATION – VALUE

5. Create a Compelling Ending

End your motivational speech with a motivational message that you audience can achieve the goal or overcome challenges. Draw comparison to he personal story or analogy. Create a compelling call to action.

6. Examples of Simple and Actionable Motivational Speeches

Example of a Made-up MOTIVATIONAL Speech

You are stronger that it may seem. [Storytelling] Once I noticed a dove flying over a neighboring yard with a dog chasing for it. The dove noticed porridge leftovers the dog has left. It was so scared to approach and take this food, but finally, it became brave enough, noticing the dog was in the opposite part of the garden. The dove landed over the porridge and treated itself with it.

You can be as brave and free as this pigeon or as limited within the yard as the dog. The choice depends upon you. The difference lies in your belief. Do no question your abilities.

You are stronger than you imagine. You can be a brave dove with freedom, but limited food resources, or a dog with strength, but limited freedom. The choice depends upon you.

Historical Speech Example

An important message in the speech by Wallace (2005) delivered to college students is as follows:

“…the really significant education in thinking that we’re supposed to get in a place like this isn’t really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about” (Wallace, 2005).

This speech is a great example of motivational speeches because it presents a didactic story, draws an analogy with “this is water,” uses positive language, and presents a motivational ending “I wish you way more than luck.”

Recommendation: read more motivational speeches of famous people to learn common patterns and create your own motivational speech. Always appeal to emotions.

Takeaways

• Start with a hook in the form of a compelling personal or didactic story, fact, or an analogy
• Develop the story further in your speech
• Appeal to emotions
• Use positive and motivating language (say “yes” to your story)
• Read speeches of famous people to learn from them
• Create a motivational ending
• Deliver your speech in the most sincere and open way
• Support your facts with research, appeal to emotion, and emphasize your authority

References

Nasarullah, A., & Anjum, A. (2024). Impact of motivational speech on psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation of young adults. Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, 5(3), 410-423. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385156732_Impact_of_Motivational_Speech_on_Psychological_Need_Satisfaction_and_Intrinsic_Motivation_of_Young_Adults

Wallace, D. F. (2005). This is water by David Foster Wallace (full transcript and audio). Farnam Street Media. https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/