It’s possible that you were invited to an event where professionals would talk about a certain subject. If the mic comes around for you, you should have a list of questions ready to ask the guest speaker so that you make the most of the chance. These questions should be based on the content of the speech and those of interest to the speaker.
Asking questions is a normal part of any extended conversation in your personal and professional life. It is the pathway to real information on a given topic. Asking the right questions is an important skill to have whether you are trying to solve a problem, build a better working relationship, shape your vision, or negotiate.
So you have an interview coming up for a motivational speaking role Congratulations, that’s exciting! As you gear up for your big day, it’s crucial to anticipate and prepare for the types of questions you’re likely to encounter
Motivational speaking is a highly competitive field. To stand out from the pack, you’ll need to demonstrate your skills not just as an inspiring public speaker, but also as a thoughtful listener and strategic thinker
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore 18 common motivational speaker interview questions, along with sample responses and tips to help you shine. Let’s dive in!
Why Do You Want to Be a Motivational Speaker?
This question gets to the heart of your motivations. Interviewers want to know what drives your passion for this work. Be honest about the experiences and values that led you here. Share any pivotal moments that made you realize your calling to inspire others.
Example response:
“I’ve always loved the power of words and stories to change mindsets. Early on, I recognized my ability to motivate and uplift others through speaking. My own journey to overcome adversity showed me how crucial mentors and motivational voices can be. I want to pay that guidance forward by empowering people through my speeches.”
How Do You Keep Your Speeches Fresh and Engaging?
It’s easy for speeches to become stale and repetitive over time. Interviewers will want to know how you plan to keep your content dynamic and relevant. Share ways you tailor your messaging, incorporate interactive elements, and stay on top of current issues.
Example response:
“I always customize my speeches based on each audience and event. Before every talk, I conduct in-depth research to understand the group’s demographics, challenges, and goals. This allows me to target their needs with relevant stories and actionable takeaways. I also regularly survey groups post-speech to see what resonated and tailor accordingly. Interactivity, multimedia, and timely references also help keep things fresh.”
What Are Some of Your Greatest Strengths as a Public Speaker?
This is your chance to highlight your top skills. Share attributes like storytelling, humor, audience connection, body language, vocal variety, and memorability. Provide real examples of how you’ve leveraged these strengths in speeches.
Example response:
“I believe some of my greatest assets as a public speaker are my relatability, memorable storytelling, and energy. I excel at forging genuine connections with diverse audiences through humor and personal anecdotes. For example, during a recent corporate speech, I wove in stories from my early career struggles, which resonated strongly with the entry-level hires in attendance.”
How Do You Handle a Low-Energy or Disruptive Audience?
Things don’t always go as planned during speeches. Audiences may seem disengaged or disruptive at times. Interviewers want to know how you’ll diagnose issues in the moment and get the crowd re-focused. Share strategies like adjusting your delivery, incorporating interaction, and leveraging humor when appropriate.
Example response:
“If I sense low energy in a room, I’ll first check if my content or style needs adjusting. Sometimes pausing and asking for a show of hands or reactions can re-engage people. Humor always helps too. For disruptions, I may directly but politely ask the individual to stop. As a last resort, I’ll involve event staff. The key is not letting the flow of your speech get thrown off.”
What Is Your Process for Preparing a Motivational Speech?
Expect interviewers to probe how you go from blank page to polished speech. Walk them through your tried-and-tested process. Be sure to highlight critical preparation strategies like researching your audience, establishing objectives, crafting an outline, rehearsing extensively, and soliciting feedback.
Example response:
“My speech prep starts with deeply understanding the audience and their needs to shape a relevant core message. I conduct interviews and surveys to inform my content shaping. From there, I build my speech outline, weaving in impactful stories and memorable hooks. Rehearsals and revisions come next based on feedback. I also prepare contingency content in case I need to adapt my speech on the fly. It’s a rigorous process, but yields highly effective speeches.”
How Do You Typically Structure Your Speeches?
While speeches should always be engaging, they do require strategic structure. Discuss how you go about architecting your speeches to resonate maximally. Share techniques like opening strong, incorporating suspense, balancing takeaways with entertainment, and closing with a memorable call-to-action.
Example response:
“Effective speech structure requires careful planning. I always grab attention right away with a startling statistic or question. From there, I build suspense and interest before diving into meaty takeaways. I space motivational anecdotes and humor throughout to balance informative content. Finally, I end by recapping the core lesson and providing clear action steps, so the audience walks away inspired and empowered.”
What Are Some Challenges You’ve Faced as a Motivational Speaker?
Don’t be afraid to open up about difficulties you’ve experienced on this career path. Interviewers want to see that you’ve navigated real challenges. Most importantly, focus your answer on the lessons learned and how you’ve grown.
Example response:
“Early on, I struggled with performance anxiety. My hands would shake and voice quiver when facing large crowds. However, joining Toastmasters and religiously rehearsing helped me overcome those nerves. I also learned I don’t need to be perfect; connecting genuinely with audiences is what matters most. This experience made me a more confident, authentic speaker.”
Why Should We Hire You Over Other Candidates?
This question puts you on the spot to advocate for yourself and highlight your top differentiators. Don’t be shy—this is your chance to shine! Share your most powerful qualifications and let your passion come through.
Example response:
“Along with my 10+ years experience speaking professionally, I bring true passion for uplifting others through my words. My speeches pack proven, research-backed motivation strategies to drive real action. And above all, I forge genuine connections with audiences through vulnerability and humor. Hire me, and you’ll get a speaker who pours their whole heart into empowering people.”
How Do You Make Your Speeches Memorable and Impactful?
Memorability and impact should be top priorities for any motivational speaker. Discuss techniques you implement like storytelling, humor, personal anecdotes, repetition, and calls-to-action. Highlight real examples of how these strategies have magnified your speech results.
Example response:
“I leverage various techniques to craft speeches that truly resonate with audiences. For example, I incorporate a lot of stories from my own experiences that mirror the listeners’ struggles. This builds an emotional connection. I also create concrete mnemonics and acronyms that reinforce key takeaways for memory retention. Most importantly, I always end with clear action steps to drive measurable impact from my speeches.”
What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses as a Motivational Speaker?
Recruiters love this classic question. Be honest, but keep your weakness minor and share how you’re working to improve it. On strengths, pick 2-3 powerful differentiators and provide examples. Ending on a strength drives home why you’re an excellent candidate.
Example response:
“My biggest weakness early on was relying too much on my slides as a crutch. However, Toastmasters coaching helped me become much more comfortable with prolonged eye contact. A strength I leverage is my ability to hype up any room with high energy—I love getting large crowds laughing, clapping, on their feet. I’m also incredibly perceptive to body language cues, allowing me to adjust my speech pace and tone on the fly.”
How Do You Ensure Your Content Aligns With Organization Values?
Motivational speeches at corporate events should always align with that company’s mission and values. Discuss how you’ll research an organization pre-speech to tailor content accordingly. Share examples of how you’ve successfully aligned past speeches with organizations’ goals.
Example response:
“Before any corporate speech, I thoroughly research that company’s mission, values, goals and culture. From there, I shape my theme and talking points to resonate specifically with their priorities. For example, I recently gave a talk at a tech conference focused on accelerating innovation. So I centered my speech on agility, creativity and digital disruption with relevant examples. This research-based approach consistently yields targeted, value-aligned speeches.”
How Do You Track the Impact of Your Speeches?
Any top-notch speaker should implement metrics for gauging their speech impact over time. Share indicators you track like audience surveys, engagement levels during the speech, discussions sparked, and action steps taken post-event. Being data-driven ensures your speeches hit the mark.
Example response:
“I utilize post-event surveys to assess how much audiences learned and what resonated most. During speeches, I gauge impact through engagement cues like eye contact and head nodding. I also track online discussions after events to see what themes or phrases were most mentioned. Finally
What are good questions to ask a presenter after a presentation?
Finding the right questions to ask a guest speaker is no easy task. Nobody wants to be in a situation where they ask a stupid question and everyone looks down their nose at you. If you don’t know what to say, this list of questions to ask a great speaker can help.
- How did the jobs you had in the past help you get to where you are now?
- What is the biggest risk you have taken?
- What is the worst job decision you ever made?
- What got you interested in this field and kept you going?
- What do you think will happen in the next five years? How has the business changed in the last five years?
- What did you have to give up to get where you are now?
- How long have you worked in this field?
- What helped you get where you are now, and what would you tell someone who wants to go in the same direction?
- Your education or your work experience? Which has helped you more in your career?
- What is the best job decision you ever made?
- What is one useful tip you could give someone who is new to this field?
- What made you different from the other people who applied for the same job?
- Was there a setback in your career that you later saw as a benefit?
- How do you keep your emotions from getting in the way of making hard choices?
- Should you be able to go back in time and change something?
Questions to ask a potential keynote speaker
The role of the keynote speaker is to make speeches that often will define the events theme. If you have shortlisted a few possible keynote speakers for your event, it will be hard to pick the right one. Here is a set of questions you can ask the potential speakers before booking them.
- How will your speech fit in with the vision and strategy of the company?
- How is this speech different from your last?
- Do you enjoy interacting with the crowd? If so, how?
- How long is the perfect speech?
- Do you have content that people will want to read before and after the event?
- What are your speech objectives and learning points?
- How will you make sure that everyone who comes remembers your presentation?
- Have you worked in the industry before?
- Meet the needs of the audience with the right topics, speaking style, and content.
- What preparations will you make to ensure a successful presentation?
- Who are some other keynote speakers whose work you admire?
MOTIVATION Interview Questions & Answers! (How to ANSWER these DIFFICULT Interview Questions!)
What are some open-ended motivational interview questions?
Here are some open-ended motivational interview questions with example answers to help you prepare: 1. Can you tell me how you maintained motivation while doing repetitive work? The STAR method can help you answer questions that relate to your work tasks directly.
Can a motivational speaker do a job interview?
If you’re looking for a job that lets you share your inspiring story with the world, a career as a motivational speaker may be a perfect fit. But before you can start giving speeches and leading workshops, you’ll need to ace a job interview. The best way to prepare for a job interview is to know what to expect.
What is a motivational interview?
Rather than suggesting possible changes, motivational interviewers often try to help their interviewees discover solutions themselves. They do this using questions that help the interviewee evaluate their own work life and what they think could help them resolve their current situation. Related: 12 Motivation Questions To Ask Employees
Why should you ask a motivational speaker a question?
This question can help the interviewer determine how much you know about their industry and whether you have any experience speaking to this type of audience. If you’re applying for a position as a motivational speaker, it’s likely that your audience will be in the same field as you.
