GREAT MANAGEMENT, great communication, great speakers – they all have something vital in common.

They all have clear aims and clear messages, they convey them precisely and they take people with them.

The positive effects of a great speech on your workforce are potentially almost infinite. 

What’s important is that you know up front what you want to achieve with the words you’re delivering or the speaker you’re booking. Then the speech can be targeted correctly and the desired outcome very specifically sought. 

To inspire a workforce

NMP Live speaker bureau and celebrity booking agents has vast experience of the reasons motivational speakers are often brought in by organisations.

It points to bookings made by organisations embarking on a programme of change, looking to improve performance, experiencing turbulent times “or simply looking to boost morale and motivation.” Certainly, speeches in the workplace are often made at times of crisis, change, celebration or reflection.

A speech, either by someone internally or by an external source, is a huge opportunity to inspire a workforce. The right words, delivered in the right way can inspire change, loyalty, belief and innovation.

Remember that as with any communication, a poorly considered message can also very easily have the opposite effect to the one intended. 

As Theresa May can testify speeches can go disastrously wrong. Her 2017 Conservative party conference speech, during which she was interrupted by a prankster, suffered coughing fits and saw the backdrop behind her falling apart, will long be referred to as one of the most cringeworthy of all time.

Time spent reflecting on what needs to be conveyed and how it is being conveyed is time well spent. 

To generate teamwork

A great speech delivered by someone who is well informed, respected or has achieved something amazing can inspire teamwork like nothing else. The key to a great speaker and therefore a great speech is quite often the ‘been there and done that’ element.

The story or speech doesn’t necessarily need to be directly linked to the task the audience will be working together on, but the message needs to be relatable. An explorer who has achieved great feats can inspire teamwork in factory workers. A sports star can inspire teamwork in office workers. It’s the message and the way it is delivered that matters.

To boost confidence

A speech can promote and inspire confidence in a workforce either to press on with a goal, innovate for change or follow through on their ideas.

A great speech is a powerful opportunity to convey the ethos and culture of your business to your workforce and let them know in what ways they can feel empowered.

Hearing examples of how someone else has done something, overcome adversity or fought back from perceived failure can all promote confidence in others to do the same.

To boost performance

A happy workforce is a productive workforce and improving culture, involvement and general wellbeing in the workplace can have a big impact on output.

Investing in your workforce by bringing in someone who can inspire with their words and share messages from their lives will make your team feel valued and can inspire change in outlook and strategies.

The right speaker can challenge perceptions and standard practices to motivate better ways of doing things.

To offer different perspectives

One of the amazing things a speaker can do is to offer a different perspective on an established problem or pattern.

If you can find a speaker who has faced a relatable situation or issue and overcome it, hearing about the process of what they did may just light a spark within your team. Whilst the situation may be different, hearing about the method of problem solving followed by someone else can lead to solutions and out-of-the-box thinking.

To engender better understanding

Ultimately a great speech can invoke better understanding in a workforce – better understanding of themselves, their capabilities, their role, their organisation and the world around them.

The nonprofit organisation devoted to spreading ideas through short talks, TED, summarises the power of speeches perfectly with its mission statement. “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world,” it says.