R Michael Anderson has founded, scaled and exited three software companies. Not only that, but they were among the 5,000 fastest growing US companies and voted the best place to work.

With a background in psychology and neuroscience, the former basketball player’s talk centres around three points: how to improve leadership skills, build a high-performing team and create a high-growth business.

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What makes a good motivational speaker?

Get your choice right, and a motivational speaker can inspire, entertain and engage an audience. Choose wisely and you could see the results in profitability, level of service and even happiness at work. Finding the right motivational speakers can engage your staff.

“A good motivational speaker needs to have an interesting story that can connect to the audience,” says Mark Matthews of Champions Speakers. “The speaker needs to be able to engage the audience and speak to the people who are listening.”

A good motivational speaker will also have a clear message that can be taken away from the event.

“Speakers are often remembered for small significant parts of the talk,” Matthews adds. “A single keynote or message that sticks in a person’s mind. Doing a talk is a performance the audience needs to be gripped early on, taken in and ready to go on the journey.”

How to choose the best motivational speaker for your event

When it comes to choosing who to go on that journey with, it helps by identifying your company’s own needs. Perhaps you’re a start-up that is looking to accelerate growth as much as possible. Perhaps building a strong company culture is higher on your agenda at this stage.

“If I was looking to choose a speaker for an event, I would firstly be looking at the audience – what is the genre of people that will be there,” Matthews says. “Choosing a speaker is not a tick box exercise, you have to put the right person in front of the right audience.

“I would then look to see the message of the speaker and make sure that person aligns with the message we want to audience to leave with. The relationship between the speaker and the organisers is very important.”

Motivational speakers cover a diverse range of subjects. As you’ll see in the following slides, there are innovators, investors and even an astronaut. Here are the top 10, whether you’re looking to get motivated for your own business or inspire your team.

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Samantha Clarke’s own business provides coaching into how to manage the impact of technology and happiness at work. Her talks help businesses think more about company culture and work environments that make employees feel productive and supported.

Samantha has worked with a range of clients in the past including Armani, Pizza Hut, Harrods and Shopify.

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Clive Humby OBE and his wife Edwina Dunn are the minds behind Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty scheme.

His success stems from the use of data analysis and customer engagement and his talks include how to maximise customer service and CRM, branding and reputation, digital and online business and loyalty marketing. 

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If anyone knows the power of small, creative businesses, it’s Holly Tucker MBE. The mastermind behind Not On The High Street, Holly reflects on its success, covering topics such as change management, creativity, funding and taking risks.

Holly has also founded Holly & Co, an organisation which supports small businesses, the UK ambassador to creative small businesses and author of Do What You Love, Love What You Do.  

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Piers Linney is recognisable as a former Dragons’ Den investor, but he has also been a non-executive director at the British Business Bank as well as a serial founder.

In 2018 he was named in the top 100 BAME leaders in business list after forging an entrepreneurial journey in the tech and communications sectors. Piers was also named in the Black British Awards 2014, named entrepreneur of the year and featured in the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in Tech, proving success beyond the corporate world.

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Duncan Bannatyne OBE is instantly recognisable as a former dragon on Dragons’ Den, but just how he came to that position makes for quite remarkable reading.

Having been court marshalled from the Royal Navy after throwing his commander off the side of an aircraft carrier for a £10 bet, and with nothing left to his name, he set up an ice cream van business aged 31 and sold it to found multiple multi-million-pound businesses.

Duncan can therefore talk with authority on striking it big from humble beginnings.

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As there is a former dragon on this list, it’s only fair we include a former participant who made it big.

Levi Roots and his Reggae Reggae Sauce is one of the most lucrative investments to have come out of the show, after he attracted the attention of Peter Jones and subsequently Sainsbury’s.

His career has been as colourful as his flavours, having sung for Nelson Mandela, hosted his own TV series and dabbled in acting. His talks are full-bodied, too. Humorous and entertaining, Levi guides business owners on how to make a success themselves, having passion and finding their very own recipe for success. 

Image credit: A Campbell

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Richard Reed is the embodiment of what can be achieved with a simple, but clear, vision: in his case, to encourage people to eat more fresh fruit and veg. He went on to co-found Innocent Drinks, now a company turning over hundreds of millions of pounds, selling the business to Coca-Cola in 2013. More recently, as co-founder of JamJar Investments, Richard helps retail start-ups navigate similar markets to success.

Richard’s talks touch on entrepreneurialism, leadership and decisive action in highly competitive markets and how he used branding and marketing to stand out from the crowd.

Image credit: Flickr

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Making history by becoming the first British astronaut to travel into space, Helen Sharman knows all too well about working in total isolation.

After winning the race out of almost 13,000 applicants, Helen underwent a gruelling 18-month training regime in Moscow before launching to the Mir Space Station with Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov in May 1991.

Since her journey into space, Helen has delivered talks on teamwork, leadership and motivation. Now, in a world of remote work, she also discusses how to be productive while isolated.

Image credit: Anne Purkiss

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A multi-award-winning marketing speaker, Geoff Ramm has worked with the likes of Bauer Media Group, Honda and British Airways on hammering down their customer service strategies.

One of Geoff’s most popular talks entails his renowned “celebrity service”, which stands for consistency, excitement, love, engagement, bravado, response, independence and thank you. His talks can last anywhere between 20 and 90 minutes, leave his audiences thinking deeper about the services they offer and are rammed (sorry) with ready-made ideas for their small businesses.

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Jo Fairley started her business with £20,000 of her own savings, developed it into a renowned global brand worth £100m and sold it to Cadburys for a sweet profit in May 2005.

But not only did the co-founder of chocolate brand Green & Black’s help turn a small business into a global brand, but also into a fast-growing company happy to embrace corporate responsibility along the way.

Other topics covered by Jo include PR, marketing, branding and women in business.

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