Interview Questions for Motivational Speakers

If you ever want to change the world, this is the right time to do it. It’s all about taking the right step and starting where you are. Becoming a motivational speaker can be the perfect profession if you have the zeal to motivate people and talk confidently.

A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. 

As a motivational speaker, you will be accountable for conducting a pre-speech study, writing and outlining speech scripts, and delivering high-quality speeches to the audience. You are also required to answer audience questions and communicate with clients.

As a public figure, you need to be prepared to answer every kind of question, especially when you are also a professional speaker designed to speak and answer questions. 

Always prepare yourself for media interview questions; these may differ from the question your audience asks you almost every day. The audience’s questions are mainly about themselves, whereas the questions the media ask are more about you. 

As a personal branding strategist for many motivational speakers, I have seen that sometimes even the most successful speakers fail to answer the media questions perfectly, and it is highly advisable to prepare yourself a bit. So for the benefit of my motivational speaker personal branding clients and everyone else, I have listed the interview questions for motivational speakers below; I hope you find these helpful and will support you prepare well for a blog, vlog or news media interviews. 

  1. Who are you and what do you do?
  2. What made you want to become a motivational speaker?
  3. Take me back to your early days as a keynote speaker. What was the occasion and what did you cover?
  4. What systems do you use when researching motivational topics?
  5. You are a speaker, trainer and author. What do you find the most fascinating about being a motivational speaker?
  6. How would you ensure your speeches are captivating and informative?
  7. How did you get started with being a keynote speaker? Was it something that you imagined you could be doing?
  8. Do you write your speeches by yourself?
  9. Is it time-consuming to write speeches?
  10. Which is your favourite place to speak?
  11. What are some of your biggest lessons from failure? How can people build from it, instead of letting it destroy them?
  12. Do you remember any interesting anecdotes while giving a speech?
  13. Do you think anyone can become a motivational speaker?
  14. How a person can improve his communication skills?
  15. Do you agree that most people have stage fear?
  16. At what age you felt you would like to join this field?
  17. Do you agree that so many people are becoming speakers just because it is in the trend?
  18. What is the one thing you love about this profession?
  19. What is the one thing you would like to change about this profession?
  20. Who is your inspiration in life?
  21. Who is your favourite motivational speaker?
  22. Which techniques do you use to get your audience’s attention?
  23. Do you like to watch movies?
  24. Which is the last film you watched?
  25. How can a person better his/her voice modulation?
  26. Do you agree there’s a lot of competition in this field?
  27. What would you say is the most difficult part of being a motivational speaker?
  28. Can you tell me about a motivational talk where you felt the audience really connected with the subject matter?
  29. What made you want to work as a public speaker?
  30. What information would you use to sketch out a speech script?
  31. What techniques do you use to engage a live audience?
  32. How would you ensure key information is understood and remembered by the audience?
  33. Can you tell me about a previous speech where the audience reacted positively to your words?
  34. Do you think it is important to conduct pre-speech research?
  35. What is the importance, according to you, to discuss speech topics?
  36. How do you handle a situation when a technical error occurs?
  37. Do you believe rehearsing is important?
  38. How can a speaker give a perfect speech delivery?
  39. What is your advice for those who want to become motivational speakers?
  40. Is it tough to become a speaker?
  41. When delivering speeches, what is the main outcome for you?
  42. Is there any educational course, according to you, that a person should do to become a motivational speaker?
  43. How do you keep yourself motivated in these tough times?
  44. Share an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation?
  45. Do you think it was challenging to keep the audience motivated during the pandemic?
  46. What do you prefer – live shows or online shows?
  47. Which is the last book you read it?
  48. Suggest 3 books for our audience.
  49. What is the benefit of reading books, according to you?
  50. What do you prefer – Netflix or Amazon Prime?
  51. Was there a time when it was tough for you to handle a situation and what you did do?
  52. Share an experience in which you successfully shared a difficult piece of information
  53. How do you think out of the box every time?
  54. How has the recent shift to a more virtual world impacted the overall performance of workforces? And your approach to coaching?
  55. Who is your role model?
  56. Being a role model for so many, what is your advice for wannabe motivational speakers?
  57. How do you spend your free time?
  58. Do you think people are generally demotivated these days?
  59. Is public speaking a generally lucrative profession?
  60. Which is your favourite place to visit?
  61. What do you like – tea or coffee?
  62. Are you a night own or an early riser?
  63. Do you like to drink?
  64. What’s a typical workweek look like?
  65. How do you feel when the opposite sex hits you?
  66. Have you ever flirted with your fans?
  67. What is the one change you want to bring in yourself?
  68. Who is your favourite author?
  69. Who is your favourite celebrity?
  70. How did you get started in this?
  71. Do you have a crush on anyone?
  72. Which is your favourite sport?
  73. Do you play sports?
  74. What do you like about what you do?
  75. What do you prefer – mountains or beach?
  76. Where does your passion come from?
  77. What do you do for a living?
  78. What and whom do you love the most?
  79. What do you spend most of your time doing?
  80. When are you most fully yourself?
  81. How do you make money or how are you compensated in this career?
  82. What advice do you give to people who just don’t have the confidence to speak?
  83. What one word best sums you up?
  84. One of the things you mention in your book is that good public speaking comes from within the speaker themselves. Can you explain what you mean?
  85. Tell us about your exciting concept: “ABC”
  86. How does the concept of “ABC” differ from other sales concepts?
  87. What and who inspires your awe?
  88. What are your thoughts on working from home?
  89. Do you think a person has to be an extrovert to be a motivational speaker?
  90. Any myths about your profession.
  91. How does one learn public speaking?
  92. Do you think good memorization skills are important?
  93. How important are interpersonal skills?
  94. Who are your heroes?
  95. How did you prepare for your TED talk?
  96. Do you think that this profession is overrated?
  97. What does success mean to you?
  98. What would you like to change in this world through your vision?
  99. Do you think your profession is quite exhausting?
  100. How did you reach the level you are at now? What qualities must a keynote speaker possess in order to become a good one?
  101. Where do you plan to take this profession?
  102. How important is storytelling for a presentation?
  103. How do you prepare for a presentation?
  104. What is the perfect ending when presenting?
  105. Slides are a very popular tool, particularly in business presentations. What’s your advice on how to use slides effectively?
  106. Can you outline some ways we can use body language to enhance our speech?
  107. What is your final advice to our readers?
  108. What would you say is most rewarding?
  109. What advice would you offer to someone considering this career?
  110. What are your goals and dreams for the future?
  111. What else would you like people to know about what you do?