Motivational speeches can be a powerful tool that reinvigorates employees to work harder and more efficiently. As a company executive, you can use this to your advantage by giving powerful, thought-provoking motivational speeches. Unfortunately, though, most people take the wrong approach when they need to give a better speech. If you are still struggling with this powerful business tool, keep reading to learn the secrets to giving the perfect motivational speech.

One of the most common mistakes executives make when giving motivational speeches to their employees is not preparing ahead of time. Yes, it takes additional time and energy to plan out a good speech, but doing so is necessary for the speech to have a truly beneficial impact on your employees. Don’t get up their on stage to try and “wing” it, as this will likely turn into a memorable disaster that employees will talk about for years to come (not in a good way). Instead, plan your speech out longer before the actual event takes place.

Speak Confidently

When you are up there on the microphone talking in front of a crowd full of people, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed from all the eyes focused on you. As a result, you might trip up on your words, say the wrong thing, or forget your speech altogether. By maintaining a confident attitude, you will naturally have a smoother speech with fewer hiccups.

The trick to speaking confidently in front of your employees is to focus on your speech and not the large crowd. As with most things in life, the more speeches you give, the better you’ll become at it. Just keep putting yourself out there and it will eventually become second nature to you.

Tell Stories

Telling stores during a motivational speech can help to capture your employees’ attention so they are more interested in what you have to say. Perhaps you can tell a story about some of the successful long-time employees at your company, recognizing them for their dedication. This will encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Another option is to tell a short story about how the company was originally formed.

Keep It Short and Sweet

Giving a long, drawn out motivational speech will bore your employees and likely have the opposite effect than what you wished for. Try to keep your speech short an sweet while focusing on the key points. You don’t have to rush it, but you should refrain from talking for hours on end. Let’s face it, no one wants to listen to a long speech, so wrap yours up in a timely manner.