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50 Inspiring Public Speaking Quotes to Help You Conquer Your Fear

If there’s one thing we can all agree on it’s that public speaking is often intimidating and nerve-wracking! Being able to confidently stand up in front of a room of people and eloquently deliver a speech – while also engaging and inspiring your audience – is no easy task. The great thing is, there is so much information out there to help you turn your fear into skillful public speaking. One such resource is the wealth of inspiring quotes related to the topic. To give you a boost of inspiration and remind you of the beauty of engaging public speaking, we’ve gathered 50 of the best public speaking quotes here. The wisdom and insight included in this collection will empower you to prepare ahead of time and conquer your fear so you can deliver that speech with confidence and grace. Enjoy!

Inspirational Quotes to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

Public speaking can be a terrifying experience for many people. But by using wise and inspiring quotes to motivate yourself, you can conquer the fear of public speaking and tap into your true potential. Here are some incredible quotes to help you get started: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill This quote reminds us that public speaking takes courage no matter which end of the spectrum you’re on. Whether you need to cross the room and give a speech or bravely sit in place and listen, courage is necessary either way. “You will have your audience eating out of your hands if you don’t just tell them facts but make it interesting with stories and humor.” – Barbara Walters This quote emphasizes the importance of making your presentation more engaging with storytelling and wit – which can help you break through any fears that come along with public speaking. “When facing fear, make yourself bigger, brighter, louder. When we do this, fear shrinks back faster than light does from a black hole.”– Sabrina Ward Harrison This quote aptly warns that if fear has a hold over us, we need to take action to combat it; use techniques such as visualization, positive self-talk or deep breathing to reduce anxiety and let our true personalities shine through.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” – D.L. Moody

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean

“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln These quotes provide great inspiration while overcoming the fear of public speaking. But motivation alone isn’t enough when tackling such obstacles – next, begin setting goals and finding ways to measure success in order to truly motivate yourself with powerful thoughts.

Motivate Yourself with Powerful Thoughts

Motivating yourself with powerful thoughts is a great way to address your fear of public speaking. After all, you are never too prepared when trying to conquer those butterflies in your stomach before giving a speech. It’s important to remember that the best way to feel confident and remain composed throughout your address is by mentally preparing yourself beforehand. Think about everything that you have going for you and how far you have come: your successes, education, and other meaningful experiences you’ve had in life. Let those achievements be fuel for your inspiration as well as give you confidence in your abilities; it will help motivate you during that difficult moment when you’re on stage. Believing in yourself is one of the most important skills to maintain control over your fear instead of letting it dictate how you’ll do in front of the audience. However, caring too much about what the audience may think can negatively impact the effectiveness of your speech — so while believing in yourself is important, don’t put too much stock into getting a positive reaction from the crowd. If each word or visual aid is perfectly timed and well-organized, then naturally the audience will enjoy what they hear and see more than if it was chaotic. This leads us into our next section about memorable quotes to help you find courage before giving speeches! As these inspirational sayings can serve as an anchor during moments of doubt, they can also provide insight into managing the anxiety of public speaking and becoming an effective communicator.

Memorable Quotes to Help You Find Courage

Whether you’re preparing for a big presentation or performing a perfectly rehearsed monologue, you need courage and confidence to be effective. A few inspiring quotes will help keep your speech on track and can give you the courage to face your fear of public speaking. Consider some of these classic quotes to help find the courage and strength necessary before any engagement: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela This oft-quoted phrase from Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nelson Mandela speaks to the power we have to conquer our fears and worries despite our hesitation. An effective speaker sees beyond their fear and anticipates a rewarding outcome. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt Often misattributed as an anonymous quote, this phrase was spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inauguration speech. Through this line, he was trying to express the idea that fear is self-inflicted, and should not be allowed to stop us from achieving success in all our endeavors. When it comes to giving impactful presentations, let go of the fear that holds you back, replace it with positive energy so your message resonates with the audience. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt This inspiring quote from Eleanor Roosevelt encourages us to push past our limits and disrupt routine-life by embracing moments of uncertainties, changes and unknowns, which all contribute for a better version of ourselves in public speaking scenarios. Step out of your comfort zone and rise above your fears starting with small wins each day – even if it’s just shaking hands with a stranger at the mall – the act alone can spark enough courage for you do face more difficult speaking engagements later on.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Take a moment to reflect on these powerful quotes when preparing for any public speaking gig, then use them as an anchor to remind yourself of why you are here when thoughts of failure arise in your mind. With enough enthusiasm and passion, inspire yourself with positive phrases in order to give an impactful performance! In the next section, learn how positive words can go a long way in boosting your morale while preparing or during your presentation.

Inspire Yourself with Positive Phrases

When facing an audience and task of delivering an important speech, it can be helpful to inspire yourself with positive phrases. Reminding ourselves that we are competent, capable, and strong can help us get over any fear or anxiety we may be feeling. Positive affirmations may also increase our confidence so we can focus on delivering our best speech. Additionally, practicing positive mantras like “I can do this” or “I am worthy of this opportunity” can help put us in the mindset for success. Positive self talk is known to be a powerful tool for reducing stress and improving motivation. However, it’s important to remember that positive thinking cannot be forced. It only works if someone truly believes what they are saying and are actively redirecting their thoughts in a more encouraging direction. So while repeating affirmative phrases can have a meaningful impact on one’s mental state, doing so without believing them can have little to no effect after the initial reaction. With the right attitude and some self-encouragement words, we can overcome all of our public speaking fears and take control of our emotions before getting up in front of an audience. Now let’s look at some inspiring quotes that can help us become successful at public speaking.

Quotes to Inspire Successful Public Speaking

No matter the size of the crowd, public speaking can be intimidating. Famous figures throughout history have been helping to empower those who take on this challenge. Quotes to inspire successful public speaking can go a long way in conquering the fear of standing up in front of an audience. Albert Einstein is often credited with saying, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” This quote instills confidence by highlighting that difficulty comes with opportunities for greatness. If you are anxious about speaking to a large group, look at it as an opportunity to show your strengths and create something special or memorable. Other inspiring quotes come from well-known figures such as Aristotle who said: “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit”. The best speakers don’t simply rely on their first speech. They treat it like any activity that requires practice and repetition in order to perfect it. Improving upon each successive performance is key to success when it comes to public speaking. For those seeking inspiration beyond famous philosophers, people like Steve Jobs offer motivation through his words: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Although Steve Job’s career path was far from normal, his work ethic and sense of purpose are inspirational for anyone lacking confidence in their own unique delivery style.

“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.” – Lilly Walters

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller . The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs

“To be a good public speaker, you must first be a good listener.” – Calvin Coolidge

“The most precious things in speech are the pauses.” – Sir Ralph Richardson

“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” – Dale Carnegie

“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.” – Dianna Booher

“The success of a presentation is 10% what you say, and 90% how you say it.” – Frank Tyger

“It’s not the size of the audience, it’s the effect you have on them.” – Robert Michalski

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” – Brian Tracy

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” – William Carlos Williams By utilizing these inspiring quotes as fuel for our fire, we can ignite the spark within us and become successful public speakers . However, mastering this skill often involves an extra layer of confidence that has its own set of challenges. In the next section, we will explore innovative ways to develop confidence for your audience.

Develop Confidence for Your Audience

Having confidence when you step in front of the room is essential to success in public speaking. Developing your confidence requires focusing on how your audience perceives you, building strong habits that lead to success, and believing in yourself. Knowing how your audience will receive you is key to feeling confident about standing in front of them. It can help to practice hard beforehand by rehearsing both with friends or colleagues, as well as practicing in public speaking clubs , or even alone in front of a mirror. You’ll want to focus on not just what you’re saying but also the way that you say it, by speaking with conviction , good pacing, and careful word choice. Know your strengths and weaknesses , and once you do make a point of emphasizing those strengths while downplaying the weaknesses. Preparing for success also means creating good habits that will help you stay on track while giving your talk. Having a healthy mental state is important, so leading up to the talk keep healthy eating habits and exercise regularly to stay strong and focused during your presentation. It also helps to come into each talk having already learned something new about the topic , which can help give some extra pep in taking the stage when needed. Building these habits helps reduce stress levels ahead of time and can give an individual that much more assurance in their abilities and that the task at hand can be done. Above all else, believe in yourself and remember why you decided to give this speech or presentation in the first place – because you have something important to share with your audience. Remind yourself of all of the hard work you put into preparing for this moment and all of the positive feedback that others gave you along the way; it’s often enough to bring back strong confidence for your performance. Equipping yourself with these tools ahead of time will be paramount in helping develop and maintain confidence during your talk. As mentioned before, exerting this level of confidence is essential for a successful presentation; now let’s explore quotes to help further prepare individuals so they are able give a captivating performance — let’s start with looking at what these inspiring quotes can tell us about preparing for our talk.

Quotes to Help You Prepare for Your Talk

Doing the preparation is half of the battle when it comes to public speaking. Having a plan and an idea of what you are going to say gives your speech structure , one that your audience will appreciate. Preparation should also be extended to anticipating questions and creating responses for them accordingly. This can help ensure that you look prepared and authoritative. To emphasize the importance of preparation, here are some inspiring quotes on it: “Chance favors the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur This quote by science pioneer Louis Pasteur underlines the importance of being prepared mentally before delivering a talk or presentation. Being informed, informed and informed beforehand can give you a huge psychological edge, assuring you of a successful performance. “The first step in preparing an effective speech is research.” – Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie’s famous quote reminds us that even if we feel we know enough about our topic, it does not hurt to do additional research so we can fully equip ourselves with knowledge about it before engaging our audience . Research can also act as inspiration for new ideas and insights. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin This proverb from Benjamin Franklin further stresses the need for proper planning before any presentation or talk. Having a well conceived framework and understanding exactly how our points will be delivered can be key when standing in front of a large group of people.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” – Lewis Carroll

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” – Stephen Keague

“Know your material, know your audience, and know your purpose.” – George H. W. Bush

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius

“The time to prepare for a speech is twenty years.” – Mark Twain

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” – John Wooden

These quotes serve as reminders of just how important preparation is before any presentation or speech. This is also supported by many experts who acknowledge the value of practising and rehearsing before taking the stage or stand. With this said, let us now proceed to discuss impactful quotes which inspire growth in public speaking prowess.

Impactful Quotes that can Positively Affect Your Development

When it comes to public speaking, inspiring quotes can help to provide a mental pick-me-up and motivate our innermost selves. In addition to the initial adrenaline boost, many powerful quotes can have positive long-term effects on our development. They give us something tangible to hold onto and reflect back upon during moments of anxiety or when we’re defeated by external forces like stage fright or a challenging audience. For instance, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous quote “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm” speaks to the importance of resilience and drives home the idea that success isn’t necessarily predetermined; it takes hard work, dedication, and an unflappable spirit through darkness and defeat.

Similarly, Rick Hansen’s quote “There is nothing you can’t do, if you set your mind to it. Anything is possible.” directs our thoughts towards strength and being recognized as capable of achieving anything with mindful effort. On the other hand, some believe that impactful quotes are useful but emphasize more natural talent and less hard work. This mindset implies that if we just think positively and keep in motivating words top of mind, then any challenge we encounter will be much easier to conquer. While it’s true that positive thinking and self-belief are essential for motivation, this approach leaves out much of the reality – which is that personal growth is a process that requires dedication, bravery, and an acceptance of one’s weaknesses as valuable lessons for future improvement. It’s important to remember that impactful quotes should be used in conjunction with studying techniques for calming nerves , boosting confidence, and improving performance – not taken as a substitute for honing public speaking talents over time. Quotes inspire us to look more deeply into ourselves in order to better understand how we can utilize our experiences in order to become better communicators. With this in mind, let us now conclude this article by reviewing its main points and offering final thoughts on its main topic: public speaking quotes as tools for conquering fear. Conclusion & Final Thoughts: Now that we have explored how impactful public speaking quotes can be positive building blocks for personal growth and development, let’s turn our focus towards drawing our conclusion and discussing any final thoughts on the use of public speaking quotes.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Public speaking can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Despite the fear that many experience before speaking in front of an audience, stepping up with confidence and delivering a meaningful message can have lasting positive effects. As these 50 inspiring quotes demonstrate, public speaking is not something to be afraid of but instead something to relish as an opportunity to reach out and make a positive impact on those around you. When it comes down to it, conquering your fear of public speaking does take time and practice. It may help to write about your experiences and build on the skills that you already possess. If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, remember that no one expects perfection – try to take it slow and focus on providing value to the audience. With dedication and patience, you’ll be able to control your fear and become an inspiring public speaker. One thing is certain – although public speaking may feel intimidating at first, it can bring many rewards once you gain the confidence to do it well. Whether you’re an experienced presenter or new to the field, remember these 50 inspiring quotes as reminders that anyone can become a great public speaker with the right attitude and dedication.

Commonly Asked Questions

How can i use quotes to motivate myself when preparing for a public speaking engagement.

Quotes can be a great way to motivate yourself when preparing for a public speaking engagement. Not only do they provide you with words of encouragement and inspiration, but they can also act as mental reminders that you have the ability to succeed. Quotes can help to spark your creativity, fuel your energy, and give you a renewed sense of confidence. Additionally, quotes can be used as an effective tool to overcome any fears or doubts so that you can deliver an amazing speech. Reading relevant quotes that speak to the power of words and communication can help prepare you mentally for your public speaking engagement. They are like mantras that offer motivation and reassurance throughout the preparation process. Last but not least, quotes can spark ideas when brainstorming topics or content to share in your speech.

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15 Inspiring Public Speaking Quotes (Famous, Funny, & Fear-Reducing)

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One thing we've learned in this series about public speaking is that it's normal to have a fear of public speaking .

Hopefully, you've also learned that it's possible to improve your public speaking skills through mastering the right techniques and through practice .

If you're one of those who's struggling to become a better speaker, though, it can be easy to become discouraged.

You may feel that you're the only one who's got to work on their speaking skills or the only one who suffers from a fear of public speaking. You may feel unmotivated about your upcoming speech and you may be tempted to quit.

The truth, though, is that you're not alone. There are many others who have learned to improve their public speaking skill. When you struggle with something, sometimes it helps to know that you're not alone.

In this article, I share public speaking quotes from such famous people as Jerry Seinfield and others.

My hope is that when you read some of these inspirational quotes about public speaking you'll be encouraged. 

Top Quotes About Public Speaking

Here are some of the best quotes about public speaking that I've found. In this list you'll find funny quotes on public speaking, fear of public speaking quotes, and famous quotes on public speaking.

To make it easier to follow, I've divided the list into sections—starting with the fear of public speaking quotes.

Fear of Public Speaking Quotes

Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias that people face. Some studies estimate that as many as 75% of us have this common fear. If you struggle with fear of public speaking (sometimes known as stage fright), hopefully you'll find these quotes about public speaking from those who've faced a fear of public speaking to be helpful.

1. Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts is a popular actress who has appeared in numerous movies and televisions shows. Roberts has appeared on Teen Vogue 's best dressed list and even served as a brand ambassador for the Neutrogena skin care line.

With those accomplishments you wouldn't expect Roberts to have stage fright, but in February of 2010 Roberts was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying,

"...doing a music video is so embarrassing. I don't think I'll be doing [another] album unless I write it for someone else. I have stage fright. I can't ever do theater because I would pee my pants ... It's way too nerve-racking. There's a comfort in being able to mess up when you're on a movie set."

2. Mahatma Gandhi

One of the greatest influencers and leaders of the 20th century, Gandhi led the Indian independent movement from British rule. Gandhi's efforts ultimately led to an independent India and inspired thousands around the world.

Yet, Gandhi struggled with shyness. In Gandhi's autobiography , there's an entire chapter on shyness. The chapter includes this motivational quote, which can be applied for public speaking,

"My shyness has been in reality my shield and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth."

3. Prince Harry

Even being a royal doesn't make you immune from fear of public speaking. Princy Harry, the younger son of Charles and Diana (Prince and Princess of Wales), has admitted to struggling with fear or public speaking. Multiple news outlets, such as The Times , have documented Harry's stage fright. Here's the fear of public speaking quote from the Prince:

" My secret is – believe it or not – I get incredibly nervous before public speaking, no matter how big the crowd or the audience and, um, despite the fact that I laugh and joke all the time I get incredibly nervous, if not anxious, actually, before going into rooms full of people when I'm wearing a suit... And now that I've confessed that, I'll probably be even more worried that people are looking at me."

4. Annie Lennox

Lennox is perhaps most famous as the lead singer of the British music group, the Eurythmics. As a singer, Lennox received numerous awards, including the Billboard Century Award. In addition to being a talented musician, Lennox has raised money for HIV/AIDS awareness—resulting in an appointment from Queen Elizabeth II as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. But Lennox also had to overcome the fear of public speaking:

"Fear paralyses you - fear of flying, fear of the future, fear of leaving a rubbish marriage, fear of public speaking, or whatever it is." (Source: BrainyQuotes )

Funny Quotes on Public Speaking

It's often been said that the ability to laugh at oneself is a good thing. Now, a 2011 study on laughter seems to support that premise. The researchers found that participants who laughed at themselves were more cheerful and had a better mood. If you can recognize yourself in some of these funny quotes on public speaking, it may cheer you up.

5. Jerry Seinfield

Seinfield 's a comedian and television personality who starred in a popular TV comedy series. Seinfield has also been a guest a number of other television shows. When it comes to public speaking quotes, Seinfield reportedly said this (from the New York Post ),

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."

6. Dale Carnegie

A writer and lecturer, Carnegie is best known for the popular advice book, How to Win Friends and Influence People . Perhaps one of the most famous self-help authors of 20th century, Carnegie went on to found a series of professional development courses that are still used today. Regarding public speaking, Carnegie reportedly said,

“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” (Source: BrainyQuotes )

7. George Jessel

A famed British jurist of the 1900s, Sir George Jessel is most known for commercial law and equity. This historic judge was a part of numerous cases. Although accustomed to speaking in a court of law, Jessel reportedly had this to say about public speaking,

"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops... until you stand up to speak in public." (Source: BrainyQuote )

8. Dorothy Sarnoff

Sarnoff started out as an opera singer and star on Broadway. Later, Sarnoff founded a company called Speech Cosmetics--a company dedicated to improving its client's public speaking skills. The following funny public speaking quote has been credited to Sarnoff,

"Make sure that you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening! " (Source: Lead Yourself Today by John E. Markley)

9. Adam Duritz

Another popular musician, Duritz is a vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows. Duritz is also an accomplished writer, co-writing a song for the Shrek 2 movie. Plus, Duritz owns several record labels. Here's a funny public speaking quote that's attributed to Duritz,

"People ask me if I have stage fright. I say, '... no, I'm completely comfortable there. I have rest-of-the-day fright.'" (Source: AZ Quotes )

Famous Quotes on Public Speaking

In this section, I've shared some motivational and inspirational quotes about public speaking from well-known historical and contemporary leaders.

10. Lady Bird Johnson

Johnson was the First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969. In addition, Johnson advocated for The Highway Beautification Act that limits the use of outdoor advertising along highways and promotes scenic roadside development. Johnson was also a business owner.

Early in life, Johnson bought the KTBC radio station in Austin, TX. The following motivational public speaking quote is attributed to Johnson,

“The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.” (Source: Quotes.net )

11. Ralph Waldo Emerson

This poet and philosopher influenced American thought in the 19th century and beyond. Emerson is mostly known for essays and other writings today, but what many don't know is that Emerson was a popular lecturer in the mid to late 1800s. This inspiring quote expresses Emerson's view that speech is important,

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” (Source: The Later Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1843 - 1871 )

12. Seth Godin

Godin is known for blogging and for entrepreneurial ventures. Godin also wrote several best-selling books such as Purple Cow and Tribes. Godin also gives frequent public speeches. This motivational quote on public speaking comes from Seth Godin's Blog ,

"You are not being judged, the value of what you are bringing to the audience is being judged."

13. Richard Branson

The founder of the Virgin Group (which includes the Virgin Records music label and other companies), Branson has been an entrepreneur since the 1970s. In fact, in 1999 Buckingham Palace knighted Branson for "services to entrepreneurship." This Branson motivational quote about public speaking is from Inc.,

"Picture yourself in a living room having a chat with your friends. You would be relaxed and comfortable talking to them, the same applies when public speaking."

14. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Roosevelt was a U.S. president for thirteen years, with a presidency spanning both the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt is known for the New Deal legislation, which implemented public work projects and other financial reform. Roosevelt is also known for leadership during World War II. The following public speaking quote is credited to Roosevelt,

“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” (Source: GoodReads )

15. Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is perhaps most famous for being a former First Lady of the United States or for advocating healthcare reform. However, Clinton was also Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. Clinton ran for presidential office in 2008 and 2016. About public speaking, Clinton reportedly said,

“If you're not comfortable with public speaking - and nobody starts out comfortable; you have to learn how to be comfortable - practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust.” (Source: AZQuotes )

Take Away: Use These Motivational Quotes for Public Speaking to Become a Better Speaker

If you get nothing else from this article, remember that public speaking is a skill that can improved. You can improve. You can become a better public speaker!

To inspire you, I've gathered some of the best motivational quotes for public speaking that I could find, including quotes about public speaking from famous people who've struggled with it.

And just for fun, I've also shared some funny quotes on public speaking. As you read these, I hope you found them useful.

Learn More About Public Speaking

Read on for some motivational articles and tutorials to improve your public speaking: 

Editorial Note: This content was originally published in 2018. We're sharing it again because our editors have determined that this information is still accurate and relevant.

101 Inspirational Quotes for Speeches: Inspire the Crowd

Unlock the power of inspiration with our handpicked collection of 101 unique and original quotes! Whether you’re preparing a captivating speech or simply seeking motivation, these words of wisdom will leave a lasting impact on your audience. Let the eloquence begin!

101 Inspirational Quotes for Speeches

1. “Believe in yourself; your potential is limitless.”

2. “Embrace failure as a stepping stone to success.”

3. “Dare to dream, and then dare to make it a reality.”

4. “Challenges are opportunities in disguise.”

5. “Every day is a chance for a new beginning.”

6. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

7. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

8. “Your attitude determines your altitude.”

9. “The only limit is the one you set for yourself.”

10. “In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.”

11. “Believe in the power of perseverance.”

12. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

13. “Find strength in adversity; it will make you unbreakable.”

14. “Success is not a destination but a continuous journey.”

15. “The world needs your unique contribution; don’t hold back.”

16. “Be the beacon of light in someone’s darkness.”

17. “Let your passion fuel your purpose.”

18. “You are the master of your fate; you are the captain of your soul.”

19. “Every setback is a set-up for a remarkable comeback.”

20. “The greatest achievements often start with humble beginnings.”

21. “The key to success is consistent and focused effort.”

22. “Never underestimate the power of kindness and compassion.”

23. “Your worth is not defined by external validation.”

24. “Adversity reveals the true strength of your character.”

25. “A positive mindset is the foundation for greatness.”

26. “Success is not just reaching the top but helping others climb with you.”

27. “Your uniqueness is your superpower; embrace it.”

28. “Every day is an opportunity to inspire and be inspired.”

29. “The journey to success is filled with valuable lessons.”

30. “Set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there.”

31. “A positive outlook can turn obstacles into stepping stones.”

32. “Your purpose is your north star; let it guide you.”

33. “Be the voice of encouragement to those who need it most.”

34. “Success is not about how fast you go but how far you reach.”

35. “With every challenge, you grow stronger and wiser.”

36. “The road to greatness is paved with dedication and hard work.”

37. “Believe in the power of your dreams; they hold infinite possibilities.”

38. “Never underestimate the ripple effect of your actions.”

39. “Your potential is like a seed; nurture it, and it will blossom.”

40. “Gratitude opens the door to abundance.”

41. “Embrace uncertainty; it is the birthplace of innovation.”

42. “Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of humanity.”

43. “Success is not about luck but about seizing opportunities.”

44. “Your journey is a story worth sharing; it can inspire others.”

45. “The greatest achievements often require the greatest leaps of faith.”

46. “Don’t be afraid to rewrite your story; you hold the pen.”

47. “Your impact on others is the true measure of success.”

48. “Find strength in unity; together, we can achieve more.”

49. “The path to success is not always straight but filled with valuable detours.”

50. “A positive mindset turns stumbling blocks into stepping stones.”

51. “Believe in your potential; it’s greater than you can imagine.”

52. “Small acts of kindness can ignite a chain reaction of goodness.”

53. “Your resilience can turn setbacks into comebacks.”

54. “Success is a journey of continuous learning and growth.”

55. “Let your actions speak louder than your words.”

56. “Be the spark that ignites positive change in the world.”

57. “The greatest strength lies in humility.”

58. “Chase your dreams relentlessly; they hold the key to your fulfillment.”

59. “Your uniqueness is your greatest asset; embrace it fully.”

60. “Success is not just about reaching the summit but enjoying the climb.”

61. “You are capable of achieving greatness; don’t doubt yourself.”

62. “Believe in the power of your voice; it can move mountains.”

63. “Failure is not the end but a stepping stone towards growth.”

64. “Your journey is a testament to your strength and resilience.”

65. “The world needs your light; don’t hide it.”

66. “Success is not just about personal achievement but about lifting others up.”

67. “In every setback, there is a valuable lesson to be learned.”

68. “Be a source of inspiration, even in the face of adversity.”

69. “Your passion is the fuel that propels you towards your dreams.”

70. “Believe in yourself, and others will believe in you too.”

71. “Your potential knows no boundaries; let it soar.”

72. “Be the architect of your destiny; design a life of purpose.”

73. “The power to change the world lies within you.”

74. “Every step you take is a step closer to your dreams.”

75. “Your journey is a canvas waiting for your masterpiece.”

76. “Success is not an overnight achievement but a culmination of effort.”

77. “Kindness has the power to heal and transform lives.”

78. “Don’t be afraid to stand out; it’s what makes you extraordinary.”

79. “Your courage in the face of fear is a beacon of hope for others.”

80. “Embrace challenges; they bring out the best in you.”

81. “Success is not just about achieving greatness but inspiring it in others.”

82. “Your purpose is your compass; let it guide your path.”

83. “The journey to success is as important as the destination.”

84. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

85. “The power to make a difference lies within your actions.”

86. “Your dreams are the blueprint of your future; build them wisely.”

87. “Success is not defined by wealth but by the impact you make.”

88. “Let your perseverance be an inspiration to those around you.”

89. “Believe in the power of hope; it can move mountains.”

90. “Your uniqueness is what sets you apart; embrace it wholeheartedly.”

91. “Every challenge is an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.”

92. “Success is not about being the best but bringing out the best in others.”

93. “Be the driving force behind positive change.”

94. “Your journey is an epic story waiting to be written.”

95. “The world needs your light to shine; don’t dim it for anyone.”

96. “Believe in yourself; you are destined for greatness.”

97. “Every setback is a setup for a comeback; don’t give up.”

98. “Your impact on others can create a ripple effect of kindness.”

99. “Embrace failure; it is the stepping stone to success.”

100. “Success is not about perfection but progress.”

101. “Be the architect of your dreams; design a life you love.”

Written by Gabriel Cruz - Foodie, Animal Lover, Slang & Language Enthusiast

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120 Inspiring Quotes to Start A Speech with Impact

April 20, 2023 by smartmovesonly

• 1 Inspiring Quotes to Start A Speech with Impact
• 2 Good Quotes To Start A Speech About Yourself 
• 3 Good Quotes To Start A Speech
• 4 Funny Quotes To Start A Speech
• 5 Great Quotes To Start A Speech
• 6 Motivational Quotes To Start A Speech
• 7 Quotes To Start A Speech on Relationship
• 8 Quotes To Start A Speech on fashion designing
• 9 Quotes To Start A Speech in School
• 10 Conclusion

Inspiring Quotes to Start A Speech with Impact

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes, a single sentence can leave a lasting impact on our minds and hearts. Quotes are powerful tools that can inspire, motivate, and move us to action. Whether you are giving a speech, writing an essay, or simply looking for a source of inspiration, quotes can provide the perfect starting point to help you express your ideas and connect with your audience.

Today, I have compiled 120 quotes that cover a wide range of topics, from motivation and success to love and friendship. These quotes have been carefully curated to provide you with a diverse collection of voices and perspectives that will help you find the perfect words to start your speech. Whether you are looking for a witty one-liner, a profound insight, or a timeless piece of wisdom, you are sure to find something that resonates with you in this collection.

But why are quotes so powerful? At their core, quotes are distilled expressions of the human experience. They capture our thoughts and emotions in a way that is both concise and profound. They can make us laugh, cry, or feel a surge of motivation, all in a few short words. Quotes have the power to connect us with each other and with ourselves, reminding us of our shared humanity and the things that truly matter in life.

So, without further ado, let us dive into this collection of 120 quotes to start a speech. May these words inspire you, challenge you, and move you to action as you seek to make your mark on the world.

Related:  30 Powerful Ways to Start a Speech or Presentation

Good Quotes To Start A Speech About Yourself 

• “I am the author of my own story, and every page is a testament to my resilience and determination.”
• “As I stand here before you today, I am reminded of the quote, ‘Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.’ And it is with that mindset that I have faced every challenge that has come my way.”
• “I am not defined by my past, but rather by the person I am today and the person I strive to become tomorrow.”
• “I believe that every person has a unique story to tell, and it is through our experiences that we gain wisdom and empathy for others.”
• “I am a firm believer in the power of self-reflection and personal growth, and it is through these practices that I have become the person I am today.”
• “I have always been driven by a desire to make a positive impact on the world, and it is this passion that has guided me throughout my life.”
• “I am a lifelong learner, constantly seeking new knowledge and experiences that broaden my understanding of the world and my place in it.”
• “I believe that success is not just about achieving our goals, but also about the journey we take to get there.”
• “I have learned that failure is not a setback, but rather an opportunity to learn and grow.”
• “I am a believer in the power of community, and it is through the support and encouragement of those around me that I have been able to achieve my goals.”
• “I believe that each of us has a unique purpose in life, and it is our responsibility to discover and pursue that purpose with passion and dedication.”
• “I am a firm believer in the importance of perseverance, and it is through my own determination and persistence that I have been able to overcome obstacles and achieve my dreams.”
• “I believe that our greatest strengths often emerge from our greatest challenges, and it is through these challenges that we discover what we are truly capable of.”
• “I am committed to living a life of integrity, compassion, and kindness, and it is these values that guide my actions and decisions every day.”
• “I believe that we all have the power to make a positive impact on the world, and it is through our actions and our words that we can inspire others to do the same.”

Related:  How to Start a Speech: The Power of Storytelling

Good Quotes To Start A Speech

• “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
• “Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.”
• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
• “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
• “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
• “Life is a journey, and if you fall in love with the journey, you will be in love forever.”
• “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
• “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
• “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
• “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”
• “To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”

Related:  5 Steps To Crafting the Perfect Opening Line for Your Speech

Funny Quotes To Start A Speech

• “I am here to talk to you about myself because no one else will.”
• “I’m not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”
• “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”
• “I’m not sure if I’m the best person for this job, but they gave it to me anyways.”
• “I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.”
• “I’m not lazy, I’m just conserving my energy.”
• “I’m not short, I’m just concentrated awesome.”
• “I’m not a morning person, I’m a coffee person.”
• “I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not sure.”
• “I’m not procrastinating, I’m just prioritizing my to-do list.”
• “I’m not saying I’m Batman, but have you ever seen me and Batman in the same room?”
• “I don’t always have a good idea, but when I do, I forget it.”
• “I’m not saying I’m old, but I remember when emojis were called emoticons.”
• “I’m not saying I’m forgetful, but I went to the fridge to get some water and ended up watching Netflix for an hour.”
• “I’m not saying I’m a genius, but I did just figure out how to eat pizza while lying down.”

Related:  30 Powerful Ways to End a Speech or Presentation fpm_start("true")

Great Quotes To Start A Speech

• “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
• “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
• “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
• “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
• “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
• “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus
• “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
• “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
• “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky 

Related:  How To Not Be Nervous For A Presentation-13 Proven Techniques

Motivational Quotes To Start A Speech

• “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
• “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
• “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission.” – Unknown
• “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
• “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
• “Success is not a destination, but the road that you’re on. Being successful means that you’re working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it.” – Marlon Wayans
• “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson 

Related:  The Do’s and Don’ts of Starting a Speech: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Quotes To Start A Speech on Relationship

• “A healthy relationship is built on unwavering trust, honesty, and communication.” – Unknown
• “The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships.” – Tony Robbins
• “Relationships are not about finding someone to complete you but rather someone who accepts you completely.” – Unknown
• “In a strong relationship, the love between two people should be greater than the need for each other.” – Unknown
• “A successful relationship requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin
• “Relationships are about trust. If you have to play detective, then it’s time to move on.” – Unknown
• “It’s not about finding someone who completes you. It’s about finding someone who accepts you completely.” – Unknown
• “A true relationship is two imperfect people refusing to give up on each other.” – Unknown
• “A great relationship is about two things: first, appreciating the similarities, and second, respecting the differences.” – Unknown
• “Relationships are like gardens. They require nurturing, patience, and love to grow.” – Unknown
• “The greatest happiness in life is the certainty that we are loved.” – Victor Hugo
• “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.” – Loretta Young
• “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn
• “A true relationship is when you can tell each other anything and everything. No secrets and no lies.” – Unknown
• “A good relationship is when two people accept each other’s past, support each other’s present, and love each other enough to encourage each other’s future.” – Unknown
• “Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them together.” – Unknown
• “The best relationships are built on a foundation of friendship.” – Unknown
• “In a strong relationship, two people love each other for who they are, not who they want each other to be.” – Unknown
• “A relationship is not based on the length of time you’ve spent together, but on the foundation, you’ve built together.” – Unknown
• “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Unknown 

Top Reads: 135 Monday Motivation Quotes to Jumpstart Your Week

Quotes To Start A Speech on fashion designing

• “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” – Bill Cunningham
• “Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It’s movement, design, and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be.” – Blair Waldorf
• “Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.” – Ralph Lauren
• “Fashion is the language of the soul.” – Miuccia Prada
• “Fashion is the mirror of history.” – Christian Dior
• “Fashion is not just beauty, it’s about good attitude. You have to believe in yourself and be strong.” – Adriana Lima
• “The joy of dressing is an art.” – John Galliano
• “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” – Rachel Zoe
• “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” – Coco Chanel
• “Fashion is about dreaming and making other people dream.” – Donatella Versace
• “I think fashion is a lot of fun. I love clothes. More than fashion or brand labels, I love design.” – Marc Jacobs
• “Fashion is a form of self-expression. It’s how you show the world who you are without saying a word.” – Unknown
• “The best fashion show is definitely on the street. Always has been, and always will be.” – Bill Cunningham
• “Fashion is an art, and you are the canvas.” – Velvet Paper
• “Fashion is a trend. Style lives within a person.” – Oscar de la Renta 

Top Reads: 105 Tuesday Motivation And Quotes To Keep The Vibe Going

Quotes To Start A Speech in School

• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
• “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey
• “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
• “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
• “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B. Yeats
• “Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
• “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” – Carl Rogers
• “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
• “The purpose of education is to make minds, not careers.” – William Deresiewicz
• “Education is not a tool for development – individual, community and the nation. It is the foundation for our future. It is empowerment to make choices and emboldens the youth to chase their dreams.” – Nita Ambani
• “Education is not about filling a pail, it’s about lighting a fire.” – William Butler Yeats
• “Intelligence plus character – that is the true goal of education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” – George Washington Carver

We have explored the power of quotes and how they can be used to start a speech. From motivational quotes to humorous quips, the right quote can set the tone for your speech and capture the attention of your audience. We have seen that quotes can distill complex ideas into a few simple words, making them a powerful tool for communication.

But quotes are more than just words on a page. They are a reflection of the human experience, capturing our hopes, dreams, fears, and aspirations. They remind us of the things that truly matter in life and connect us with each other in a way that transcends time and space. Whether you are looking for a source of inspiration, a way to connect with your audience, or simply a reminder of the beauty and complexity of the human experience, quotes can provide the perfect starting point.

So, as you prepare to give your next speech, consider the power of a well-chosen quote. Let these words inspire you, challenge you and move you to action as you seek to make your mark on the world. Remember that words have the power to change lives, and that the right quote can be the spark that sets your audience on fire.

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Motivational Speech Quotes That Hook Your Audience

Many speakers start with inspirational quotes and include quotes throughout their presentations. If you use them correctly, motivational speech quotes can be an effective technique. so long as you appropriately attribute them to the author.

One of the most important things to assure you have a powerful motivational speech is getting your audience engaged and listening from the beginning. An excellent way to hook the audience is through  motivational speech quotes.

Table of Contents

Choosing A Good Quote To Start A Speech

Many people love using a relevant quote to kick off a stellar speech. The quote you use early in your speech should grab attention and interest immediately. Stay away from passages that are lengthy and difficult to understand. Something brief and catchy is often precisely what you want.

Some speech professionals believe starting an address with your own works is preferable to using a motivational quote. While there is no harm in starting with a quote, make sure that most of what you have to say comes from your thoughts.

Hints on Using Quotes In Speeches

There is a right and a wrong way to use a quote in a speech.

• Use the quote correctly.  Sometimes we hear a quote, think we remember it accurately, and then inadvertently misquote it. Look into the selection to be confident you have it right.
•   Please cite the source   and be sure you are citing it accurately.  The only thing worse than not stating the derivation of a quote is giving credit to the wrong person.
•   Use quotes sparingly.  If you add too many quotes to your speech, they can take over. Remember that it is your speech, not someone else’s.

How Do Quotes Offer Credibility To A Speech?

Using a quote  can offer credibility to a speech , particularly if you are using it to further expound upon a point or support a claim or assertion you are making. Finding a quote from someone considered an authority on the topic is an excellent way to bring listeners to share your opinions in a  persuasive speech  – especially if you are quoting a well-known person or someone renowned in their field.

Well-chosen and perfectly placed quotes can make a speech stand out.

How Do You Attribute The Author In Speeches?

When using a quote in a speech,  giving the person credit for their words is always appropriate.  There are different ways to do so. Note that when you see quotation marks at the beginning of the quote, you say the word  quote  in the speech. When you are at the end of the quote and see the quote marks, say  end quote .

• As Michael Jordan said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.”
• “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110% all the time.” These words were immortalized by Major League Baseball great Don Zimmer.
•  You may put the quote and source on the visual aid when using a visual aid. Using italics, you can distinguish the quote from the information you have put together and include the attribution in writing.

Famous Motivational Speech Quotes On Different Topics

When seeking the best motivational quotes, there are so many out there you might have difficulty picking just a few! On any subject, you can find well-known  popular speakers  like Tony Evans or Brene Brown or impressive local talent.

What Are 10 Positive Quotes?

• “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
•  “Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
•  “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” ―Napoleon Hill
•  “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” — Will Rogers
•  “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ―Theodore Roosevelt
•  “Motivation comes from working on things that we care about.” — Sheryl Sandberg
•  “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ―Thomas A. Edison
•  “Do what is easy, and your life will be hard. Do what is hard, and your life will become easy.” – Les Brown
•  “I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson
•  “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” –Oscar Wilde

What Are 10 Motivational Quotes?

• “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
•  “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney
•  “The big secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” ―Oprah Winfrey
•  “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ―Aristotle
•  “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” — William James
•  “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” ―Vincent Van Gogh
•  “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” ―Ayn Rand
•  “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
•  “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
•  “Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” ―Vince Lombardi

What Are 10 Quotes About Success?

• “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm” ―Winston Churchill
•  “Nothing will work unless you do.” ―Maya Angelou
•  “Try not to become a man of success, but rather become a man of value.” ―Albert Einstein
•  “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
•  “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” ―Jim Rohn
•  “Unsuccessful people make their decisions based on their current situations. Successful people make their decisions based on where they want to be.” ―Benjamin Hardy
•  “If you talk about it, it’s a dream. If you envision it, it’s possible. If you schedule it, it’s real.” ―Tony Robbins
•  “Success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
•  “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ―C.S. Lewis
•  “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” ―Bill Gates

What Are Some Good Inspirational Sayings?

• “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
•  “If something is important enough, even if the odds are stacked against you, you should still do it.” — Elon Musk
•  “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Lorimer
•  “I never lose. Either I win or learn.” ―Nelson Mandela
•  “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
•  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin
•  “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” — Babe Ruth
•  “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is a success.” — Henry Ford
•  “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” ―Abraham Lincoln
•  “Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat is accepted as a reality.” ―Bruce Lee

What 10 Good Quotes For Someone Who Is Feeling Down?

• “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ―Confucius
•  “Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” —Walt Whitman
•  “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” —Martin Luther King, Jr. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
•  “You do not find a happy life. You make it.” —Thomas S. Monson
•  “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” —Roald Dahl
•  “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss
•  “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” — Dalai Lama
•  “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” —Helen Keller
•  “Do the best you can. No one can do more than that.” ―John Wooden
•  “We become what we think about all day long.” – Earl Nightingale

A former English teacher and currently an elementary principal in a rural school, Pam has honed her speaking skills in the classroom and before professional groups. Pam enjoys sharing her insights about public speaking almost as much as she enjoys running, which she does daily.

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10 Famous Motivational Speeches You Need to Hear

• Carolyn Manion Kinnie
• April 1, 2024

Table of Contents

At The Speaker Lab, we’re dedicated to helping you launch and scale your speaking business. Since we’re dedicated to helping speaking professionals succeed, it stands to reason that we have a few favorite examples of our own! Today, we want to share some of the motivational speeches that our team thinks are most worth the listen. While you can find hundreds of inspirational talks on the internet, we think there’s something really special about these ten talks. Whether you want to be a speaker yourself or just need a mood boost, each of these examples is sure to leave you ample fuel for motivation and reflection! 

Topics of the speeches we cover today range from psychology and relationships, to goal-setting and growth, to effective leadership, to personal stories that carry weighty lessons. For each speech, we’ll include some insights into what really sets these talks apart. We also highly recommend setting some time aside to give each on its own and form your own opinions! Let’s dive into some of these amazing motivational speeches so you can see (or hear!) for yourself why we love them so much. 

1. Brené Brown: The Power of Vulnerability

We’re going to start with almost a too-obvious choice. You will see Brené Brown’s name pop up on just about any  list of important motivational speeches. And with good reason! This 2011 TED talk isn’t just one of the most-watched TED talks of all time. It’s an incredible investigation into the roles that connection, shame and vulnerability play in human relationships. It’s also an eye-opening exploration into why we all tend to shrink from vulnerability and what could happen if we flipped the script. And from a purely public speaking standpoint, it’s a great display of Brown’s wit and charisma. If you struggle with vulnerability in your own life or are trying to understand why a loved one keeps shutting you out, Brown’s short but impactful talk might have some answers for you. 

We covered this motivational speech in our recent article about pathos because Brown is a master of emotional connection. She backs up her argument with ample academic research, but connects her message to real, relatable experiences throughout. As she narrates her own experiences in a therapist’s office, she invites the audience to walk through those experiences with her. Making psychological research accessible to the masses is no easy feat, but Brown manages to do it with storytelling and humor. Her greatest lesson, perhaps, comes in how vulnerability can teach how to treat ourselves kindly.

“Our job is to look and say, “You know what? You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”

2. Simon Sinek: “How great leaders inspire action”

Simon Sinek is a world-renowned author and speaker with an incredible knack for delivering profound and easily intelligible advice on leadership, business, and success. He has written several books and delivered many motivational speeches. His TED talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” which grew out of his first book, is perhaps the most well-known. Similarly to Brown’s speech, we think no list of the best motivational speeches would be complete without it. In short, it’s an analysis of how people like Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers managed to accomplish amazing, unheard of things. Sinek theorizes that there is a unique way that great leaders communicate, and that’s how they get things done. 

If you’re a leader but don’t understand why your marketing and sales fall flat, or if you long to start a company but don’t know how to tap into what makes people excited about a business, Sinek has wisdom to share for you. His speech is for you if you’ll ever be in a leadership position or struggle to pinpoint your professional mission. And if you’re curious about why people trust certain political leaders and not others, you’ll want to listen to this speech. Sinek is a master of words and he distills a lot of fascinating information into simple stories and lessons about innovation and leadership. Give this one a listen to get fired up about what you believe and how you can make an impact with those beliefs. 

“ People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.

3. Steve Jobs: Stanford Commencement speech  

Commencement addresses can be hit or miss. Sometimes they fill graduating seniors with energy and inspiration for the life ahead, other times they get a few laughs and more than a few yawns. Even celebrities and business leaders aren’t always up to the task of sending young adults off into the world. But in 2005 at Stanford University, Steve Jobs not only rose to the task, but outstripped expectations by delivering an iconic motivational speech that today is the most-watched commencement speech on YouTube. 

If you’ve been around The Speaker Lab for a while, you know we’re big fans of storytelling . Steve Jobs illustrates our favorite speaking strategy by structuring his remarks as three stories. The first: his experience as a college dropout and how it paved the path to his future. The second: his expulsion from Apple that allowed him to found Pixar and meet his wife, among other endeavors. And finally: his first brush with cancer and the second chance at life he was provided. While the last story rings differently in light of Jobs’s death in 2011, the wisdom he draws from the twists and turns of his life is applicable to far more than college seniors. 

The lessons of Jobs’s commencement address are myriad, and it’s a speech you’ll keep coming back to at different points in your life. Fortunately he summed them up himself:

“ Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 

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4. Randy Pausch: “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving your Childhood Dreams”

Randy Pausch was a pioneer in software and virtual reality development and a longtime professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In his 40s, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just a few months to live. He delivered a final lecture as part of a series where academics were asked to give a talk on a topic that was deeply important to them–and he spoke about his childhood dreams.

Pausch showed his cancer scans at the start of his presentation, letting his audience sit with the reality of his terminal diagnosis. But his regular jokes (including onstage pushups) lightened the mood and allowed his audience to embark on a journey following his personal and professional ambitions. His lecture became a viral motivational speech and even landed him an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show a few weeks later.

Everybody has childhood dreams. Some people don’t accomplish them, but few forget them. Pausch’s lecture testifies to how having those big dreams can bear great fruit in your personal and professional life. He also provides great examples from his own journey of how going the extra mile–even if it seems crazy–can help you achieve those dreams. This is a long speech, but we encourage you to listen (or read ) in full because it’s so full of inspiration. But in the meantime, here are a few of our favorite lines: 

“Never lose the childlike wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us.” 

“Remember, brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to separate us from the people who don’t really want to achieve their childhood dreams. Don’t bail. The best of the gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap.”

5. Kelly McGonigal: “ How to make stress your friend “

Stress is something we all deal with, sometimes to an overwhelming degree. Many people try every possible hack to eliminate stress for their lives or live in fear of it. But what if we treated stress as something helpful–or even as a friend? What if we trusted ourselves to cope appropriately with stress rather than letting it ruin our lives? That’s what health psychologist Kelly McGonigal explores in this viral TED talk. 

Challenging the common parlance of stress as the bogeyman is no small task. McGonigal backs up her research with several studies to show that while stress can have deleterious effects on health, it doesn’t have to. She also undertakes some of our favorite tactics here at The Speaker Lab by interacting with her audience to further engage them. While a pop quiz from the stage probably wasn’t on their bingo cards, her in person audience members got a real-time taste of the “social stress test.” (To fully appreciate McGonigal’s point, we recommend pretending you’re in the auditorium with her and attempting to perform what she commands.) Then, she walks her audience through the stress reaction they just experienced and explains how, equipped with new strategies for leveraging stress, they could use that same reaction to approach the situation constructively.  

McGonigal’s research, which has also been published in book form, is not without controversy in the psychology space. But in an ever increasingly stressed out society, her talk could be the motivational speech you need to tackle your stressors head-on. The best part? Turning to the communities around you during stressful events can help you rather than drain you! As McGonigal says:

“People who spent time caring for others showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying. Zero. Caring created resilience.”

6. Carol Dweck: “The power of believing that you can improve ” 

You’ve probably heard the term “growth mindset” thrown around in the professional and educational space. But do you know who coined it? Carol Dweck is a Stanford psychologist who researches the impact of mindset on how we approach failure and success. She has studied how believing in one’s ability to learn and improve can radically affect our reaction to challenges. Her research claims that by focusing on effort and strategy, we can help students expand their minds and overcome barriers by having a “growth mindset” rather than a “fixed mindset.” 

While her research focuses on students, her TED talk discusses principles with universal application, such as the profound impact of believing we can change for the better. She also explores ideas for constructive communication with the next generation to set them up for success. Do you feel limited by externally applied standards? Have you been put in a box your whole life that you struggle to break out of? Do you throw in the towel easily because you feel that you just can’t win? Dweck’s motivational speech might give you more confidence in your abilities. Our favorite line?

“…praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement. This process praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient.”

7. Malala Yousafzai: “16th birthday speech at the United Nations”  

Malala Yousafzai is the world’s youngest Nobel laureate and one of the best known human rights advocates of her generation. Her speech before the U.N. in 2014 is a passionate appeal for setting worldwide injustices right. From her harrowing story of being shot in the head, to her advancement of nonviolence, this motivational speech is a moving reminder of how much work each and every one of us can do to lift the burden of the oppressed. 

Though her audience at the time of the speech was a group of world leaders, we can all learn a lot from Malala that applies to our own lives. In addition to her stirring personal story, she lays out a variety of action items that we can all undertake in our communities to lay a foundation for justice. Furthermore, she emphasizes how education and tolerance rather than violence and politics can help win the fight against terrorism. If you ever feel at a loss for what you can do to change the word, Malala is the motivator you need. This speech is also a great model for using your personal story and character or ethos to persuade your audience, which we cover here .

“Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced.”

“One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.”

8. Joel Osteen: “The power of I am”

Oprah described this sermon by pastor Joel Osteen as life-changing, and you might find it so too! Osteen is a clergyman, but many of his sermons are functionally motivational speeches that can inspire your life regardless of whether you’re religious or not. “The Power of I Am” is about how excessive negativity can control our lives. Osteen argues that when we say “I am ______,” we’re inviting whatever that is into our lives. If we repeatedly say “I am” statements followed by something negative or something we hate about ourselves, we are just digging ourselves deeper into that hole. 

Osteen’s words are badly needed in a world where the internet encourages negative comparison and loneliness is epidemic. He uses examples from Scripture and from his own life to show how talking yourself down becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. This is something we all experience at some point! You mess up, say “I’m an idiot,” and for the rest of the day your idiocy, clumsiness, or incompetence suddenly seems like the most noticeable thing about you. Or maybe an authority figure once identified you with your failures and you internalized it for years and years. Osteen’s sermon is an amazing call to do better. We can carry ourselves with confidence, not pride, and disconnect our flaws from our sense of self. 

“My encouragement is never say negative things about yourself. Most of us would never go up to another person, at least to their face and criticize them yet we have no problems criticizing ourselves. “I am so slow. I am so unattractive. I am so undisciplined”. That is cursing your future. Do yourself a favor and zip that up. We have enough in life against us already. Don’t be against yourself.”

9. Nicole Walters: “Why Excuses Are the #1 Thing Keeping You From Your Goals”  

Nicole Walters is an incredible entrepreneur and businesswoman who quit her successful corporate career to start her own company when she realized her blog was generating her significant passive income. This keynote from a conference for online creators outlines how she managed to do it all…with blood, sweat, tears, and no excuses! 

While Nicole dishes out amazing strategies for building your business and avoiding excuses, this is also an incredible example of how to give a great motivational speech. Our founder Grant Baldwin even did an analysis of her professional speaking performance here . Nicole uses humor, storytelling, and credible examples from her career to show how to avoid excuses and maintain sustainable innovation as you build your personal brand. If you want to start a business or expand your content creation but struggle with ambition and motivation, Nicole is your girl.

Get ready for some hard truths and a lot of humility, because it’s not easy! You can hear even more of her tips on our podcast here . She also came on our podcast for a conversation about race in the speaking industry , sharing her experience as a black woman who speaks professionally. This is a must listen if you’re interested in DEI and how the speaking industry can improve its diversity and inclusivity. 

Nicole is an abundant source of amazing one-liners and truth bombs. Here are two of our favorites to finish off: 

“Excuses are tools of incompetence. Those who specialize in them, are seldom good at anything else.”

“You’re not Kim Kardashian.” 

“Automate systems, not relationships.” 

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10. William Faulkner: Banquet Speech  

For our final must-listen motivational speech, we’re heading back in time. William Faulkner delivered this speech when he received the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. The threat of nuclear war hung heavy at the time Faulkner received the award. Faulkner himself eschewed the acclaim and reward that his talent deserved. His speech is a testament to the immortality of art and literature. His words elegantly express how art and literature can help humanity survive beyond dark times. 

Especially in an age of AI, media cycles, and overwhelming access to information, a reminder of the power and importance of art is badly needed. Faulkner’s speech is short, but it’s extremely moving. Every sentence drips with the weight of writers and artists who went before him, carrying humanity through crises and catastrophes and helping rebuild and process their wake. Faulkner himself says it best: 

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.”

Mastering how to deliver a great motivational speech is no easy task. We think these paragons of motivational speaking deserve special attention for their mastery and inspiration! And having a solid list of inspirational content to fall back on when you’re feeling down, bewildered, or uninspired is always a good idea.  If you want to become a motivational speaker yourself , taking inspiration from these great talks will help you find your own voice in the speaking industry. ( We can help too! ) 

• Last Updated: April 4, 2024

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The big fish blog, 25 awesome public speaking quotes.

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Public speaking is the number one fear in America.  Death is number two.

From sweaty palms to cracking voices, speaking publicly can be terrifying, yet it is a crucial skill to have in the business world.  We’d like to alleviate some of this stress by offering up some inspirational, informative quotes.  These quotes are in no particular order, and the speakers range from well-known orators to presentation gurus.  Some are serious, some are classic, and some are short and funny.  Feel free to spread these around, write them in your journals, whatever you want! Enjoy!

“You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.”  -John Ford  

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”  -D. H. Lawrence  

“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”  -Dionysius Of Halicarnassus  

“What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  -Jim Beggs  

“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.”  -Dianna Booher  

“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” – Dale Carnegie

“It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”  – Mark Twain

“A good orator is pointed and impassioned.”  -Marcus T. Cicero

“Oratory is the power to talk people out of their sober and natural opinions.”  – Joseph Chatfield

“He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.”  – Joseph Conrad

“There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.”  – Alexander Gregg

“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”  – Lilly Walters

“If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.”  – Harvey Diamond

“Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.”  – Michael H Mescon

“There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.”  – Mark Twain

“No one ever complains about a speech being too short!”  – Ira Hayes

“90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.”  – Somers White

“It takes one hour of preparation for each minute of presentation time.”  – Wayne Burgraff

“The most precious things in speech are the pauses.”  – Sir Ralph Richardson

“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”  – Martin Fraquhar Tupper

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  – Carl W. Buechner

“The problem with speeches isn’t so much not knowing when to stop, as knowing when not to begin.”  – Frances Rodman

“Words have incredible power. They can make people’s hearts soar, or they can make people’s hearts sore.” -Dr. Mardy Grothe

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”  – Mark Twain

Tags: 25 , art , audience , awesome blog , big fish , big fish presentations , blog , cool blog , emerson , entrepreneur , entrepreneurship , famous quotes , john ford , mark twain , presentation , public speaking , quotes , speakers , speaking , speech

These are 25 quotes that every writer on oratory as well as every orator need to have in his or her repertory of quotes. The one by Martin Fraquhar Tupper, “Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.” is a special favorite of mine because I’m always telling the new speakers that I mentor to pause when speaking as an alternative to using filler words when they need a moment to gather their thoughts. A well-laced pause can add dramatic impact to a speech while filler words do nothing but detract from the quality of ones speech.

We completely agree. Pausing adds that special dramatic impact. Filler words like “umm” and “ahh” can get dangerous if used too much…

Thank you!!!!

No problem, Jon! We’re glad you liked it! Stay tuned for more!

I just stumbled across this blog, and I love those Mark Twain quotes. What a genius, that man.

We completely agree, Mike! Make sure to subscribe to our blog for more posts!

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20 Great Quotes To Help You Deliver A Killer Speech

Want to make your next speech more powerful ? Use superb quotations and use them well. In this article, I will share 20 of my favorite quotations for beginning and professional speakers. And I will tell you when and how to use them.

But before we get into these specific sayings, here are a few introductory suggestions for using quotations when you are a keynote speaker , giving an inspirational message, annual report, sales presentation, after-dinner talk, Sunday sermon, teaching lesson, or any speech you are preparing.

• Use no more than 3 to 5 quotations in your speech. Remember that a quotation is like seasoning on a fine meal. Don’t overuse quotations in your talk. That’s like dumping an entire saltshaker worth of salt on top of your meal. Think of quotes as delicious flavor additives, not the main dish.
• Avoid using quotes that are already well known to your audience. The real (secret) power of a great quotation is its ability to surprise your listeners.
• Take the time to find the ideal quotes for your talk. Go deeper than a google search. Read inspiring books, check out relevant articles, visit your local bookstore or library. Keep a journal and collect the sayings, proverbs, quotations, and bits of wisdom that move your heart and mind.
• Whenever possible, cite the source of your quotation. Give credit where credit is due. And be sure your source is accurate. You will lose credibility if you quote George Washington as an expert on social media! If you cannot track down the original source of your quote, you can simply say, “It has been said…”
• Make sure your quotations support your main message . Sometimes it’s tempting to sneak a great quip or quote into your talk because you love it. First decide if it’s apt for what you want to communicate.

Here Are 20 of the Best Quotations for Your Next Speech Use One of These Great Quotes When You Want to…

Create laughter.

Quoting a comedian, famous wit, ancient proverb, or even a child’s wisdom can generate an instant laugh during your presentation. And trust me, your audience wants to laugh! Here’s the key: Pause before and after you share the funny quotation or short joke. A humorous quotation will surprise, shock, exaggerate, and often convey a tough truth in a way that delights.

“If you’re looking for a helping hand, there’s one at the end of your arm.” ~Yiddish Proverb

Make them THINK

A powerful quotation will give your audience food for thought. First of course, you must determine what you want your audience to understand, believe, and embrace. Then, choose a quotation that packs a punch.

“He not busy being born, is busy dying.” ~Bob Dylan

Grab their ATTENTION

Usually the shorter the quotation, the more powerful the punch. Long quotes, like long speeches, will leave your audiences yawning. To open your speech, you may want to grab your listener’s attention with a short quotation or aphorism. If you are giving a talk about dream casting or goal-setting for example, here’s a fine quotation:

“If you know what you want, you can have it.” ~RH Jarrett

Prove your POINT

You don’t have to agree with every source you quote. Sometimes who you quote, is as important as what you quote. Here’s an example. Though I obviously detest this famous leader, this quotation makes a powerful point. When I am stressing the power of passion, I sometimes share this one. Note: After I give the source—which always shocks the audience—I remind them that he was evil and that we must use the power of passion for good.

“Only a storm of hot passion can turn the destinies of people. And he alone can arouse passion who bears it within himself.” ~Adolf Hitler

Illustrate an IDEA

A good quotation is like a good story. It’s a window in your house. Use it to let the light in. Help your audience see what you are saying. A good metaphor is one of the most helpful tools in a speaker’s toolbox. To get your idea across, use a strong word picture. Imagine giving a talk to a group of schoolteachers. Your goal is to affirm them for the great work they are doing. You want to remind them that what they do—educating children—matters forever.

“A school is a building with four walls, with tomorrow inside.” ~Lon Watters

INSPIRE your audience

The best speeches lift hearts! If your goal is to motivate your audience, insert a quotation designed to inspire the dreams of your audience members. Connect with their emotions. Choose a statement that is filled with hope and encouragement. Here’s one of my favorites, because it strikes such an emotional chord:

“If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.” ~Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio

Issue a WARNING

You can use a quotation to sound an alarm. You may want to shake your hearers into stopping/starting a behavior. The key here is choosing a quotation that lights a fire under your people. What mindset do you want them to change? What do you want them to do?

“Unassertive salespeople have skinny kids!” ~Zig Ziglar

Make people CARE

Many speakers make the mistake of thinking that their talk is primarily about content. While content is important, the best speakers transfer their conviction to an audience. Your group doesn’t want more information. They are looking for takeaways and transformation.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou

Capture an INSIGHT

Many times the quotes that will rock your speech are what I call “zingers.” What is a “zinger”? It’s a pithy statement that expresses a flash of insight. Zap your audience with a truth in capsule form. People love to read the fortune inside their fortune cookie—and often the words apply to their lives. When I am giving a speech that talks about how we learn, I love to share this one:

“I respect wisdom but I obey pain.” ~12 Step Recovery Saying

EDUCATE your attendees

Don’t make the mistake many speakers make. Never confuse a statistic with a quotation. Remember: facts tell, stories sell. Search out stories and quotations for your talk that provide “teaching moments.” Tip: Do an Amazon search for aphorism. You’ll discover some great gems and nuggets for your next speech. An aphorism, like a proverb, teaches a memorable lesson-in-a-few-words.

“Don’t expect your ship to come in—unless you’ve sent one out.” ~Belgian Proverb

STRENGTHEN your case

Know exactly what you want to say to an audience. Then you will be in a position to find the perfect quote(s) for your next keynote speech, workshop or seminar. If you are giving a talk on leadership, select a quotation from an inspiring leader. Are you motivating athletes? Choose a motivational saying from an accomplished football, basketball, or soccer player. Most importantly, know your audience. This will help you know which quotation will best support your speech.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” ~Anais Nin

Make your speech MATTER

A good question to ask yourself is: “Who cares about what I am saying?” By the way, this is the very question your audience is asking when you start your speech. How does this matter to me ? Reverse engineer your speech. Think about the big takeaway you want your group to get from your presentation. Then craft your message—and the quotes that will make it pop—based on the actions you want your audience to take.

“The meaning of communication is the response you get.” ~NLP maxim

Use the power of REPETITION

One of the great speeches in U.S. history is Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. And one of the factors that makes it so powerful? MLK’s repeated use of his awesome title: “I Have a Dream.” Consider repeating a strong quotation again and again during your talk. This can help you re-state your core message. You can also hammer home a big point with a quotation that repeats certain words to great effect. Notice how Winston Churchill did this often. (“Never, never, never give in…”), He and MLK are two of the greatest orators of the 20th century. Both leaders repeated words to maximize the impact of their language.

“We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a glow-worm.” ~Winston Churchill

Enhance a CELEBRATION

Maybe you will give your speech at a wedding, an anniversary party, or an awards program. You can pump up the proceedings with a special quote. Identify a sparkling statement that will raise spirits…and maybe wine glasses. Here’s the key to doing this well: Keep the focus on who/what is being celebrated. Your quotation should amplify the purpose of the event. Honor the bride, toast the award-winner, congratulate the champion. Get clear on the reason for festivities. Your quotation should put a spotlight on what your guests are celebrating together.

“Life is short, wear your party pants.” ~Loretta LaRoche

Want to make sport of a competitor? Handle a heckler? Or lampoon an idea you don’t like? A good quote can work wonders. Just be careful about coming across as mean-spirited. Humor helps.

“Lord, help me make my enemies look ridiculous.” ~Voltaire (French Philosopher)

Increase your AUTHORITY

Don’t get the wrong idea here. Quotations are not the source of your authority, you are. But a compelling quote can boost your credibility as a speaker. Select a quote that comes from a recognized name or organization that will resonate with your audience. Quote an expert. Better yet, become one.

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” ~Muhammed Ali

Speak with CONFIDENCE

Want to know a speaking secret? Your listeners aren’t paying that much attention to what you say. But they are tuned in to how you say it. They are listening for your confidence. What do you do if you don’t feel confident? Act like you are. And to take it to the next level—instill confidence in your audience too. Model it.

“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” ~Susan Jeffers

Bring CLARITY

One of the gifts you can bring people via your message is clarity. Help your audience see the path, cut through the clutter, and take decisive action. Make a statement, or share a quotation, that simplifies things for people. Sometimes this can be phrased as a question like, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Other times you will want to give them the answer straight up. A great quote can help you do just that. You want to communicate with great clarity. And show your audience the way forward.

“If you don’t have a plan for your life, somebody else does.” ~Michael Hyatt

Issue a call to ACTION!

You can wrap-up your speech with a mighty quotation to finish strong. Make sure that your final phrase captures the heart of your main message. Don’t end on something cliché like, “Thanks for listening” or “My name is Blah Blah.” Your end quote, if you use one, should empower your audience and echo the main thrust of your talk. And get this: You want to invite your audience to take action.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.” ~Walt Disney

Create your own CATCH PHRASE

Few people remember speeches, but many people remember speakers. Can you create an original quotation that fits your personal brand? Tap into what makes you unique. What makes your message special? The final words of your speech can remind people about who you are and what you had to say. What is your signature “sign off” sentence? It might be a parting piece of advice. It could also be a statement you design to capture the way you want the group to remember the experience you created for them.

“The tribe has spoken.” ~Jeff Probst, “Survivor”

By finding and utilizing quotations that appeal to you, you will heighten the impact of your speech. Plug one or two of the above quotations into your next speech or special presentation. Better yet, discover the pitch-perfect quotes for your talk. Weave them into your speech and speak with gusto. You’ll be glad you did. And your audience will be pleased too. You can quote me on that.

Adam Christing is a professional keynote speaker, master of ceremonies , and author . He has written four humor and personal transformation books including: Comedy Comes Clean 1 & 2: A Hilarious Collection of Wholesome Jokes, Quotes, and One-liners, Your Life is a Joke: 12 Ways to Go from Ha Ha to AHA! and Bob Dylan Can Change Your Life: 61 Ways to Invent a Legendary You.  Adam has been studying and collecting quotations for more than 25 years.

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Impactful Public Speaking Quotes to Inspire You!

Feb 8, 2023 | Public Speaking

Public speaking is a daunting task for many of us. But it’s often a task we cannot avoid. Whether it be giving a presentation at work or doing the best man speech at your friend’s wedding, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s where public speaking quotes are inspiring.

Don’t battle on alone. Learn from the masters – the wisdom of some of history’s greatest public orators is an excellent kicking off point when preparing your own speech. From sage advice to words of wisdom, these little aphorisms and knowledge nuggets can soothe your nerves and spark your creativity.

Spanning Winston Churchill to Mark Twain, our list of public speaking quotes contains some of the deepest thinkers in world history. So, if you’ve got a public speaking event to prepare for, don’t fear. Here are some of the best public speaking quotes ever uttered.

Impactful public speaking quotes

HISTORICAL FIGURES

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.”

-Winston S. Churchill

(British Prime Minister during World War II)

“A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool speaks because he has to say something.” -Plato

(Classical Greek philosopher)

“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

(32 nd   American President during World War II)

“The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.”

-Lady Bird Johnson

(American socialite and first lady of President Lyndon B. Johnson)

“If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.”

-Gerald R. Ford

(38 th   American President)

ARTISTS AND AUTHORS

“The most precious things in speech are the pauses.”

-Sir Ralph Richardson

(English actor)

“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”

-Martin Fraquhar Tupper

(English writer and poet)

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

(American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist)

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”

-D.H. Lawrence

“We don’t always have an accurate view of our own potential. I think most people who are frightened of public speaking and can’t imagine they might feel different as a result of training. Don’t assume you know how much potential you have. Sometimes the only way to know what you can do is to test yourself.”

-Scott Adams

(Creator of the Dilbert comic strip)

“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

-Dale Carnegie

(American writer and lecturer)

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

(American, essayist, poet, and philosopher)

BUSINESS AND POLITICAL FIGURES

“Picture yourself in a living room having a chat with your friends. You would be relaxed and comfortable talking to them; the same applies when public speaking.”

-Richard Branson

(Founder of the Virgin Group)

“If you’re not comfortable with public speaking – and nobody starts out comfortable; you have to learn how to be comfortable – practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust.”

-Hillary Clinton

(American politician and lawyer)

“You are not being judged; the value of what you are bringing to the audience is being judged.”

-Seth Godin

(American author and entrepreneur)

“Simple and to the point is always the best way to get your point across.”

-Guy Kawasaki

(American marketing specialist, author, and venture capitalist)

“The first time you say something, it’s heard; the second time, it’s recognized; the third time, it’s learned.”   – John Maxwell

(American author, speaker, and pastor)

“It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public.”

-Tony Robbins

(American author, coach speaker, and philanthropist)

PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKERS

“The first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds have the most impact in a presentation.”

-Patricia Fripp

(Keynote speaker and executive speech coach)

“Speak like you talk, not like you write.”

-Craig Valentine

(1999 World Champion of Public Speaking)

“If you don’t want to preach, put stories in your speech.”

-Andy Harrington 

(Professional public speaker and coach)

“When you’re rehearing, just focus on giving the speech, and then look at the video. You really cannot give a speech and be critiquing it at the same time.”

“Humans are completely incapable of reading and comprehending text on a screen and listening to a speaker at the same time. Therefore, lots of text (almost any text!), and long, complete sentences are bad, Bad, BAD.”

-Garr Reynolds

(Internationally-acclaimed communications consultant and author)

“90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.”

 -Somers White

(Keynote speaker and former Arizona State Senator)

There is a pearl of wisdom waiting to be understood in each of these public speaking quotes. Learning from these masters of speaking and writing, you can hone your skill and bolster your public speaking abilities. Is there a public speaking quote we missed that you love? Or do you have any words of advice you’ve learned when practicing public speaking? Tell us about it.

Need Public Speaking Inspiration?

If you need help with public speaking, don’t hesitate to contact our team for a free consultation. With over 20 years of experience, we’re ready to transform you into a public speaking pro. No more nerves. No more anxiety. Just steady confidence that comes from being trained by the best.

Contact  Speech and Voice Enterprises  today and learn about our online  2-Day Public Speaking Seminars ,  accent reduction ,  voice improvement training , and more  online public speaking courses  today!

About the Author

For over 20 years Elizabeth Peterson , has enjoyed supporting individuals and companies with their communication and voice needs. Speech and Voice Enterprises, her private practice, has been in operation for over 15 years in Denver, Colorado. Ms. Peterson is heavily involved in her field and has numerous published books, therapy programs and articles in the areas of accent reduction, public speaking, leadership and communication, traumatic brain injury, stroke recovery and pediatric therapy programs.

At Speech and Voice Enterprises, we offer custom-tailored business communication classes with several training options available... Get started now with

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16 Most Life-Changing Motivational Speeches & What You’ll Gain from Them

It’s all very well reading about ways to get ahead in life, but no account will ever reach you in quite the same way as hearing someone speak about their own experiences. While these people may be household names now, it wasn’t always that way, and this collection of some of the best motivational speeches will move you and inspire you to make your own dreams come true.

From Arnold Schwarzenneger talking about how he filled every moment of every day with steps to fulfil his ambition of becoming Mr. Universe, to J.K. Rowling’s life as an impoverished single mother, these speeches will fill you with the drive and determination to reach your full potential, and not let anything stand in your way.

Some are long, and some last just a few minutes, but each one will make you want to grab life with both hands and go for what you want, whatever it is.

“Most people have done all that they’re ever going to do – they raise a family, they earn a living, and then they die.”

That’s what we’re supposed to do, right? Wrong! Life is made for greater things, and you are meant for greater things.

When Les Brown was a child, he was labeled ‘educable mentally retarded’, and until a chance encounter with another teacher, he believed that he would amount to nothing. But this one teacher planted the seeds in Les’ head which would blossom and grow, and eventually make him one of the best motivational speakers of all time.

This speech will give you permission to rise above other people’s opinions, to break free of their prejudices, and make a success of whatever you do. Watch ‘It’s Not Over Until You Win! Your Dream is Possible’ and take those first steps towards following your passion and making your dream come true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f0nIhDpXuU

“Stress doesn’t come from the facts, stress comes from the meaning that we give the facts.”

Life is about choices. Every day we’re faced with hundreds of choices, and this speech by Tony Robbins will help you see that it’s the choices, not the conditions, which shape our lives.

Take a moment during this speech to pause and reflect on some choices you have made in the past, and really think about the direction your life took because of them, both good and bad. Tony Robbins explains in his inimitable way that we have the choice to focus on what we want, and that when we focus, we can achieve whatever we want.

Part of Tony’s speech explains how, when the economy is down, some people thrive and some people crash and burn, and the COVID 19 pandemic is the perfect example. Small businesses took a huge hit, and while some of them threw up their hands in despair and said ‘that’s it, it’s over for us’, others adapted, and saw it as an opportunity to expand, diversify, and turn the situation to their advantage.

And that’s the cornerstone of this video – how we react, how we adapt, and how we choose is the difference between success and failure.

“So every rep that I do gets me closer to accomplishing the goal to make this goal – this vision – into reality.”

Be inspired by Arnold Schwarzenneger as he talks about his goal of becoming Mr. Universe. Never wasting a second of his day, Arnie worked in construction, spent 5 hours in the gym, and went to acting classes, all of which took him further along his journey to making his dream come true.

We all have a propensity to waste time, but if you have a goal, if you have a passion that smolders away, take a leaf out of Arnie’s book and make sure that everything you do propels you forward.

And don’t be afraid to fail.

“Your conviction and your convenience don’t live on the same block.”

If you are a fan of The Secret, you will be familiar with Lisa Nicholls. In this video, Lisa tells Tom Bilyeu how she was willing to leave everything and everyone behind in order to grow into the version of herself that she knew she wanted.

Lisa explains how, as a young mother, she was forced to wrap her baby in a towel for two days because she had no money for diapers, and how it was at that moment that she vowed never to be that broke or that broken again.

Change, success, drive…they’re all inconvenient and disruptive, and Lisa Nicholls demonstrates that wonderfully in this emotional and highly motivating interview in which she declares “your story is not meant to be your fortress, your story is meant to be your fuel.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toQmqLwNtho

Eric Thomas had a dream, a goal, and that goal was to be the best motivational speaker in the world. He didn’t achieve this by giving 70%, or 80%…he didn’t achieve it by staying in bed late in the mornings. He achieved it by giving 100% every minute of every day.

Listen to Eric’s words, hear the passion in his voice, and feel the lessons he is giving to you if you want to be the best at whatever you do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtuHZC-ObA8

“If we don’t take control of our environment, it takes control of us.”

This short piece by Tony Robbins has been designed to show you that you are in control of your own environment. Whether you realize it or not, what goes on around you has a massive influence on the way you feel and the way you act.

By taking leadership of your own life, you can defy outside influences and set your own tone for the day ahead, regardless of whatever or whoever is exerting pressure from the outside.

Follow Tony’s example of taking 10 minutes for yourself at the start of every day – for gratitude, prayer or wishes for family and friends, and a recap of what you want to accomplish that day, and your day will continue on that same path of thankfulness, hope, and goals.

“Your mind doesn’t know the difference between something you vividly imagined and something that’s real, literally!”

If you want to emulate the way successful people behave, take these 10 billionaires’ habits and adopt them yourself for 21 days.

Billed by Jim Kwik as being ‘like a magic pill’, these habits will rewire your brain into thinking and behaving like some of the world’s most successful people.

In this 8 minute clip, Jim shares how, for instance, your brain reacts the same way when you imagine your dog walking in as it does when your dog actually walks in, and this can apply to anything. What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

As much as this applies to positive things, it also can be applied to negative things, so if you imagine failure, that’s what you will get. Fill your mind with thoughts of success and that’s what will happen.

None of these habits are difficult to accomplish, but in doing so you will change your entire mindset into one of a hugely successful person, no matter what you want to achieve in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fzGPwY40Cw

“Don’t leave crumbs.”

If this sounds more like a housekeeping hint and less like a motivational affirmation, you’re 50% right. Our lives do need housekeeping, and not leaving crumbs – i.e. regrets – which will come back and rob your tomorrow of joy, is one of the chores you need to do on a daily basis.

Matthew McConaughey delivers a powerful speech in a gentle way at the University of Houston Commencement Address.

Discussing the five rules he lives by, he will show you how to avoid falling into a trap of entitlement, and why ‘Unbelievable’ is the stupidest word in the dictionary.

With some invaluable life lessons contained inside a highly watchable speech, Matthew McConaughey is an unlikely but very inspiring speaker who has stayed humble despite all his successes.

“There are a lot of sharks in the world; if you hope to complete the swim, you will have to deal with them. So if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.”

Spoken with eloquence and quiet assuredness, this six-minute speech draws on US Navy Admiral William McRaven’s experience of survival in the Navy Seals.

He explains how making your bed, while seemingly insignificant and even pointless, will set a series of tasks in motion which will ensure that at best, the first job of the day is done, and at worst, you have a neat, tidy bed to fall into at the end of a trying day.

The world is full of people who want to bring you down (the sharks) but if you stand your ground, they will eventually swim away, leaving you to go on to bigger and better things.

“Sometimes life’s gonna hit you in the face with a brick…don’t lose faith.”

Steve Jobs, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Apple Inc. was hit in the face with more than one brick during his 56 years on earth. From being given up for adoption as a baby, to being fired from the very company which he founded, he never let anything get in his way.

In this commencement speech at Stamford University in 2005, Steve explained how his love for what he did spurred him on to rebuild his life in spectacular fashion.

Life dealt a further blow when, in 2003, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

This speech focuses on three stories which, when combined, show how life offers opportunities for change and growth, no matter how dire the circumstances.

Steve Jobs never graduated college, but when he died in 2011, aged just 56, he had a net worth of US$7 billion. He achieved this by doing what he loved, and in this speech he will inspire you to do the same.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously than you might as well not have lived at all. In which case, you fail by default.”

Let J. K. Rowling inspire you with this 2008 commencement speech at Harvard University. Extolling the virtues of failure and imagination, she tells the graduates how being at rock bottom set her free to pursue her dreams of being an author.

As poor as it is possible to be without being homeless, she created the world of Harry Potter and went on to amass a fortune of £795 million, but that without her failures in life, she would never have had the opportunity to do so.

Let her words become your own mantra, and view every failure in your life as a future success.

“We shine, because baby you just can’t dim the sun.”

A beautiful antidote for anyone who has ever felt or been told that they are ‘too much’, Gina Hatzis’ winning Speaker Slam speech of 2018 will give you permission to be unashamedly you.

Although written by a woman for women, this powerful and sometimes humorous speech about being your own authentic self will inspire anyone – man or woman – to shine and never dim their own light to suit other people.

“The first step you need to take is just that…step.”

If you are in need of a short, sharp burst of motivation, listen to this speech by ex Navy Seal, Jocko Willink.

Running for less than three minutes, this recording will inspire you to take a step into whatever you want to achieve. Awarded both the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for service, Jocko Willink is no stranger to taking those brave steps, having come face to face with Iraqu insurgents in Ramadi. He will spur you on to put one metaphorical foot in front of the other, and will leave you in no doubt as to what you need to do to achieve your goals.

“On the other side of your maximum fear are all of the best things in life.”

If you like your motivation with a side order of laughter, watch Will Smith as he talks about fear. Agreeing to skydive on a night out with friends, Will realizes that he actually has to go through with it.

Discussing how fear ruins things (he couldn’t sleep or eat before the jump), Will also discloses that beyond fear was the most blissful experience of his life, and how that principle can be applied to anything in life.

“Only those that can see the invisible, can do the impossible.”

Tyrese Gibson knows success, and in this speech he talks about how it can be achieved, by anyone who wants it.

Actor, singer, author, model…Tyrese seems to have the Midas touch, but he didn’t get it by luck. Follow his words as he gently but passionately guides you along the path you need to take if you have goals and dreams in life.

“I refuse to be another man who lived and died, and wasn’t significant’”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzl3CQXMRVo

“If it is written, so shall it be.”

When Steve Harvey’s teacher crushed his dreams of being on TV, the one person who believed in him was his father. He told him to put a piece of paper with his dreams on in his drawer, and to read it every morning and every night.

His dreams came true.

It didn’t always come easy for Steve Harvey though – he spent years living in his car when he had nowhere else to go, but the one thing he never lost was his ambition and determination to see his dreams through to fruition.

A firm believer in the Law of Attraction, Steve still has vision boards and still commits his dreams to writing, and encourages you to do the same in this speech that made Obama cry.

These motivational speeches, and many more like them, show how having guts, determination, and a vision will get you anywhere you want to go, no matter your beginnings in life. These inspirational speakers have suffered loss, sickness, and unbelievable hardships, but the one thing that got them through was their desire to win and their belief that they could.

Immerse yourself in their words of wisdom, and take that next step into your best life.

More on Motivation

• 8 Rituals to Cultivating True Self-Motivation That Lasts
• 10 Monday Morning Habits for a Successful Week
• Motivational Quotes

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• Aug 23, 2023
• 21 min read

300 Best Impromptu Speech Quotes: Public Speaking (2023)

1. “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” D. H. Lawrence.

2. “The most important things in life aren't things.” -­ Anthony J. D'Angelo

3. “The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Humes

4. “I’ve been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics.” – Barack Obama

5. “The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them.” – Lois McMaster Bujold

6. “It’s alright to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation.” Rob Gilbert.

7. “Communication works for those who work at it.”

8. “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”

9. “The most precious things in speech are the pauses.” – Sir Ralph Richardson

10. “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “Woman is woman’s natural ally.” – Euripides

12. “Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”

13. “He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.” – Joseph Conrad

14. “If you can’t communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential.”

15. “If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

16. “There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.” – Mark Twain

17. “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.”

18. “Find out what’s keeping them up nights and offer hope. Your theme must be an answer to their fears. ” – Gerald C Myers

19. “The more you do speak from the heart, rather than thumping the agenda, people will listen or relate or open themselves up more.” Drew Barrymore.

20. “The world is waiting for your words.”

21. “If you can’t state your position in eight words, you don’t have a position. “

22. “Every speaker has a mouth, an arrangement rather neat. Sometimes it’s filled with wisdom, sometimes it’s filled with feet.”

23. “To communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world, and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”

24. “The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you. ”

25. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” – Somers White

26. “It’s all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation.”

27. “When I meet a man I ask myself, ‘Is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?’ – Rita Rudner

28. “Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it: To Whom It May Concern. ” – Ken Haemer

29. Decide on the tone

30. “I have not failed. I’ve simply discovered 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

31. “Grasp the subject, the words will follow.”

32. “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”

33. “If God is in the details, then the Devil is in PowerPoint.”

34. “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives. ”

35. “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” Jim Rohn.

36. “The best speeches come from the heart and reflect your passion. Speak as if your life depended on it. ”

37. “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.” – Oscar Wilde

38. Storytelling

39. “College isn’t the place to go for ideas.” – Helen Keller

40. “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill

41. “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest. ”

42. “You are not being judged, the value of what you are bringing to the audience is being judged. ” – Seth Godin

43. “The secret of being a bore is to tell everything. ”

44. Dishes up winning flavours

45. “The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most. ”

46. “We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.” – Samuel Johnson

47. “There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.” – Malcom Gladwell

48. “If you wing it when speaking, you’ll get wing it results.”

49. “Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.” – Martin Fraquhar Tupper

50. “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.”

51. “The way something is presented will define the way you react to it.”

52. “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. ”

53. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. ” – Mark Twain

54. “What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” -Jim Beggs

55. “Find out what’s keeping them up nights and offer hope. Your theme must be an answer to their fears. ”

56. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, and to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill.

57. “The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops… until you stand up to speak in public.” George Jessel.

58. “Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.”

59. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” – Mark Twain

60. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” – Somers White

61. “Always give a speech that you would like to hear. ”

62. “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” – Dale Carnegie

63. “Words do two major things: they provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.”

64. “If you don’t use stories audience members may enjoy your speech, but there is no chance they’ll remember it.”

65. “Creative thinking is merely intelligent plagiarism.”

66. “When speaking in public, your message – no matter how important – will not be effective or memorable if you don’t have a clear structure.” Patricia Fripp.

67. “Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?” – James Thurber

68. “Always do sober what you say you’ll do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” – Ernest Hemingway

69. “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” John Ford.

70. “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

71. “A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool speaks because he has to say something.” Plato.

72. “Thank you to every American who hasn’t sued me so far.” – Sacha Baron Cohen

73. “Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.”

74. “Once you get people laughing, they’re listening and you can tell them almost anything.”

75. “Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.” Martin Fraquhar Tupper.

76. “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

77. “The way you overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.”

78. “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than delivering the eulogy.”

79. “If you’re not comfortable with public speaking – and nobody starts out comfortable; you have to learn how to be comfortable – practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust.” Hilary Clinton.

80. “The audience only pays attention as long as you know where you are going.”

81. “Simple and to the point is always the best way to get your point across. ” – Guy Kawasaki

82. “It takes one hour of preparation for each minute of presentation time.”

83. “Always give a speech that you would like to hear. ” – Andrii Sedniev

84. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

85. Diplomatic framework

86. “Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.” – Oprah Winfrey

87. “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” -John Ford

88. “The most precious things in speech are pauses. ”

89. “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.” Alexander Gregg.

90. “A presentation is a chance to share, not an oral exam. ” – M. F. Fensholt

91. “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.” Franklin Roosevelt.

92. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

93. “We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.” – Lynn Hall

94. “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart. ”

95. “Speeches measured by the hour die with the hour”

96. “Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking.”

97. “So much is said with the electricity of the eyes, the intensity of a whisper. Less is more. ”

98. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln

99. “It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public. ” – Tony Robbins

100. “If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” Harvey Diamond.

101. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. ”

102. “A designer knows he or she has achieved perfection, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

103. “Getting what you want is not nearly as important as giving what you have.” ‐Tom Krause

104. “Your ability to communicate with others will account for fully 85% of your success in your business and in your life.” Brian Tracy.

105. “Words have incredible power. They can make people’s hearts soar, or they can make people’s hearts sore.

106. “Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.” – Henry David Thoreau

107. “Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers.”

108. “A talk is a voyage with purpose and it must be charted. The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.” Dale Carnegie.

109. “Simple and to the point is always the best way to get your point across.” Guy Kawasaki.

110. “The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.”

111. “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.”

112. “My best advice is to not start in PowerPoint. Presentation tools force you to think through information linearly, and you really need to start by thinking of the whole instead of the individual lines. ” – Nancy Duarte

113. “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.”

114. “There is no such thing as presentation talent, it is called presentation skills”

115. “The most precious things in speech are the pauses. ” – Sir Ralph Richardson

116. “No question, 2006 was a lousy year for Iraq.” – Pres. George W. Bush

117. “Make sure you have stopped speaking before your audience has stopped listening.” Dorothy Sarnoff.

118. “Begin with the end in mind.” Dr Stephen R. Covey.

119. “One man with courage makes a majority.” -­ Andrew Jackson

120. “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience. ” – Alexander Gregg

121. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

122. “Light travels faster than sound. That’s why certain people appear bright until you hear them speak.” Albert Einstein.

123. “If you're not comfortable with public speaking - and nobody starts out comfortable; you have to learn how to be comfortable - practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust.”

124. “The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do.”

125. “Your smile is a messenger of your goodwill.”

126. “A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool speaks because he has to say something.”

127. “Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.” Michael H. Mescon.

128. “Oratory is the power to talk people out of their sober and natural opinions.” – Joseph Chatfield

129. “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives. ” – Lilly Walters

130. “Words have incredible power.

131. “Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.”

132. “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”

133. “The goal of effective communication should be for listeners to say ‘Me too!’ versus ‘So what?'”

134. “I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.” – Wilson Mizner

135. “Always give a speech that you would like to hear.”

136. “The more laws, the less justice.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

137. “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.”

138. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

139. “The first time you say something, it’s heard; the second time, it’s recognized; the third time, it’s learned. ” – John Maxwell

140. “Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak. ”

141. “A good orator is pointed and impassioned.” -Marcus T. Cicero

142. “Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”

143. “Picture yourself in a living room having a chat with your friends. You would be relaxed and comfortable talking to them, the same applies when public speaking.” Richard Branson.

144. “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” - James Dean

145. “If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.”

146. “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”

147. “The more things change, the more they remain… insane.” – Michael Fry and T. Lewis

148. “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” –Dale Carnegie

149. “That depends on the length of the speech,” answered the President. “If it is a ten-minute speech it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I can talk as long as I want to it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.”

150. “The problem with speeches isn’t so much not knowing when to stop, as knowing when not to begin.”

151. “What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

152. “Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it: To Whom It May Concern.”

153. “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce

154. “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”

155. “You are not being judged, the value of what you are bringing to the audience is being judged.” Seth Godin.

156. “In presentations or speeches less really is more.”

157. “Words do two major things: they provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.” Jim Rohn.

158. “To communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world, and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” Tony Robbins.

159. “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know. ”

160. “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.”

161. “Communication works for those who work at it.” John Powell.

162. “Speech is power. Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.”

163. “The fear of public speaking is the fear of being judged.” – Brené Brown

164. “Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best.” -Anonymous

165. “Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about. ” – Michael H Mescon

166. “Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much. ”

167. “Think about the impromptu speech as a game. Your attitude will change your frame of mind and instead of concentrating on the difficulty of finding the right words, your brain will deliver the perfect answer.”

168. “You don’t have to change who you are, you have to become more of who you are. ” – Sally Hogshead

169. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

170. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” William Butler Yeats.

171. “If something comes from your heart, it will reach the heart of your audience.”

172. “All you need is something to say, and a burning desire to say it… it doesn’t matter where your hands are.”

173. “Make sure you have stopped speaking before your audience has stopped listening.”

174. “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.” Dale Carnegie.

175. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. ”

176. “Speeches measured by the hour die with the hour.” Thomas Jefferson.

177. “The setup is where the pattern is established and everything goes in the same direction. The punch line is where a train of thought is derailed from a pattern and people laugh.”

178. “If you want me to speak for an hour, I am ready today. If you want me to speak for just a few minutes, it will take me a few weeks to prepare.” Mark Twain.

179. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. ”

180. “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like cuttlefish squirting out ink. ”

181. Make some quick notes

182. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein.

183. “Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.”

184. “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol

185. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform. ” – Somers White

186. “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”

187. “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.” – Alexander Gregg

188. “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.” Lilly Walters.

189. “Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes.” – Norman Douglas

190. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”

191. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

192. “It takes one hour of preparation for each minute of presentation time.” – Wayne Burgraff

193. “Speak clearly, if you speak at all. Carve every word before you let it fall.” Oliver Wendell Holmes.

194. “The most precious things in speech are the... pauses.”

195. “If you’re not comfortable with public speaking – and nobody starts out comfortable; you have to learn how to be comfortable – practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust. ”

196. “The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you.”

197. “The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter–’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. ”

198. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” Mark Twain.

199. “Make sure you have stopped speaking before your audience has stopped listening. ”

200. “Fathers send their sons to college either because they went to college or because they didn’t.” – L.L. Henderson

201. “Buried deep within each of us is a spark of greatness, a spark than can be fanned into flames of passion and achievement. That spark is not outside of you it is born deep within you.”

202. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” Somers White.

203. “In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.” – Samuel Johnson

204. “Humans are completely incapable of reading and comprehending text on a screen and listening to a speaker at the same time. Therefore, lots of text (almost any text!), and long, complete sentences are bad, Bad, BAD. ” – Garr Reynolds

205. “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

206. “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”

207. “I do not speak of what I cannot praise.”

208. “The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.” – Gloria Steinem

209. “Someday I want to be rich. Some people get so rich they lose all respect for humanity. That’s how rich I want to be.” – Rita Rudner

210. “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay

211. “Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.” -Dionysius Of Halicarnassus

212. “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident. ” – Dale Carnegie

213. “The problem with speeches isn’t so much not knowing when to stop, as knowing when not to begin.” Frances Rodman.

214. “People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.”

215. “If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” – Harvey Diamond

216. “Words have incredible power. They can make people’s hearts soar, or they can make people’s hearts sore.” Dr. Mardy Grothe.

217. “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” – Oscar Wilde

218. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Mark Twain

219. “That all men are equal is a proposition which, at ordinary times, no sane individual has ever given his assent.” – Aldous Huxley

220. “There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.”

221. “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” – Mark Twain

222. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” – Benjamin Disareli

223. “It’s the space you put between the notes that make the music.” Massimo Vignelli.

224. “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour. ” – Dianna Booher

225. “The problem with speeches isn’t so much not knowing when to stop, as knowing when not to begin.” – Frances Rodman

226. “A talk is a voyage with purpose and it must be charted. The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.”

227. “To sway an audience, you must watch them as you speak. ”

228. “A presentation is a chance to share, not an oral exam.”

229. “90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform. ”

230. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

231. “Eloquence is the essential thing in a speech, not information. ”

232. “Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”

233. “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” -D. H. Lawrence

234. “All speaking is public speaking, whether it’s to one person or a thousand.” Roger Love.

235. “He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.”

236. “There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

237. “He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense. ”

238. “The goal of effective communication should be for listeners to say ‘Me too!’ versus ‘So what?” Jim Rohn.

239. “All you need is something to say, and a burning desire to say it… it doesn’t matter where your hands are. ”

240. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, and to sit down and listen.”

241. “If you don’t want to preach, put stories in your speech. ” – Andy Harrington

242. “Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.” – Michael H Mescon

243. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

244. “No one ever complains about a speech being too short!” Ira Hayes.

245. “Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much.” Robert Greenleaf.

246. The 5 Ws

247. “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

248. “Ask yourself, ‘If I had only sixty seconds on the stage, what would I absolutely have to say to get my message across.”

249. “I’ve never been a millionaire but I just know I’d be darling at it.” – Dorothy Parker

250. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.”

251. “Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.” - Oscar Wilde

252. “Picture yourself in a living room having a chat with your friends. You would be relaxed and comfortable talking to them, the same applies when public speaking. ” – Richard Branson

253. “Speak clearly, if you speak at all. Carve every word before you let it fall. ”

254. “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.” – Lilly Walters

255. “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.”

256. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

257. Have a friend or a family member give you a random quote. Then you attempt to deliver an impromptu speech on that quote. Do this exercise as much as possible before the competition. I’d recommend at least five times a day before the competition, depending upon how much time you have before the competition. This will help build what I like to call “Public Speaking Muscle Memory. ” So during the c… (more)

258. “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.” -Dianna Booher

259. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

260. “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

261. “Once you get people laughing, they’re listening and you can tell them almost anything. ”

262. “It is not true that equality is a law of nature. Nature has no equality. Its sovereign law is subordination and dependence.” – Marquis de Vauvenargues

263. “There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.”

264. “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.”

265. “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means of going backwards.” – Aldous Huxley

266. “The most precious things in speech are pauses.” – Sir Ralph Richardson

267. “Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.”

268. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

269. “Oratory is the power to talk people out of their sober and natural opinions.”

270. “To sway an audience, you must watch them as you speak.” C. Kent Wright.

271. “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. ” – Carl W. Buechner

272. “If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.”

273. “No one ever complains about a speech being too short!” – Ira Hayes

274. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” - John Wooden

275. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” - Michael Jordan

276. “Find out what’s keeping them up nights and offer hope. Your theme must be an answer to their fears.”

277. “It’s much easier to be convincing if you care about your topic. Figure out what’s important to you about your message and speak from the heart”

278. “Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better.” – George Santayana

279. “Speakers who talk about what life has taught them never fail to keep the attention of their listeners.” Dale Carnegie.

280. “Best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.”

281. “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. ”

282. “The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.” – Einstein

283. “There are good leaders who actively guide and bad leaders who actively misguide. Hence, leadership is about persuasion, presentation and people skills. ” – Shiv Kera

284. “The best speeches come from the heart and reflect your passion. Speak as if your life depended on it.” Rave Robinson.

285. “If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.”

286. “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.”

287. “The energy level of the audience is the same as the speaker’s. For better...or for worse.”

288. “Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history.” – George Bernard Shaw

289. “Be sincere, be brief, be seated. ”

290. “If it scares you it may be a good thing to try.” Seth Godin.

291. “If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.” Dennis Roth.

292. “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time — a tremendous whack. ”

293. “A good orator is pointed and impassioned.”

294. “The best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you are talking about.”

295. “All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.”

296. “All the great speakers were bad speakers at first.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

297. “To sway an audience, you must watch them as you speak.”

298. “Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.” – Oscar Wilde

299. “You, however, will know that this magic consists of 3 words: details, dialogue and conflict.”

300. “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

301. “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”

302. “It is not failure itself that holds you back; it is the fear of failure that paralyzes you.”

303. “If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour. ”

304. “The goal of effective communication should be for listeners to say ‘Me too!’ versus ‘So what?’” – Jim Rohn

305. “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” – Carl W. Buechner

306. “Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.”

307. “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” Dale Carnegie.

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The 24 Best Motivational Speeches Our Employees Have Ever Heard

Published: July 19, 2023

It was halftime during one of my 7th-grade football games. And we were losing 14 - 0. With our knees planted in the grass, my team was quietly huddled, drenched in sweat and defeat. Suddenly, it was game over.

That's when our assistant coach burst into our circle and shattered our pity party, delivering one of the best motivational speeches I've heard to this day.

I can't directly quote him because he said some inappropriate things for a blog post (and, in hindsight, probably for a bunch of 13-year-olds too).

The point is he harnessed the power of words to rejuvenate a physically and emotionally drained team. And we came back clawing to win the game.

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Motivational Speech

A motivational speech can come from anywhere or anyone, but it usually has a specific audience in mind.

Whether it's a graduation speech, an all-company meeting, a championship sporting event, or a conference keynote, these speeches are designed to change how their listeners see the challenges facing them in the future.

Like in sports, being motivated at work is crucial for your performance. This rings especially true when you have a looming deadline, an important meeting, or colleagues or customers depending on your performance.

Think about the last time you felt generally unmotivated. What brought you out of that feeling? Sometimes all it takes to get you going is a good night's sleep or witnessing the benefits of your labor.

Still, other times, you might listen to someone say something that resonates with you — that alters how you've been looking at a particular task or problem.

Motivational speeches and speakers can come in all different forms, but this is the one thing they have in common — resonance. They resonate with the right listener at the right time and in the right way.

Who knows, this article is doing some for you right now. (I can dream, can't I?)

We selected 24 of the best motivational speeches from business, sports, entertainment, and other fields to help you stay motivated no matter what your work throws at you. Watch these videos if you want to feel inspired by a project.

Trust me, I was wiping my eyes after I saw them. And while the messages vary from speech to speech, they can put you in the optimal frame of mind for tackling and crushing your next big challenge.

(Disclaimer: Some speeches may contain NSFW language.)

Elon Musk: "The Importance of Never Giving Up" (2020)

Angela Ahrendts: "Leading with Empathy" (2023)

Arianna Huffington: "The Power of Sleep" (2023)

Tim Cook: "Inclusion and Diversity" (2023)

J.K. Rowling: “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” (2008)

Sheryl Sandberg: "Lean In" (2021)

Jim Carrey: Commencement Speech at Maharishi University of Management (2014)

Steve Jobs: "How to Live Before You Die" (2005)

Matthew McConaughey: "The Pursuit of Happiness" (2022)

Denzel Washington: "Fall Forward" (2011)

Vera Jones: “But the Blind Can Lead the Blind…” (2016)

Oprah Winfrey: "The Power of Self-Belief" (2020)

Charlie Day: Merrimack College Commencement Speech (2014)

Brené Brown: "The Power of Vulnerability" (2013)

Kobe Bryant: “The Path to Greatness" (2020)

David Foster Wallace: "This Is Water" (2005)

Carol Dweck: "The Growth Mindset" (2020)

Al Pacino: "Inch by Inch" (1999)

Satya Nadella: "Empowering Others" (2023)

Sylvester Stallone: Speech from Rocky Balboa (2006)

Will Smith: Speech from The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Mel Robbins: "The 5 Second Rule" (2020)

Angela Duckworth: "The Power of Grit" (2020)

Kurt Russell: “This is Your Time” (2004)

The Best Motivational Speeches of All Time

1. elon musk: "the importance of never giving up" (2020), theme of speech: perseverance and resilience.

Elon Musk's "The Importance of Never Giving Up" speech about perseverance and determination is decisive.

In this speech, Musk emphasizes failing and learning from failures as keys to success. He recounts his life and career, demonstrating how he overcame challenges.

One key takeaway from Musk's speech is his advice to adopt a growth mindset.

Musk encourages listeners to view setbacks as learning experiences. He also highlights the value of perseverance, persistence, and taking risks.

Elon Musk's word serves as an upbeat reminder that perseverance, patience, and the desire to attempt things repeatedly in the face of difficulty are essential for success.

"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."

2. Angela Ahrendts: "Leading with Empathy" (2023)

Theme of the speech: empathetic leadership....

The "Leading with Empathy" talk by Angela Ahrendts emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and compassion in leadership.

According to Ahrendts, leaders must view their employees as whole people with lives outside of work. Leaders can instill trust, respect, and mutual support in their employees and organizations.

Ahrendts emphasizes the importance of team mission as well. Leaders can inspire their teams by connecting them to a greater goal.

She believes that working together fosters creativity, innovation, and growth.

"Leading with Empathy" is a powerful reminder that leadership requires more than technical knowledge. To truly inspire and motivate their employees, leaders must understand their emotional needs and create a supportive, inclusive environment.

"Empathy is the glue that holds relationships together, whether they are personal or professional."

3. Arianna Huffington: "The Power of Sleep" (2023)

Theme of the speech: sleep and productivity.

The Huffington Post's founder, Arianna Huffington, emphasized the importance of sleep to overall health. In her 2023 speech, "The Power of Sleep," she discusses how sleep deprivation affects our health, productivity, and happiness.

Huffington observes that we have been taught to sacrifice sleep for success. She also mentions that well-rested employees are more creative, efficient, and effective.

To address these issues, Huffington proposes a cultural shift that recognizes sleep as essential to health and wellness.

She advises individuals and organizations to prioritize sleep, avoid technology before bedtime, and create a restful sleep environment. Sleep, according to Huffington, is a necessity, not a luxury.

By recognizing the importance of sleep, people and businesses can enhance their health, productivity, and general well-being.

Arianna Huffington's "The Power of Sleep" speech in 2023 emphasizes the importance of sleep and the dangers of sleep deprivation.

It promotes a culture where getting enough sleep is essential for health and well-being.

"Sleep is the Swiss Army knife of health, it does everything."

4. Tim Cook: "Inclusion and Diversity" (2023)

Theme of the speech: inclusion and diversity.

Apple CEO Tim Cook advocates for inclusion and diversity. He has been instrumental in the company's initiatives to advance fairness and equality inside its ranks and across the technology sector.

Cook has prioritized diversity and inclusion at Apple because he believes it is proper and necessary for innovation and business success.

Unconscious bias training, diverse recruitment, and employee resource groups contributed to his success.

Outside of Apple, Cook has advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and immigration reform. He has raised awareness of these issues and advocated for social change as a business leader.

Tech leaders and others have lauded Cook's commitment to diversity and inclusion. He has raised awareness of these issues, leading to significant change at Apple and elsewhere.

"Inclusion and diversity are not just buzzwords, they are fundamental values that drive innovation and creativity."

5. J.K. Rowling: “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” (2008)

Theme of speech: failure.

In J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement speech, the Harry Potter author explored how two phenomena -- failure and imagination -- can be crucial to success.

While failure can help you understand where your true passion lies, and where you should focus your energy moving forward, imagination is what will allow you to empathize with other people so you can use your influence to do good.

“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

"You have to understand your own personal DNA. Don't do things because I do them or Steve Jobs or Mark Cuban tried it. You need to know your personal brand and stay true to it."

6. Sheryl Sandberg: "Lean In" (2021)

Theme of the speech: gender equality and leadership.

Sheryl Sandberg's 2021 talk, "Lean In," encourages women to lean into their careers and leadership roles. She urges women to stand up for one another and themselves to overcome societal and cultural hurdles.

Sandberg highlights the need to have distinct objectives and goals and be prepared to take calculated risks to achieve them.

She also underlines how crucial it is for more female leaders to advance diversity and gender equality across all industries.

Sandberg's speech also emphasizes collaboration. She urges women to mentor other women and look for sponsors and mentors themselves.

The "Lean In" talk by Sheryl Sandberg emphasizes women's voices and perspectives in all aspects of society.

To remove barriers and foster more inclusive and varied workplaces and communities, Sandberg urges women to pursue their professional ambitions with confidence and with the help of their communities.

"We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women's voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored."

7. Jim Carrey: Commencement Speech at Maharishi University of Management (2014)

Theme of speech: taking risks.

Jim Carrey might make a living as the goofiest comedian around, but in 2014, he combined classic Carrey humor with unforgettable insight at Maharishi University of Management's graduation ceremony.

Jim Carrey opened his speech dishing punchlines, but he eventually opened up about his upbringing and the role fear plays in our lives. You can actually hear the amazement in the students' reactions in the video above.

“I learned many great lessons from my father -- not the least of which is that you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”

8. Steve Jobs: "How to Live Before You Die" (2005)

Theme of speech: life and career.

Considering the YouTube video of Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement speech has 24 million views, it's likely that you've seen this one already.

In the speech, Jobs plays on two themes: connecting the dots (anecdote: how taking a calligraphy class helped inspire the design of the Mac) and love & loss (anecdote: how getting fired from Apple helped inspire his greatest innovations).

Perhaps the most memorable part his speech comes at the end, when he quotes the (now-famous) lines from the final issue of his favorite publication, The Whole Earth Catalog:

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

9. Matthew McConaughey: "The Pursuit of Happiness" (2022)

Theme of the speech: discovering true happiness and fulfillment in life..

In "The Pursuit of Happiness," famed actor and motivational speaker Matthew McConaughey provides his enlightened viewpoint on obtaining true happiness and fulfillment.

McConaughey presents a genuine and approachable study of what it means to live a fulfilling life through sincere storytelling and personal anecdotes.

The speech discusses the significance of authenticity and remaining true to oneself. McConaughey encourages people to define their success rather than succumb to social pressures or external expectations.

He stresses aligning our behaviors and decisions with our fundamental values and passions.

McConaughey expresses his conviction in the power of thankfulness and the importance of living in the present moment. He encourages people to create a grateful mindset, recognizing the blessings and possibilities surrounding them.

By appreciating the present and finding joy in the journey, individuals can experience more profound happiness and fulfillment.

"Happiness is not a destination. It's a state of mind, a journey, and a choice we make every day."

10. Denzel Washington: "Fall Forward" (2011)

In his 2011 UPenn commencement speech, Denzel Washington highlighted three reasons why we need to embrace failure in order to be successful. First, everybody will fail at something at some point, so you better get used to it.

Second, if you never fail, take that as a sign that you're not really trying. And third, at the end of the day, failure will help you figure out what path you want to be on.

“Fall forward. Here's what I mean: Reggie Jackson struck out twenty-six-hundred times in his career — the most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs.

Fall forward.

Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't know that—because #1,001 was the light bulb. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”

11. Vera Jones: “But the Blind Can Lead the Blind…” (2016)

Theme of speech: perseverance.

Last year at INBOUND, Vera Jones told a moving story about the life lessons she's learned from raising her blind son.

She explains how having faith in your future and letting it lead you toward your true purpose will help you overcome blinding obstacles.

She also discusses how following your passion and trusting your vision develops empathy, which is a critical leadership skill.

“Passionately play your position no matter how bad things get. You are significant. Why we are here is not for our own glory. Ultimately, we're here to lead and serve everybody else. By doing that, we encourage others to do the same.”

12. Oprah Winfrey: "The Power of Self-Belief" (2020)

Theme of Speech: Self-Belief and Confidence

Oprah Winfrey's 2020 speech "The Power of Self-Belief" emphasized the importance of self-assurance. She attributed her success to her unwavering self-assurance.

According to Oprah, self-belief is not about being arrogant or overconfident. She stresses the significance of overcoming self-doubt and fear, which can prevent people from reaching their goals.

Oprah used personal stories to demonstrate how self-confidence has aided her in life and work. She encouraged her audience to believe in themselves and to embrace their inner strength.

The Power of Self-Belief" reminded us how important it is to have faith in ourselves and our ability to succeed.

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams."

13. Charlie Day: Merrimack College Commencement Speech (2014)

Best known for his role in the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, actor Charlie Day had lots of wisdom to share during the 2014 commencement speech at his alma mater, Merrimack College.

Day explained to the audience how college degrees are inherently valueless, since you can't trade them in for cash. Instead, it's you, your hard work, and the risks you take that provide real value in life.

“You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing the things that will make you great. You cannot succeed without the risk of failure.

You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism. You cannot love without the risk of loss. You must take these risks.”

14. Brené Brown: "The Power of Vulnerability" (2013)

The video above is an animated excerpt from researcher Brené Brown's speech, " The Power of Vulnerability ." In the speech, Brown explores how our fear of not being good enough (among other fears) drives us to shield ourselves from our own vulnerabilities.

The alternative to wearing this emotional suit of armor: Embrace vulnerability through empathizing with others.

"Empathy is a choice, and it's a vulnerable choice. Because in order to connect with you, I have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling."

15. Kobe Bryant: “The Path to Greatness" (2020)

Theme of the speech: embracing dedication, perseverance, and a relentless pursuit of greatness..

Bryant emphasizes setting ambitious goals and working tirelessly to achieve them. Through captivating storytelling and personal anecdotes, he reveals the sacrifices and relentless effort required to excel at the highest level.

Bryant's speech is a testament to the power of hard work, discipline, and a growth mindset in attaining greatness.

The speech also explores embracing failure as a stepping stone to success. Bryant shares how setbacks and challenges can fuel personal growth and resilience.

He encourages individuals to embrace failure, learn from it, and use it as motivation to push beyond their limits.

Bryant's speech goes beyond the realm of sports, offering valuable insights and life lessons applicable to all areas of life.

His relentless pursuit of greatness and unwavering commitment to excellence inspires individuals striving to achieve their goals and dreams.

"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.'

We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it."

16. David Foster Wallace: "This Is Water" (2005)

From the opening minutes of David Foster Wallace's 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech , in which he questions commencement speech conventions, it's clear that Wallace has some serious wisdom to share.

The crux of his speech: Many of us are oblivious to our own close-mindedness. We picture ourselves as the centers of our own, individual universes, instead of seeing the bigger, more interconnected picture.

“If you're automatically sure that you know what reality is and who and what is really important, if you want to operate on your default setting, then you, like me, probably won't consider possibilities that aren't annoying and miserable.

But if you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you'll know you have other options.

It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer hell-type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred — on fire with the same force that lit the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.”

17. Carol Dweck: "The Growth Mindset" (2020)

Theme of the speech: cultivating a growth mindset for personal and professional development..

In "The Growth Mindset," Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist, and author, delivers an enlightening speech on the power of adopting a growth mindset for personal and professional growth.

Dweck's extensive research on mindset and achievement provides the foundation for her impactful message.

Dweck explains the difference between a fixed mindset, where individuals believe their abilities are fixed traits, and a growth mindset, where individuals believe their abilities can be developed through effort and learning.

She demonstrates how a growth mindset fosters resilience, learning, and innovation through relatable stories and compelling examples.

Dweck's speech resonates with individuals seeking personal and professional development, as she provides insights into how adopting a growth mindset can positively impact all areas of life.

Her research-based approach and engaging speaking style make "The Growth Mindset" an inspiring resource for individuals striving for continuous growth and improvement.

"The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset."

Famous Short Speeches With Inspirational Takeaways

18. al pacino: "inch by inch" (1999), theme of speech: teamwork.

Yes, this speech is from a football movie (Any Given Sunday), but trust me: This isn't your stereotypical rah-rah-go-get-'em sports speech. It's deeper than that. It's about life, and loss, and ... gosh darn it just listen to Al Pacino.

He's pouring his soul out!

“Either we heal as a team or we're gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me.

And we can stay here and get the $&#@ kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell, one inch at a time.”

19. Satya Nadella: "Empowering Others" (2023)

Theme of the Speech: Empowerment and Collaboration

Satya Nadella's 2023 lecture, "Empowering Others," emphasizes the importance of leadership that empowers others rather than focusing on personal success.

He emphasizes the importance of leaders cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging in which everyone feels respected and able to accomplish their best work.

Nadella also discusses the significance of technology in positive development. Some of society's most important issues may be resolved by technology, but proper development and application are required.

According to Nadella, empathy and emotional intelligence are essential for outstanding leadership. He suggests that Leaders listen to and understand. their team members' needs and motivations.

Leaders can develop a culture of trust and collaboration that will help the team flourish.

Satya Nadella's "Empowering Others" provides a special message about leadership in the current day. By emphasizing diversity, empathy, and responsible innovation, Nadella encourages audiences to strive for excellence while being mindful of their impact on others and the world.

"Success is not just about what we achieve individually, but what we enable others to achieve."

20. Sylvester Stallone: Speech from Rocky Balboa (2006)

Theme of speech: never give up.

I had to put this one next since it plays along the same themes as Denzel Washington's UPenn speech. In the scene above, from the 2006 film Rocky Balboa, the title character (played by Sylvester Stallone) is having a heart-to-heart with his son.

The advice he gives him: Don't let your failures or the adversity you face slow you down. Keep. Moving. Forward.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.

You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

21. Will Smith: Speech from The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Theme of speech: don’t let them bring you down.

Here's another speech from the big screen, this time from the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness.

In the scene above, Will Smith's character explains to his son why he shouldn't pursue basketball (because he'll end up being "below average") before having a major change of heart.

“Don't ever let somebody tell you ... you can't do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream. You gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.”

22. Mel Robbins: "The 5 Second Rule" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Action and Overcoming Self-Doubt

The "The 5 Second Rule" speech by Mel Robbins promotes action to achieve goals and overcome concerns and doubts.

When confronted with a decision or action that needs to be completed but you are hesitating or procrastinating, countdown from 5, and then act. According to Robbins, this method breaks habit loops that keep us unhealthy.

Counting down and taking action may assist us in overcoming uncertainty and self-doubt and moving toward our objectives. For success, Robbins also promotes mentality and self-talk.

She believes that to realize our potential, we must consciously reframe negative thoughts and limiting beliefs.

Mel Robbins' presentation "The 5 Second Rule" is a practical and efficient technique to overcome procrastination and achieve goals.

Robbins inspires listeners to take command of their lives and achieve by emphasizing attitude, self-talk, and positive actions.

"You are never going to feel like doing the things that are tough, difficult, or uncertain, but you have a choice."

23. Angela Duckworth: "The Power of Grit" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Spirit and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth examines the significance of perseverance and resilience in achievement in her book "The Power of Grit." According to Duckworth, grit—passion and determination—is essential for long-term success and overcoming obstacles.

Duckworth addresses grit and mentality, believing that people who view challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than threats will develop resilience and determination over time.

She advocates for a growth mindset, which believes people can acquire intelligence and other qualities through hard work. Duckworth places a premium on rigorous practice to achieve skill and mastery.

She recommends soliciting feedback, setting challenging goals, and intentionally improving abilities and succeeding. Angela Duckworth's "The Power of Grit" illuminates long-term achievement.

Duckworth emphasizes attitude, focused practice, and resilience to urge listeners to acquire grit and pursue their passions with tenacity.

"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality."

24. Kurt Russell: “This is Your Time” (2004)

Theme of speech: inspiring and believing in your team.

The Miracle on Ice is still considered the biggest upset in Olympic hockey history. And for good reason. The Soviet Union won six of the last seven Olympic gold medals, and the U.S. team consisted only of amateur players.

It was obvious the Soviets were better. But, in the movie Miracle, which told the incredible story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, Kurt Russell's character — Coach Herb Brooks — knew that this game was different.

The U.S. was better than the Soviets that day. And his speech conveyed such a strong belief in his team that they pulled off one of the greatest sports moments of the 20th century.

“If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game… Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!

Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players, every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time.”

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Public Speaking | Stage Fright | Assertiveness Coaching

Inspirational Quotes About Speaking That Will Up Your Confidence

Whenever I need a confidence boost, there’s nothing like inspirational quotes about speaking to give me a total reset.  Whether I’m facing writer’s block, stage fright, or I’m just feeling unmotivated, I turn to these words from the legends. 

From Mark Twain to Maya Angelou , here are inspirational quotes for public speaking with focus on:

• Presence and confidence
• Inspiring action
• Preparing the best speech of your life

Print them, tweet them, pin them, read at random, do what you need to do to get motivated and inspired.  And please share – you never know when someone else will need a confidence boost just like you! 

Inspirational quotes for stage presence and confidence

“you don’t have to change who you are, you have to become more of who you are” – sally hogshead .

Turn up the parts of yourself you love most! Why not!  Don’t be afraid of who you’re going to become – it’s still you, just turned up!

“There are only two types of speakers in the world. The nervous and the liars.” – Mark Twain

I still get stage fright and I LOVE IT. Now, I just treat it as a spark of energy bursting out of me.  Here’s a reframe for you – if you’re feeling nervous, it means that what you’re about to do is a BIG DEAL. Aren’t you happy that you get to do that? 

“If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.” – Gerald R. Ford

You hit the nail on the head, Mr. Ford, but what’s even more important than communicating effectively is knowing that everything is learnable.  It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve failed in the past. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re past your prime. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re not confident enough, or that you’re just not a “natural”. Everything is learnable. Anytime.  So why not just choose to start now? 

“Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident” – Dale Carnegie 

The fastest way to feel confident is to achieve something. It’s to overcome something.  If everything came easily to you, then you’d have nothing to be proud of.  If you struggle with public speaking, with being heard, with getting people excited to hear you, think about how amazing it will feel to overcome that.  Isn’t that motivating?  Now ask yourself, what do you need to do to make that happen? And trust me, once you do, your confidence and stage presence will be here to stay. Because you’ve earned it and you deserve it.  

Read more on Stage Presence and Confidence : Guide to overcome stage fright How to be MORE of who you want to be Add more energy when presenting virtually

Inspirational quotes for inspiring action in your speech

“i’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – maya angelou.

You get to choose. This is true for our day-to-day interactions as well as our presentations.  Before you start speaking, before you even start preparing, choose how you want your audience to feel.  Do you want them to feel inspired? Joyful? Motivated? Maybe you want them to walk away with a new belief – one that they’ve never thought possible.  You have to be intentional here, and you always get to choose. 

“If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will” – Harvey Diamond 

I totally agree.  Ever left a talk – without really knowing what it was about? That’s because the speaker was more focused on him or herself than on YOU.  Look back to your past presentations. Do you know what you were trying to achieve?  Get very clear on what you want to inspire, and begin with the and in mind. 

“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives” – Lily Walters 

Absolutely, focus on your audience, and then seal the deal with an ending that inspires action !

“Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it: To whom it may concern” – Ken Haemer

Who is your audience?  Always ask yourself, who are they? What do they already know? What do they want to know? What do they care about? What keeps them up at night? What can be left unsaid?  When it comes to connecting and inspiring, there’s no one-size-fits-all model! 

“A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool speaks because he has to say something” – Plato 

Are you speaking just to speak?  Your audience is honoring you with their attention. Give them something in return.  If you’re not inspired by what you’re saying, don’t expect to inspire anyone else. 

Read more: The art of the pause Start your speech on an inspiring note

Inspirational quotes for preparing the best speech of your life

“it usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech” – mark twain.

If you’re feeling stuck, if you’re having writer’s block, if you’re wondering “How the heck am I going to pull this off?” and more importantly, “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.” It’s okay.  Everyone great has felt that in some way.  Trust, me being a “natural”, is a liability when it comes to great speeches. All you need to do is get started – use this guide for a great beginning – and the rest will come. 

“No one ever complains about a speech being too short!” – Ira Hayes

I love this one. Don’t overthink it, and just get to the point.  It’s better to leave them wanting more than seeing them check their watches. 

“The worst speech you’ll ever give, will be far better than the one you never give” – Fred Miller 

You have to start somewhere and build from there.  Instead of fighting that fear, work with it!  If you’re putting it off because you want it to be perfect, then you’ll be stuck forever.

“There are always three speeches.The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave” – Dale Carnegie 

There’s nothing more important than self-feedback.  If you’ve ever harped on what you should have done , treat it as a learning opportunity and not a reason to beat yourself up.  You’ll get to make up for it next time! 

“It’s what you practice in private that you will be rewarded in public” – Tony Robbins 

If your presentation is a big deal to you, then treat it that way.  Rehearse, prepare, do the research, get in the zone, ask for feedback, ask for help.  It will all pay off when you’re standing there feeling ON FIRE in front of your audience seeing them excited for what you have next.  But if you just show up and hope for the best – you’ll get what you put in. 

Read more on preparing and rehearsing: How to prepare if you have speech anxiety High-energy checklist for public speaking

There’s no way you’re not inspired to give the best speech of your life now! 

Please share – you never know who might need to see this!

(And let me know if I missed your favorite one, it might just be the cherry on top next time I need a little inspiration.) 

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Resources | Storytelling | Strategy

50 powerful quotes to start your presentation.

Written by Kai Xin Koh

When was the last time you attended a conference where the speaker didn’t just say: “Oh hi, my name is XYZ and today, I’ll be speaking to you about Topic X”?

Great stories possess riveting narrative arcs that begin strong and end strong. We’ve written at length about some of the best ways to end your presentation , but how does one design a presentation to start without sounding too cliche?

One of the most powerful ways to begin a presentation is to start by sharing a powerful and memorable quote that relates to the message of your talk.

Powerful quotes have so much power on your presentation. Not only does it help reinforce your message, it also helps boost your credibility since it implied the quote is ‘agreeing’ with your statement.

Take this TED talk by Andrew Solomon for example. Notice how he skilfully uses a quote from a book by Emily Dickinson to set the stage for his numerous anecdotes regarding the topic on Depression in his presentation:

Hence, if you’re looking to follow suit and start your next presentation strong with a powerful quote, we’ve got you covered. Here, we compiled a list of 50 quotes that you can use to boost your next presentation.

50 Powerful Quotes To Start Your Presentation:

1)   “ The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” –  Mark Twain

2) “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” –  Babe Ruth

3) “ If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” –  Albert Einstein

4) “ If you’re too comfortable, it’s time to move on. Terrified of what’s next? You’re on the right track.” –  Susan Fales Hill

5) “ Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” –  Bill Gates

6) “ You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.” –  Steve Jobs

7) “ Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” –  Jack Dorsey

8) “ Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” –  Oprah Winfrey

9) “ Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark.” –  Jay Danzie

10)  “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” –  Warren Buffett

11)  “Some entrepreneurs think how can I make a lot of money? But a better way is to think how can I make people’s lives a lot better? If you get it right, the money will come.” –  Richard Branson

12)  “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse? ’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.” –  Elon Musk

13)  “There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” –  Ray Goforth

14)   “Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” –  Charles F. Kettering

15)  “People rarely buy what they need. They buy what they want.”   – Seth Godin

16)  “Please think about your legacy, because you’re writing it every day.”   – Gary Vaynerchuck

17)  “The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.” –  Orison Swett Marden

18)  “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”   –  David Brinkley

19)  “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.”   –  Einstein

20)  “The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.”   –  Lilly Tomlin

21)  “ When you run a part of the relay and pass on the baton, there is no sense of unfinished business in your mind. There is just the sense of having done your part to the best of your ability. That is it. The hope is to pass on the baton to somebody who will run faster and run a better marathon.”   – N. R. Narayana Murthy

22)  “Whatever you’re thinking, think bigger.” – Tony Hsieh

23)  “When you find an idea that you can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.”   – Josh James

24)  “What would you do if you’re not afraid?” –  Sheryl Sandberg

25)  “Don’t worry about failure, you only have to be right once.”   – Drew Houston

26)  “When I’m old and dying. I plan to look back on my life and say ‘Wow, an adventure’ not, ‘Wow, I sure felt safe’” – Tom Preston Werner

27)  “80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.”   – Vilfredo Pareto

28)  “You just have to pay attention to what people need and what has not been done.”   – Russell Simmons

29)  “We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform.”   – Pete Cashmore

30)  “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”   – Wayne Gretzy

31)  “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”   – George Lucas

32)  “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”   – Zig Ziglar

33)  “Words may inspire but action creates change.”   – Simon Sinek

34)  “It isn’t what we say or think that denies us, but what we do.”   – Jane Austen

35)  “Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be someone; get action.”   – Theodore Roosevelt

36)  “There is only one boss. The customer.” – Sam Walton

37)  “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

38)  “You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.” –  Frank Lloyd Wright

39)  “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

40)  “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley

41)  “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”    – Seneca

42)  “If you think you are too small to make an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” – Ekaterina Walter

43)   “If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” – Mark Zuckerberg

44)   “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” –  Thomas Edison

45)  “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”  – Abraham Lincoln

46)  “Don’t build links. Build relationships.”   – Rand Fishkin

47)   “100 percent of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in.”   –  Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Legend

48)  “If you’ve got an idea, start today. There’s no better time than now to get going. That doesn’t mean quit your job and jump into your idea 100 percent from day one, but there’s always small progress that can be made to start the movement.” – Kevin Systrom, Founder of Instagram

49)   “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”   –  Jack Welch, Former CEO of GE

50)    “You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn’t going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea. You’re going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. They’re not going to buy it unless they know about it.”  –   Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines.

There you have it!

Phew! – now you have an additional 50 powerful quotes that you can add in your presentation arsenal. Leave an unforgettable impression on your presentation with these quotes starting today!

Comment down your favourite quote. And let us know if you have any that we didn’t add to the list!

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

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23 Inspiring Quotes For Improving Your Public Speaking

Here are some words of wisdom from entrepreneurs who have mastered the art of speaking in front of an audience..

As entrepreneurs, we need to speak in front of prospects and clients. The more confident you are in public speaking, the faster you can grow your business.

Are you confident enough with public speaking to take your business to the next level? If you're like most people, you probably are not. The following quotes from successful entrepreneurs will inspire you to become a better speaker. 

• "We all have a life story and a message that can inspire others to live a better life or run a better business. Why not use that story and message to serve others and grow a real business doing it?" - Brendon Burchard
• "You are not being judged, the value of what you are bringing to the audience is being judged." - Seth Godin
• "Every single person needs to breathe in through their nose, fill up their tummy as if the air was going in there, and then only speak while their stomach is coming in." - Roger Love
• "Simple and to the point is always the best way to get your point across." - Guy Kawasaki
• "The first time you say something, it's heard; the second time, it's recognized; the third time, it's learned." - John Maxwell
• "More present moment engagement = less crappy thoughts." - Marie Forleo
• "It's what you practice in private that you will be rewarded for in public." - Tony Robbins
• "Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident." - Dale Carnegie
• "The first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds have the most impact in a presentation." - Patricia Fripp
• "My best advice is to not start in PowerPoint. Presentation tools force you to think through information linearly, and you really need to start by thinking of the whole instead of the individual lines." - Nancy Duarte
• "Humans are completely incapable of reading and comprehending text on a screen and listening to a speaker at the same time. Therefore, lots of text (almost any text!), and long, complete sentences are bad, Bad, BAD." - Garr Reynolds
• "If you want to connect, you must let them reflect." - Darren Lacroix
• "Speak like you talk, not like you write." - Craig Valentine
• "The worst speech you'll ever give, will be far better than the one you never give." - Fred Miller
• "You don't have to change who you are, you have to become more of who you are." - Sally Hogshead
• "If you don't want to preach, put stories in your speech." - Andy Harrington 
• "Your ability to communicate with others will account for fully 85% of your success in your business and in your life." - Brian Tracy
• "The single most important skill you must have to lead is the ability to tell your own story." - Bo Eason
• "Funny people aren't funny because funny things happen to us. We're funny because we take the tragedy that happens to us, and turn it into comedy." - Judy Carter
• "The only reason to give a speech is to change the world." - Nick Morgan
• "When you're rehearing, just focus on giving the speech, and then look at the video. You really cannot give a speech and be critiquing it at the same time." - TJ Walker
• "Audience interaction should be proportional to the amount of trust you've earned." - Michael Port
• "Picture yourself in a living room having a chat with your friends. You would be relaxed and comfortable talking to them, the same applies when public speaking." - Richard Branson

There you have it: centuries of public speaking wisdom in one post. Read these inspiring quotes regularly, apply these tips and become a better speaker. 

What's your favourite quote on public speaking? Please share it in the comments section below. 

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30 Famous and Short Inspirational Speeches (5 minutes or less)

• December 13, 2023

This post is all about the best short inspirational speeches.

If you are in need of a quick boost of inspiration and motivation, you will find that in this post. I am one of those people who loves to get motivated. That sounds weird, right?

Well, a lot of people these days tend to give motivation a hard time because they don’t believe that it has lasting effects. In other words, they believe that what’s most important is your own self-discipline, because that’s what you have to rely on when motivation isn’t there.

And while I do agree with that sentiment in general, I will never pass up a great motivational podcast or YouTube video! 😀 There’s just something about them that even if they might not have lasting effects, they do truly help pump me up in the moment to get work done. And that’s usually what matters to me the most when I am looking for them in the first place.

So, here are the very best short motivational speeches so you can get that quick fix of motivation that you’re looking for, and ultimately move closer to your goals and dreams.

Short Inspirational Speeches

Believe in yourself speeches.

If you lack confidence or you are doubting yourself, these short motivational speeches will help you to believe in yourself again.

1. Rocky’s Inspirational Speech to His Son | ROCKY BALBOA

In less than 5 minutes, you’ll watch Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) explain to his son that if he wants to have the life he desires, he needs to believe in himself. He needs to stop listening to the people that tell him who he is, and instead go be his own person, and stop looking for someone to blame when things aren’t working out for him because ultimately it’s on HIM. This is one of the greatest inspirational speeches of all time.

2. Find Your Purpose | David Goggins – Motivational Speech

David Goggins is truly incredible. A former Navy SEAL, he has broken records and ran more races than you’d imagine. But the one thing that really stands out about him is his mindset.

Listen to this video if you want to be great. He tells you exactly what you need to do to get there.

Also, if you’ve never read David Goggins’ book “Can’t Hurt Me” , I highly recommend it. He talks about his rough upbringing, and how he was able to essentially become an entirely new person to become a Navy SEAL.

3. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF – Motivational Video (ft. Jaret Grossman & Eric Thomas)

This video is all about how important it is to have the proper belief system. If you truly believe that you are one of the best, you will start acting that you are one of the best, and eventually you may just be one of the best.

4. DON’T LET YOUR DREAMS DIE – Motivational Speech

This YouTube short by Mel Robbins is so good, I had to share it. A light bulb went on in my head when I first watched this. If there is something that is always on your mind, don’t let it haunt you forever because you never put yourself out there to try it. Go and DO!

Motivational Speeches About Not Giving Up

The following short motivational speeches are all about not giving up on your dreams. If you are losing hope, these short motivational speeches will inspire you to keep going.

5. Brené Brown It’s Not The Critic Who Counts

This speech will give you chills, and it is packed with great lessons about life. Brené Brown is a researcher who went viral for a Ted Talk, and here she talks about how to overcome critics and to keep believing in yourself no matter what. If you are worried about what people think of you, you NEED to watch this.

6. Amazing Motivational Speech by Denzel Washington 

This is another video that gave me chills. The main theme of this famous speech is “ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship”. Stay consistent even when it’s hard. Easy task after easy task won’t get you to where you want to be.

7. Steve Harvey – Inspirational Speech | Motivational Short Video | Incredible You

This short motivational speech by Steve Harvey is short but impactful. If you are someone who stepped out of your comfort zone to pursue something really difficult, and you’re thinking about giving up, this speech may just prevent you from doing so.

8. Ed Mylett on The Power of One More

Ed Mylett shares the story of how his father stayed sober until his dying day, and how Ed himself uses that same philosophy to never give up. Personal stories like these are always the most inspiring.

By the way, if you REALLY want to push yourself and become the best, read Ed Mylett’s most recent book on this same topic, “The Power Of One More” .

Motivational Speeches If You’re Feeling Behind

Are you feeling behind in life? If so, let’s change that. Watch these videos to be reminded that you are on your own unique path. You have no competition other than your past self. These short motivational videos will help you believe that.

9. Before You Feel Pressure – WATCH THIS | by Jay Shetty

Jay Shetty talks to a school class about how there’s no one “perfect” life timeline to follow, and that we are all on our own clock. 

10. Kevin Hart Motivational Speech

If you’ve made mistakes in your life (haven’t we all) this is a great story from Kevin Hart (famous comedian and actor) that will remind you of the power of making mistakes and pushing through hard times.

11. Oprah Winfrey | 5 Minutes For The NEXT 50 Years of Your LIFE

In this video, Oprah talks about the importance of really knowing who you are and what you want in your life. She talks about surrounding yourself with great people, and how to have enormous success. “Let excellence be your brand.”

Listen To These If You Need Perspective

Sometimes in life, we get so caught up in the day to day that we forget what truly matters – the people we love. If you are having trouble with something in life, give these videos a listen, because they just might help you realize what is really important.

12. Arnold Schwarzenegger – Organize Your Day | 1 MINUTE MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO

Are you the kind of person who always complains that you don’t have enough time to do something? If so, you’re not alone. We are all busy humans, running around doing a million things. But if you aren’t prioritizing what you know you should be doing, listen to this video.

13. How to Judge Your Life Using 3 Simple Questions | Brendon Burchard Speech| Goalcast

Have you ever heard of Mortality Motivation? It’s essentially what it sounds like… being motivated by the impending reality of your death. It sounds a little morbid, but it’s actually quite beautiful and it can be really beneficial if you harness it for good.

In this video by motivational speaker Brendon Burchard, he shares how a car accident when he was 19 gave him mortality motivation and changed everything for him.

14. FALL, SUFFER AND LEARN | MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH BY OPRAH WINFREY

This speech by Oprah was given to Harvard graduates, and it’s a unique speech because she talks about failing, even after the major success of her television show for over 20 years.

It’s refreshing to hear that even the most successful people fail. What really matters, though, is what you do with your failure. Do you learn from it and move on? Or do you give up?

15. YOU VS YOU – Best Motivational Video

This is a pretty intense video about competition. If your #1 competition is someone else, you need to change your perspective. Your only competition is YOU. The only thing preventing you from moving forward is you.

16. The Speech That Brought This Entire School To Tears

This is a speech about a man who never really paid much attention to his mother, until she passed away. It’s an emotional reminder to cherish the time you have with your loved ones, because you never know if the next time you see them will be the last time.

In my opinion, this speaker embodies many qualities of the best motivational speakers because he really knows how to capture the audience’s attention and pull on their heart strings.

17. 5 Minutes to Start Your Day Right! – MORNING MOTIVATION

This motivational speech is by a Navy SEAL who will remind you to start each day with a task completed, respect everyone, take risks, step up during tough times, and never give up. If you do these things, the next generation, and the generations that follow, will live better lives than we live today.

18. The Real You – Jim Carrey

This video is one of the best motivational speech examples because it reminds you of something so important: sometimes we can be so focused on earning more money, gaining fame, and becoming admired that we lose ourselves or we lose sight of what’s really important to us in the process.

Jim Carrey talks about how he is a great example of that. He got all of the money, fame, and admiration, and admits that that wasn’t really who he was. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that money and fame, or even getting to the top of the corporate ladder, while nice, aren’t going to be the thing that brings you fulfillment when it’s all said and done.

19. Ed Mylett Motivational Speech

I posted another motivational video by Ed Mylett above, but if you don’t know much about him, prepare to have your world rocked. He’s probably my absolute favorite motivational speaker because he is successful and he works hard, but he’s also (seemingly) a kind, family guy who’s been through a few things.

In this video, he talks about being “the one” that changed his family tree. Take a listen because I’m sure it’ll get you thinking on whether or not you can be “the one” in YOUR family.

P.S. If you love personal growth content, you should check out Ed Mylett’s podcast . I listen to it every week and it is one of my favorites.

20. If You Feel LOST, LAZY & UNMOTIVATED In Life, WATCH THIS! | Tony Robbins Motivation

If you are someone who is constantly blaming others or your circumstances for your unhappiness, you need to listen to this video by Tony Robbins . Bad things happen to us all, it’s up to you to focus on what you can control.

Great Inspirational Speeches About Hard Work

How hard do you think you work? Could you be doing more? If there’s a little voice inside of your heart that knows you could be doing more and better, these motivational videos about the value of hard work will help you push yourself.

And a side note: your chances of having good luck increase the harder and longer you work.

21. You’re Not Tired, You’re Just Weak – David Goggins Motivation

If you’re feeling lazy or like you don’t want to do something, watch this video til 2:25 . It will give you the push you need to put your head down and do the work. It’ll remind you to keep pursuing your goals and to keep challenging yourself. Key takeaway: push yourself beyond your perceived limits.

22. Hard Work & Patience – A Gary Vaynerchuk Original Film

If you want to be motivated to work hard, listen to Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary Vaynerchuk is a creative genius known for his marketing tactics. This famous motivational speech is all about playing “the long game”, as in, working for a long time and having patience instead of working hard for a short period of time and expecting to win quickly.

23. OBSESSION – Best Motivational Speech

This is one of my favorite short motivational speeches because it makes me feel a little more normal for being “weird”. I’m the kind of person who chooses to work on the weekends instead of hanging out with people. Crazy, right? But it’s because I’m working toward a dream of mine and it’s something that’s really important to me. The most important thing to remember: it’s okay to devote yourself to something. It’s the only way to get what you want in life.

24. WORK LIKE HELL – Best Motivational Video

This is a series of motivational speeches about doing a little bit more and outworking your competition. I’m not going to lie – I’m up late writing this post and listening to this very video is what’s motivating me to keep going.

25. The video EVERY woman should watch!

Whether or not you’re a Rachel Hollis fan may be up for debate (and that’s okay!) but I happen to think she’s a great motivational speaker. This entire speech will inspire you to work hard and take massive action – today.

26. NEVER SURRENDER – Powerful Motivational Speech (by Kobe Bryant)

This one minute video by the late Kobe Bryant is one of the most famous short speeches. I read a book recently by his former personal trainer and I learned that Kobe really outworked everyone. He talks about a quote in this video that really stuck with him, and I think it’s great advice if you’re the kind of person who needs motivation to keep working hard.

Motivational Speeches About Working Smart

Have you ever heard the saying “work smarter, not harder”? That saying is all about ensuring that the work you are doing is actually efficient. Are you getting to where you want to go with all of the work that you are putting in? Are you getting closer to your goals and your dreams? Or are you sprinting like a hamster on a wheel and just running in circles?

Here are great videos on the importance of working hard but also working intentionally.

27. SET SYSTEMS RATHER THAN GOALS – Motivational Speech – James Clear

A goal gives you a sense of direction, but if you don’t spell out precisely how you are going to get to a goal, it is useless. You must develop systems. Listen to this James Clear video to gain valuable life lessons.

By the way, James Clear is an author who wrote perhaps my favorite book of all time: “Atomic Habits” . It’s life-changing if you haven’t read it yet.

28. Matthew McConaughey | 5 Minutes for the NEXT 50 Years of Your LIFE

This is one of the best motivational speeches of all time about how to live a great life for YOU. It’s filled with little pieces of wisdom that’ll really get you thinking about how you live your life and in what direction you want to go.

29. Visualization is the key – Bob Proctor

Do you believe in the Law of Attraction? If not, I have to say I’m surprised! I’ve experienced it in my own life more than once, and it is incredibly powerful. Here’s a great video that sums up the power of visualization, and if you want to learn more about the Law of Attraction or manifestation in general, read this post .

This video shows the true power of words, thoughts, and feelings that you have.

30. How to Stay Motivated – Carla Harris

Here is a YouTube short with very practical advice from Carla Harris on HOW to stay motivated. It’s all about having a vision!

This post was all about short inspirational speeches. Which one was your favorite?

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The Master Communicator Blog

10 timeless quotes to motivate your speaking.

How will AI affect the ability of people to communicate on a human level? A future-outlook article in Forbes cites the soft skills of communication and interpersonal networking among the 10 most in-demand skills in 2024.

The reason? Organizations need humans with the ability to talk to other humans in ways that AI can’t match (yet). And when it comes to making friends and building bonds of trust and common goals, the human voice is highly prized.

So, putting generative AI aside for now, let’s jump start the year with inspiring words of wisdom to guide your public speaking journey.

Remember, public speaking isn’t just about delivering words; it’s about connecting with your audience, sharing compelling ideas, and leaving an impression. Embrace the power of these quotes, integrate their lessons into your approach, and watch as your speaking skills reach new heights.

Here are 10 of my favorite quotes that provide insights into the essence of public speaking and its role as the foundation of leadership.

1. John F. Kennedy

“The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.”

Kennedy’s quote challenges speakers to aspire to make a difference through their words. Public speaking, at its core, is a tool for positive change and impact.

2. Dale Carnegie

“Talk to someone about themselves, and they’ll listen for hours.”

Carnegie’s wisdom emphasizes communication as a two-way street. By tailoring your speech to resonate with your audience’s interests and concerns, you create a bond that captivates attention.

3. Steve Jobs

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”

Jobs underscores the transformative power of storytelling in public speaking. Crafting a compelling narrative can make your message memorable and impactful across generations, as Jobs was uniquely able to do as a tech visionary.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio

“Don’t wait around for someone else to tell your story. Do it yourself by whatever means necessary.”

DiCaprio’s quote encourages individuals to take the initiative in sharing their stories, reinforcing the idea that everyone’s voice is valuable. In his acting roles, he has portrayed numerous individuals with remarkable stories.

5. Chris Anderson

“Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners’ minds an extraordinary gift—a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea.”

Anderson, curator of TED Talks, highlights the transformative power of ideas. Great speakers are effective conveyors of ideas that inspire, challenge, and provoke thought. Prioritize the clarity and strength of your ideas, ensuring they are communicated with passion and purpose.

6. Maya Angelou

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Angelou’s famous quote reflects the ability of speaking to touch hearts. Create an emotional connection with your audience to leave a lasting impression. Craft your message with authenticity and empathy and watch as your words resonate long after the speech concludes.

7. Eleanor Roosevelt

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Roosevelt’s quote encourages speakers to overcome the fear of judgment and criticism and give themselves permission to believe in the value of what they have to say . She championed the right of every individual to speak their mind.

8. Jerry Seinfeld

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

Is it true that people fear speaking in public more than death? It depends on how you ask the question. 70 percent of people who prefer to be in the casket than at the podium were really expressing their fear of public scrutiny and rejection. Seinfeld put the contrast in perspective with this memorable quote.

9. Mark Twain

“There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars.”

With inimitable wit, Twain calls out those who deny the inevitable nervous energy that precedes public speaking. The best way to deal with this anxiety is to acknowledge that this fear is perfectly normal, and you are not alone. Even the pros get butterflies in their stomachs before speaking.

10. Oprah Winfrey

“What’s the most important message you want to leave your audience with—and why should they care? Every listener instinctively wants to know one thing: What’s in this for me?”

The best public speakers are those who work at making their addresses both interesting and relatable. Oprah, the quintessential communicator, offers advice to speakers challenged with preparing a speech . What does your audience want to hear? Define your message in one sentence and add a poignant story to illustrate it.

Let these quotes resonate as you embark on a quest to refine your communication skills everywhere you go. May your words echo in the hearts and minds of those who listen, making the year ahead one of promise and fulfillment.

Rosemary Ravinal

Business leaders and entrepreneurs who want to elevate their public speaking impact, executive presence, and media interview skills come to me for personalized attention and measurable results. I am recognized as America’s Premier Bilingual Public Speaking Coach after decades as a corporate spokesperson and media personality in the U.S. mainstream, Hispanic and Latin American markets. My company’s services are available for individuals, teams, in-person and online, and in English and Spanish in South Florida and elsewhere.

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Home › Motivational Quotes

Motivational Quotes

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If you’re reading this, then you’re here for one reason – motivation . These motivational quotes are the place to start when you need a boost.

While it’s sometimes difficult to know what to do, we still have to get started. And what better way than to learn from those who have lived and shared the messages that motivated them.

So whether you’re lacking motivation or just need a little push to get going, get ready to be seriously motivated!

Here are our best motivating quotes to propel you to do more, be more, and achieve your goals today.

Page Contents

Top 10 Motivational Quotes

We talk on principal, but act on motivation. Walter Savage Landor

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain

Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Vince Lombardi

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Joe Kennedy

The best way to predict the future is to create it. Abraham Lincoln

Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. Arnold Palmer

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. John D. Rockefeller

Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning. Robert Kiyosaki

The Best Motivational Quotes

It’s ok to need a little something extra to kick start your efforts sometimes. Finding motivation when you need it is often an important step to higher achievement.

Do you know what motivates you? In case that’s not an easy question to answer, we hope you’ll find something to motivate you right here with the best motivational words we could find.

So whether you’re at work, school, or anywhere in between, these lines should stoke your fires.

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Herman Melville

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Arthur Ashe

Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. Nido Qubein

You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan

Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do. Oprah Winfrey

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Christopher Columbus

One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals. Michael Korda

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King Jr.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

God always strives together with those who strive. Aeschylus

Change your thoughts and you change your world. Norman Vincent Peale

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. Babe Ruth

The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday. Matty Mullens

Never give up , for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. Harriet Beecher Stow

The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot. Benny Lewis

Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing. William Arthur Ward

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination. Tommy Lasorda

More powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin. Orrin Woodward

Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams. Ralph Waldo Emerson

You don’t drown by falling in water; you drown by staying there. Robert Collier

If you’re going through hell, keep going Winston Churchill

Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. Robert Schuller

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. Thomas Edison

Fortune sides with him who dares. Virgil

If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. Thomas Jefferson

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. Maria Robinson

Motivational Quotes for Work

Nothing will work unless you do. Maya Angelou

The more I want to get something done the less I call it work. Richard Bach

The work you do when you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life. Jessica Hische

Focus on being productive instead of busy. Tim Ferriss

The beginning is the most important part of the work. Plato

An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager. Bob Nelson

If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents- start charging for it. Kim Garst

Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. John Wooden

There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits. Michael Phelps

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. Farrah Gray

If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you. Steve Jobs

To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like. Mike Gafka

If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work. Thomas J. Watson

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Vidal Sassoon

We aim above the mark to hit the mark. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential. John C. Maxwell

When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them. Karen E. Quinones Miller

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. Albert Einstein

The individual who says it is not possible should get out of the way of those doing it. Tricia Cunningham

You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction. George Lorimer

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. Thomas Jefferson

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking. William Butler Yeats

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. Greg Anderson

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. Pearl S. Buck

Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. David Allen

Motivational Quotes for Students

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden

The wise does at once what the fool does at last. Balthasar Gracian

To know and not to do, is not to know. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Zeal without knowledge is fire without light. Thomas Huxley

Perfection is boring. Getting better is where all the fun is. Dragos Roua

Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter. Francis Chan

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. Alice Walker

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. Henry David Thoreau

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Carl Sagan

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards. Vernon Sanders Law

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. Theodore Roosevelt

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. Leonardo da Vinci

There are two kinds of people in this world; those who want to get things done, and those who don’t want to make mistakes. John C. Maxwell

If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary. Jim Rohn

Live out of your imagination, not your history. Stephen Covey

If the decisions you make about where you invest your blood, sweat, and tears are not consistent with the person you aspire to be, you’ll never become that person. Clayton M. Christensen

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

Always remember that you are absolutely unique; just like everyone else. Margaret Mead

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. Mark Twain

The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare. Bobby Knight

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Michael Jordan

We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. Ronald Reagan

There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed. Ray Goforth

Motivational Thoughts

We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret. Earl Nightingale

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. Dale Carnegie

If you continue to think they way you’ve always thought, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got. Kevin Trudeau

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. William Arthur Ward

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. Aristotle Onassis

The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. Pele

Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them. Grant Cardone

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. Leo Buscaglia

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. Theodore N. Vail

You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals. Booker T. Washington

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. Epictetus

Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes. Benjamin Disraeli

Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. Coco Chanel

Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it away from you. Mark Cuban

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. Stephen Covey

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you. George Whitefield

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan

You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get. Michael Phelps

Whatever the mind of man can conceive, and bring itself to believe, it can achieve. Napoleon Hill

Find a victory in every defeat to remain hopeful, and find a defeat in every victory to remain humble. Orrin Woodward

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them. Denis Watiley

The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach . Benjamin Mays

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson

Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia. Charles Schulz

Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny. Stuart Scott

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star. W. Clement Stone

Quotes about Motivation

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. Zig Ziglar

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. Stephen Covey

There is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it. Jane Smiley

Everything boils down to motivation. Brendon Burchard

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice. Wayne Dyer

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek. Mario Andretti

Competition is the best form of motivation. Cordae

Motivation, passion, and focus have to come from the top. Kevin Plank

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun

Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it. Lou Holtz

Music – it’s motivational and just makes you relax. Taika Waititi

When you fail you learn from the mistakes you made and it motivates you to work even harder. Natlaie Glubis

I’m not one for those motivational speeches. I’ve always been more of an example guy. Carey Price

People always need to hear good motivational speeches. Rudy Ruettiger

Real obsession needs an unconscious motivation behind it. Damon Galgut

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower

With the new year comes a refueled motivation to improve on the past one. Gretchen Bleiler

Once something is a passion, the motivation is there. Michael Schumacher

A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. Pat Riley

For me, motivation is a person who has the capability to recruit the resources he needs to achieve a goal. Arsene Wenger

Don’t worry about motivation. Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes. It is unreliable – and when you are counting on motivation to get your goals accomplished, you will likely fall short. Jocko Willink

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. Bo Bennett

I think it all comes down to motivation. If you really want to do something, you will work hard for it. Edmund Hillary

Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. Lee Iacocca

I didn’t need to be motivated by other people overlooking me. My motivation was internal, to be better every day. Adam Thielen

Our greatest motivation in life comes from not knowing the future. Thomas Frey

The changing of the goals helps keep the motivation fresh. Bradley Wiggins

Other people’s success spurs me on to do well and gives me motivation. Nicholas Hoult

Self-Motivation Quotes

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. Booker T. Washington

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. A.A. Milne

I’m self-motivated. I’m motivated for myself to be the best I can be – for me to do that, I have to have my own motivation, my own positive energy. Deshaun Watson

I am not afraid… I was born to do this. Joan of Arc

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success. Bruce Feirstein

Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change. Barbara Baron

If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of your problems and start focusing on the size of you! T. Harv Eker

Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene. Arthur Christopher Benson

If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can’t hear them anymore. Michele Ruiz

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul. Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears. Laird Hamilton

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then. Lewis Carroll

The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s what you’re made of. Not the circumstances. Anthony J. James

You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. Andrew Murphy

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. Plutarch

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit. Bern Williams

It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe. Muhammad Ali

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. Norman Vincent Peale

The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family, and neighbors. Napoleon Hill

Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open. Pauline Kael

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too. Paulo Coelho

With self-discipline most anything is possible. Theodore Roosevelt

When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge. Terry Bradshaw

Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it. Arnold Toynbee

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. Vince Lombardi

Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it. Washington Irving

All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers. Orison Swett Marden

Motivating Quotes

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all. Dale Carnegie

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going. Sam Levenson

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe. Anatole France

Never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time. Charles Dickens

You may only succeed if you desire succeeding; you may only fail if you do not mind failing. Philippos

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action. Benjamin Disraeli

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. George Addair

Your passion is waiting for your courage to catch up. Isabelle Lafleche

Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. George Herbert

There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either in or you’re out. There is no such thing as life in-between. Pat Riley

Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. Winston Churchill

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. Mary Anne Roadacher-Hershey

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln

Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life. Robin Sharma

Do or do not. There is no try. Yoda, Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back

If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. Sheryl Sandberg

Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty. William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues

Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay. Simone de Beauvoir

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank

Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today. James Dean

Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses… on your powers, instead of your problems. Paul J. Meyer

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength. Michael Jordan

If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission. Brian Tracy

Taking it easy won’t take you anywhere. Nike Slogan

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. Lyndon B. Johnson

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. Neil Gaiman

Do what you feel in your heart to be right―for you’ll be criticized anyway. Eleanor Roosevelt

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory. George S. Patton

When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it – but all that had gone before. Jacob Riis

We hope all of these motivational quotes have you pumped up and ready to take action.

Whatever type of motivation works for you, the important part is to use it to achieve your goals. We all have the potential to do more and be more when we want to be. So go find yours and live up to it today!

More Motivational Quote Categories

• Attitude Quotes
• Dale Carnegie Quotes
• Determination Quotes
• Discipline Quotes
• Finding Yourself Quotes
• Hard Work Quotes
• Helping Others Quotes
• Leadership Quotes
• Meditation Quotes
• Moving On Quotes
• Never Give Up Quotes
• Nike Quotes
• Procrastination Quotes
• Sports Quotes
• Success Quotes
• Teamwork Quotes
• Zig Ziglar Quotes

Quincy Seale

5 thoughts on “Motivational Quotes”

Those collections are meaningful and easy to remember. “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.” is my favourite one and hope I can do what I want to do soon. Thank you for sharing.

Every quote you shared is very motivating and will help who is really looking for some motivation. For some of motivational blog and stories you can visit my website.

Wow!! It was a beautiful collection of quotes. Some not heard of (best part of your collection that it’s not filled with the common ones) but so deep and meaningful. Great piece of work! Glad came across this. Was looking for some quote for our magazine and looks like I’ve reached the destination.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” First time hearing this quote and I think it’s brilliant! Thanks for this article, Quincy!

Excellent list, thank you for this.

I would like to add a quote from the late hero, Kobe Bryant.

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

This would be great to share in your article.

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30 quotes about kindness to uplift and spread positivity

You have probably heard the age-old saying , "treat others the way you want to be treated" (or something similar) at least once in your life. The adage is so universal that it has become known as "the Golden Rule."

A gentle touch can go a long way, whether it's directed toward yourself or others. You never know what your words of kindness could mean for someone else. Life isn't always easy, but when you receive encouragement and hope from others, it might make the road less bumpy.

Here is a compiled list of quotes about kindness to help spread positivity:

30 kindness quotes

• "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." – Plato
• "Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice." – Roy T. Bennett , "The Light in the Heart"
• "Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end." – Scott Adams
• "Being kind means responding to the needs of others – and people can be kind, no matter how old or young we are." – Mr. Rogers
• "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." – Edith Wharton
• "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution." – Kahlil Gibran
• "But compassion isn't about solutions. It's about giving all the love that you've got." – Cheryl Strayed , "Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar"
• "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle." – Charles F. Glassman
• "Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness." – R.J. Palacio , "Wonder"
• "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." – Aesop
• "If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." – Jack Kornfield
• "Kindness and politeness are not overrated at all. They’re underused." – Tommy Lee Jones
• "One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone." – Shannon L. Adler
• "The true greatness of a person, in my view, is evident in the way he or she treats those with whom courtesy and kindness are not required." – Joseph B. Wirthlin
• "Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind." – Eric Hoffer
• "Hate ricochets, but kindness does too." – Robin Roe , "A List of Cages"
• "The shortest distance between two people is a smile." – Victor Borge
• "There is no small act of kindness. Every compassionate act makes large the world." – Mary Anne Radmacher
• "Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud." – Maya Angelou , "Letter to My Daughter"
• "Be true to yourself, be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests you, and keep away from people who bring you down." – Steve Maraboli
• "How beautiful a day can be, when kindness touches it." – George Elliston
• "When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do." – Rachel Naomi Remen
• "A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve." – Joseph Joubert
• "The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty and truth." – Albert Einstein , "The World As I See It"
• "Kindness can transform someone's dark moment with a blaze of light." – Amy Leigh Mercree
• "Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary." – J.M. Barrie
• "There is nothing so rewarding as to make people realize that they are worthwhile in this world." – Bob Anderson
• "We rise by lifting others." – Robert Ingersoll
• "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou

Looking for more positive vibes? 50 motivational quotes for peak inspiration.

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DNC Night 1 Highlights: Joe Biden Urges ‘Beat Donald Trump’ in Nearly 50-Minute Speech; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fires Up Crowd

Joe Biden took the stage as the final speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday night, with more than three minutes of applause and frequent chants of “We love Joe” from the audience. The 49-minute speech ran long during a night that was already behind schedule.

During the speech, audience members unfurled a banner reading “Stop arming Israel,” several attendees reported, and other people tried to rip the banner away. The disruption didn’t cause much of a ripple due to the vast size of the arena.

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He then took up the subject of reproductive rights. “Donald Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024,” Biden said, flubbing his statement “women are not without electoral power” as “electrical power” instead.

“America, I gave my best to you,” he concluded. “We just have to remember who we are.”

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton, who fell short of becoming the first woman president, told Democrats she believes America is on the verge of breaking through and electing Kamala Harris .

In her speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago, Clinton drew on the legacy of women on the national stage, from Shirley Chisholm to Geraldine Ferraro, and said that Harris will make history.

“I want my children and grandchildren to know I was here at this moment,” she said. “We were here. We were with Kamala Harris every step of the way. This is when we break through. The future is here. Let’s go win it.”

Kamala Harris

“This is going to be a great week!” Harris said during her brief appearance Monday. She gave a heartfelt thank-you to Biden. “We are forever grateful to you.”

Harris’ appearance followed a brief biographical video, narrated by Jeffrey Wright and accompanied by Beyonce’s song “Freedom.”

Tony Goldwyn

The vice president then gave way to emcee Tony Goldwyn, the actor who played the president on the ABC show “Scandal.” Goldwyn was among a handful of entertainers on stage, following Jason Isbell, who sang “Something More Than Free,” and Mickey Guyton, who performed “Ain’t We All American?”

Goldwyn promised that the week would offer an introduction to Harris and a clear contrast between Donald Trump’s agenda and her vision for the future.

“It is a message that’s joyful, not mean spirited,” Goldwyn said. “Public service — not self service, optimism and opportunity, not chaos and division. It’s a message that has woken us up to who we are.”

The Democratic speakers offered tributes to Biden and Harris, but also sought to prosecute the case against Trump. Many attendees were overheard buzzing in corridors about the most recent Trump outrage — falsely claiming to have been endorsed by Taylor Swift.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who has become one of the youthful faces of the party, was one of most anticipated speakers on the schedule and she was effective in firing up the crowd. Earlier in the day, Donald Trump’s campaign sought to link Harris to Ocasio-Cortez’s positions on issues like defunding the police and the Green New Deal.

When it was her turn at the podium, Ocasio-Cortez didn’t waste time attacking Trump as a plutocrat. AOC demonstrated her muscle as one of the most prominent young Democratic stars to come along in years. Her speech was drowned out in multiple instances by screaming and applause — especially when she took aim at Trump.

“I for one am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed trampling on our way of life,” she said. “The truth is, Don, you cannot love this country if you only fight for the wealthy and big business. To love this country is to fight for all people, working people, everyday Americans.” Ocasio-Cortez also reminded the crowd how important support for House and Senate races are. “We can’t send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to Washington alone,” she said.

Hitting Back at Trump

Clinton also didn’t hold back against Trump, saying he “fell asleep at his own trial,” and woke up to find himself convicted on 34 felony counts. In a twist of history, the crowd chanted “Lock him up!” — an echo of chants at Trump rallies eight years ago calling for Clinton to be jailed.

Clinton also drew parallels between Trump’s attacks on her and those on Harris.

The convention scene

Spotted in the basement of the United Center were Marisa Tomei, J.J. Abrams and producer Bruce Cohen. They said they had “high hopes” for the campaign. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, have given more than $3 million to Democratic committees this cycle. Cohen is also a prolific donor.

With the convention speeches running late, James Taylor was cut from his scheduled performance before Biden’s speech.

As Democrats got ready for opening night, downtown Chicago was humming Monday with flags, bunting, bootleg t-shirt vendors and all the usual trappings of a political circus come to town.

Delegates from all over the country took time out before the major speechifying at the United Center this evening to look around the city. A rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza drew about 15,000 people, organizers with the Coalition to March on the DNC told ABC News Chicago .

But generally speaking, the downtown scene seemed calm. Further south near the warren of hotels housing delegates, the scene was quiet even outside of the gleaming silver Trump Tower that looks out over the city’s Riverwalk.

Another hub of activity was on the east side of town at the sprawling McCormick Place center that the hosted DemPalooza showcase featuring a range of left-leaning organizations and causes. There were stages for discussions and Q&As but they were sparsely attended. The five-mile distance between McCormick Place and the United Center has obvious advantages for security and crowd control. But it also makes attendees heavily dependent on the DNC shuttles operating among the hotels and the two venues. The security perimeter around United Center is so large that ride share drivers and even public transit can’t get too close.

Elections are often defined in slogans and there was plenty of sloganeering displayed on the lapels, polo shirts and blouses of delegates, from “Remember Jan. 6” to “Keep Kamala and Carry On,” “Another Cat Lady for Kamala” and “Make Lying Wrong Again.”

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26 Quotes About Letting Go

Wise words to provide some relief in the process of moving on

What Does the Idea of Letting Go Mean?

What is the purpose of a favorite quote, how to use quotes about letting go, keep in mind.

While "inspirational quotes" might not be the first healing tool you reach for when dealing with transition or loss, a good quote can play an undoubtedly vital role for many folks—and maybe for you too.

Quotes from great writers, famous historical figures, proverbs, subject experts, and more, can serve as powerful allies when it comes to nurturing your mental health and well-being, says Jessi Gholami, LCSW, clinical social worker and senior editor at Start Here Parents .

“I'm not talking about those cheesy motivational posters, but the quotes that feel like a warm hug or a sage pep talk from someone who just gets it,” she says. “They're concentrated morsels of hard-won wisdom and reassurance that can provide much-needed grounding during life's tougher times.”

Inspirational quotes can also serve as excellent distractors from some of the negative and unhelpful thoughts that often play in our minds on a loop.

“Your mind often can go on autopilot around thoughts that may not be so helpful for your overall well being,” says Donna Novak, PsyD , clinical therapist in Simi Valley, CA. “Having your favorite inspirational quotes around can support in breaking these conditioned automatic thoughts from continuing to spiral and can allow for some fresh perspective.”

Here, we’ll look specifically at quotes on letting go—quotes that speak to the power of surrender, release, healing, and forgiveness.

Quotes about letting go can serve as powerful mental health tools and reminders. “For anyone grappling with anxiety , depression or other mental health struggles, having a few go-to quotes in your back pocket can make a world of difference,” Gholami says.

Without further ado, here are 26 memorable quotes about letting go:

Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.

The truth is unless you let go—forgive yourself, forgive the situation, realize the past is over—you cannot move forward.

When things start to fall apart in your life, you feel as if your whole world is crumbling. But actually it’s your fixed identity that’s crumbling. And that’s cause for celebration.

The sooner we let go of holding on, the sooner we can hold on to the beauty of what's unfolding before us. Nothing was ever meant to stay the same forever.

Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.

It's not a matter of letting go, you would if you could. Instead of ‘Let it go’ we should probably say ‘Let it be’.

It is the same with people as it is with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance.

Let go of becoming but never let go of taking action. Stop expecting and start living.

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.

There ain't no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.

To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be. When we let be with compassion, things come and go on their own.

If you want to fly in the sky, you need to leave the earth. If you want to move forward, you need to let go of the past that drags you down.

I don't regret difficulties I experienced; I think they helped me to become the person I am today, I feel the way a warrior must feel after years of training; he doesn't remember the details of everything he learned, but he knows how to strike when the time is right.

To resist change, to try to cling to life, is like holding your breath: if you persist you kill yourself.

Surrender is a journey from outer turmoil to inner peace.

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.

Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

The key in letting go is practice. Each time we let go, we disentangle ourselves from our expectations and begin to experience things as they are.

If strength is love, then we weren't strong enough, But if strength is letting love go, we were.

The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.

The ultimate act of power is surrender.

Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

When all is lost, when all is let go of, when all is abandoned, what you are left with is an ocean of bliss.

The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. They prefer suffering that is familiar to the unknown.

The concept of letting go is a potent and meaningful one when it comes to mental health. “Mental health is directly correlated to a person’s ability to release and let go of what doesn’t serve them, or what doesn’t feel good or helpful in their lives,” Novak says.

“The idea of ‘letting go’ to me means releasing all that does not serve us and allowing things that we do not have control over to be released from our focused attention,” she describes. “As a result, we free up so much more space for fresh perspectives, creative ideas, and connection to the present moment, our loved ones, and ourselves.”

Letting go sounds simple in theory, but it can sometimes require tons of work to release things like resentment, fear, and self-judgment, because we tend to desperately cling to these, says Gholami. And it’s not just about simply forgetting about what has caused us pain: it takes effort and resilience.

“Letting go doesn't mean dismissing very real hurts, but rather developing the muscle to free ourselves from negativity's chokehold so we can breathe a little easier,” Gholami explains.

Keeping favorites quotes around serves many purposes, including acting as reminders to us, inspirations, affirmations, and serving as mantras.

A good inspirational quote can play a variety of roles, says Gholami. It can serve as a “mantra for finding calm, an encouraging nudge towards self-belief, or that empowering rallying cry to keep showing up with courage,” she shares. “In my practice, I see quotes as potent tools for interrupting unhelpful mental loops and sparking perspective shifts.”

Gholami shared some further thoughts on the “why” behind inspirational quotes.

Inspirational quotes are like carrying around a gentle reminder that you are never alone in the way that you are feeling—and that others have carried around similar burdens and found their ways to calmer days, Gholami describes.

“When you're in the thick of it, mental health issues can ambush your sense of reality, making it excruciatingly difficult to see clearly or stay present,” says Gholami. “A familiar quote can be that lifeline, pulling you back to steadier shores.”

Aide for Neurodiverse Individuals

Inspirational quotes can be particularly helpful for people with neurological conditions such as ADHD or autism, says Gholami. “For someone with ADHD, bumping into that perfectly-timed quote can be the pattern-interrupt needed to re-center focus,” she explains. “For those on the spectrum, a succinct quote could finally give voice to emotions that feel muddy and inexpressible.”

So how exactly can you use these quotes about letting go? Here are some expert tips:

Use Them While Meditating

One of the most powerful ways to use a quote about letting go is during a mindfulness practice, whether that’s sitting down to meditate, doing some deep breathing, or engaging in a mindful walk. “I highly recommend being around a quote about letting go prior and during a meditative practice,” Novak says.

“Meditation is a powerful way to connect to the present moment and allow time and space to release what is not serving,” she adds. For many of us, though, meditation can be difficult, so having a quote about letting go around can serve as a helpful reminder to stay present and allow yourself to release stress, Novak says.

Place Them Around Your Space

Printing out these quotes or writing them out on Post-It notes and placing them around your space can be very helpful. “Quotes around letting go can be so powerful that I recommend having them around your home and office for frequent reminders to release what is not feeling good and to instead choose a higher and more aligned good feeling thought or action,” says Novak.

Add Them Into Your Daily Routine

Another way to use these quotes is to integrate them into your daily routine. “Fusing them into routines like journaling, meditation, or other rituals creates new inroads to those intrusive thoughts and emotional cargo areas that were previously off-limits,” says Gholami.

What might this look like? Maybe you would take your favorite quote with you when you sit down to write in your journal , and then use it as a freewriting/free association exercise.  It might also look like looking at the quote before falling asleep, and doing some visualizations or deep breathing exercises with the quote in mind.

Inspirational quotes about letting go are something you can keep in your back pocket for when you are feeling stuck, stressed, need a mood boost, or are looking for a new perspective. But sometimes quotes about letting go aren’t enough.

“In times when sadness, overwhelm, life events, grief, anxiety and more are feeling heavy and taking over, seeking professional care for your mental health is a great option,” Novak offers. “Remember, you don’t need to do this alone.”

There are many mental healthcare professionals out there who are ready to help you feel better, heal, thrive, and unlock your potential. Don’t hesitate to seek out their care.

American Psychological Association. Automatic Thoughts . APA Dictionary of Psychology.

Hours C, Recasens C, Baleyte JM. ASD and ADHD Comorbidity: What Are We Talking About? . Front Psychiatry . 2022;13:837424. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.837424

Jamil A, Gutlapalli SD, Ali M, et al. Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023 . Cureus . 2023;15(6):e40650. doi:10.7759/cureus.40650

Sohal M, Singh P, Dhillon BS, et al. Efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis . Fam Med Community Health . 2022;10(1):e001154. doi:10.1136/fmch-2021-001154

National Institute of Mental Health. My Mental Health: Do I Need Help?

By Wendy Wisner Wendy Wisner is a health and parenting writer, lactation consultant (IBCLC), and mom to two awesome sons.

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Trump belittles Medal of Honor award in campaign speech

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a “better” award than the Defense Department’s Medal of Honor because service members have to sacrifice their lives or health to receive the military’s highest honor, the latest in a series of controversial campaign comments from the Republican presidential candidate .

In a campaign event in New Jersey billed as a speech against antisemitism , the former president was introduced by Miriam Adelson, a Republican donor who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018.

Trump praised Adelson as “a committed member of the American Jewish community” and compared the civilian medal to the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for battlefield valor, which has been awarded to just 3,517 troops out of the 41 million who have served their nation.

“It’s the equivalent of the congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “But the civilian version, it’s actually much better because everyone that gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers.”

“They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead,” he said. “[Adelson] gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

According to Defense Department rules, the Medal of Honor is awarded to servicemembers who distinguish themselves “through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”

That list includes Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, awarded the honor in posthumously in 2021. Cashe died from burn wounds suffered in 2005 attempting to save six fellow soldiers trapped in a burning vehicle following a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry received the honor in 2011 for valor in Afghanistan. He lost his hand in a enemy grenade blast after picking up the explosive and hurling it away from two fellow soldiers, saving their lives.

Individuals recognized for honor often have to wait years for military reviews and reports to validate their bravery. Since the start of the Vietnam War, 264 individuals have received the honor for battlefield valor. Only 60 are still living.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded at the commander-in-chief’s discretion to “individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the security or national interests of America, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”

Since it was created in 1963, 652 individuals have received the honor, including numerous celebrities and athletes. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden bestowed the honor on Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and former talk show host Phil Donahue, among others. The year that Adelson received the honor, Trump also gave posthumous honors to singer Elvis Presley and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Trump’s campaign comments drew immediate rebuke from the former president’s critics.

Sarafina Chitika, spokesperson for the Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, said the comments show that “Donald Trump knows nothing about service to anyone or anything but himself.”

Similarly, Alexander Vindman, a former soldier on the National Security Council who testified against Trump at his first impeachment trial, said on social media that the comments show Trump “dishonors Medal of Honor recipients, our nation’s highest military award for distinguished acts of valor. He deserves nothing but disdain and disqualifies himself from public office.”

In recent weeks, Trump campaign officials have offered their own criticism of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz for his public comments on military service, calling them disrespectful to troops serving around the globe.

That has included a 2018 speech where Walz referred to “weapons of war, that I carried in war” despite never serving in a combat zone.

But Trump has frequently drawn criticism for exaggerations and misstatements during his public appearances, including in 2016 when he made fun of former Sen. John McCain for being captured by enemy forces during the Vietnam war.

In addition, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said that Trump referred to troops buried at a military cemetery as “losers and suckers” for sacrificing their lives on behalf of the country. Trump has denied making those statements.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment on the speech.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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150 Good Morning Quotes To Start Your Day Right

Rise and shine. You don't have to be a morning person to be moved by these sayings.

Best Good Morning Quotes

Inspiring good morning quotes, thankful good morning quotes, motivational good morning quotes, quotes about seizing the day, fresh start to the day quotes, early riser quotes, romantic good morning quotes, rise and shine quotes, funny good morning quotes, good morning wishes, quotes for when you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, sunrise quotes, good morning routine quotes.

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Good morning! Let these quotes inspire you to rise out of bed in the morning and take on the day with a positive mindset , or send a quote to a loved one to inspire them to do the same. No matter how you feel about mornings, our wise, moving, and hilarious quotes will help you start the day on a high note.

Southern Living

• “When the sun came up… I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped and the Earth began.” — Tom Hanks
• “I like my coffee black and my mornings bright.” — Terri Guillemets
• “In the morning a man walks with his whole body; in the evening, only with his legs.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “The next morning dawned bright and sweet, like ribbon candy.“ — Sarah Addison Allen
• "I've got nothing to say but it's okay, good morning, good morning" — The Beatles
• “When I’m just waking up I like to keep a space for my own thoughts and ideas. Checking my phone is not a priority of mine.” — Andre D. Wagner
• “She woke up every morning with the option of being anyone she wished. How beautiful it was that she always chose herself.” — Tyler Kent White
• “You can only come to the morning through the shadows.”— J.R.R. Tolkien
• "Every morning is a beautiful morning." — Terri Guillemets
• "Mornings are like nature in spring… humming with the sounds of life and the promise of a fresh new day!" — LeAura Alderson
• "The morning was full of sunlight and hope." — Kate Chopin
• “It is in the early morning hour that the unseen is seen and that the far-off beauty and glory, vanquishing all their vagueness, move down upon us till they stand clear as crystal close over against the soul.” — Sarah Smiley
• "Make each day your masterpiece." — John Wooden
• "There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light." — Rumi
• “Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.” — William Blake
• “I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So, if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening." — Larry King
• "Not the day only, but all things have their morning." — French Proverb
• "In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." — Khalil Gibran
• "The sun is new each day." — Heraclitus
• "Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening." — Mahatma Gandhi
• “I get up every morning, and it’s going to be a great day. You never know when it’s going to be over so I refuse to have a bad day.” — Paul Henderson
• “The silence in the morning holds lots of expectations and is more hopeful than the silence at night.” — Victoria Durnak
• “Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you’ll start to see a big difference in your life.” —Yoko Ono
• “First thing every morning before you arise, say out loud, ‘I believe,’ three times.” — Ovid
• “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.” — Elon Musk
• “Do and act on what you believe to be right, and you'll wake up the next morning feeling good about yourself.” — Janet Reno
• “Outside the open window The morning air is all awash with angels.” ― Richard Wilbur
• “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali
• “You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning and you’re excited for the day? That’s one of my main goals in life.” — Kirsten Dunst
• “Every morning, my dad would have me looking in the mirror and repeat: 'Today is going to be a great day; I can, and I will.'” — Gina Rodriguez
• "I'm walking on sunshine, and don't it feel good!" — Katrina and the Waves
• "Waking up this morning, I smile. 24 brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment." — Thich Nhat Hanh
• “Every morning, you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them.“ — Arnold Schwarzenegger
• “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” — Marcus Aurelius
• “Every morning, I wake up saying, 'I’m still alive, a miracle.' And so I keep on pushing.” — Jim Carrey
• “I used to love night best but the older I get the more treasures and hope and joy I find in mornings.” — Terri Guillemets
• “It is a serious thing – just to be alive – on this fresh morning – in this broken world.” — Mary Oliver
• "Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful." — Prince
• "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love – then make that day count!" — Steve Maraboli
• “In the morning, instead of saying to yourself, ‘I got to wake up’ say ‘I get to wake up!’” — Erykah Badu
• “When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.” — Steve Maraboli
• "I wake up every morning literally with a smile on my face, grateful for another day I never thought I'd see." — Dick Cheney
• “Great attitude is like a perfect cup of coffee–don’t start your day without it.” — Lisa Lieberman-Wang
• “Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.” — Wayne Huizenga
• “If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning.” — Larry Page
• “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.” — E. B. White
• “When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle, and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” — John Lennon
• “I never wake up in the morning and wonder why I am here. I wake up and wonder why I am not making here better.” — Jeffrey Fry
• “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” — Steve Jobs
• "One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now." — Paulo Coelho
• “My principal motivation is supporting my family, which is not a bad reason for getting up in the morning. That’s always been my motivation—to take care of the people who rely on me.” — Tony Parsons
• “I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” — Miles Davis
• “Every morning is a reminder to let go the past and embrace the present.” — Tonmoy Acharjee
• “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.” — Richard Whately
• “Your Monday morning thoughts set the tone for your whole week. See yourself getting stronger, and living a fulfilling, happier and healthier life.” — Germany Kent
• “Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” — Lemony Snicket
• “The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the 24 hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn’t, matters not a jot. The possibility is always there.” — Monica Baldwin
• “I’ve found that the first thirty minutes of my day have the biggest impact on how I feel for the rest of my waking hours.” — Molli Sullivan
• “Eating right and taking the time to slow down and plan in the morning is crucial to a productive day.” — David Moore 
• “The most important thing I do each morning is steady myself by not allowing a sense of urgency to penetrate.” — Matthew Weatherley-White
• “You’ve got to wake up each day and understand what that day is about; you’ve got to have personal goals. Be flexible in getting to those goals, but if you do not have goals, you will not achieve them.” — Cary Cohn
• “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” — Dalai Lama
• “In one minute, you can change your attitude, and in that minute, you can change your entire day.” — Spencer Johnson
• "When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they’re not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can ’cause I know I’m gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can? Some days, they pan out a little better than others, but you still gotta always just try." — Dolly Parton
• "Good morning is not just a word. It’s an action and a belief to live the entire day well. Morning is the time when you set the tone for the rest of the day. Set it right!" — Fain Blake
• “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today.” — Doe Zantamata
• “I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” — J. B. Priestley
• “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” — Henry David Thoreau
• “I wake up in the morning and my heart is light, man. It’s not heavy. I don’t have skeletons in the closet on their way out.” — Drake
• “Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself, ‘It’s going to be a good day!” — Lindsay Lohan
• “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” — Maria Robinson
• “The sun is a daily reminder that we too can rise again from the darkness, that we too can shine our own light.” — S. Ajna
• "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." — Robert Louis Stevenson
• “Every morning a new sun greets us, and our new life begins.” — Marty Rubin
• “God’s mercy is fresh and new every morning.” — Joyce Meyer
• “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” — Buddha
• “Waking up early, connecting with nature, and having my quiet time are priorities to me, and they are non-negotiable.” — Danette May
• “One key to success is to have lunch at the time of day most people have breakfast.” — Robert Brault
• “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” — Henry David Thoreau
• “The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep.” — Rumi
• “Do not shorten the morning by getting up late; look upon it as the quintessence of life, as to a certain extent sacred.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
• “Mornings are so precious because it’s when I’m most productive. For me, thirty minutes at 5:30 am is equivalent to at least an hour at 3:00 pm.” — Whitney Johnson
• “The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years.” — Thomas Jefferson
• “It is a matter of shame that in the morning the birds should be awake earlier than you.” — Abu Bakr
• “Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.” — J. Paul Getty
• “Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.” — Henry David Thoreau
• “Let me wake up next to you, have coffee in the morning and wander through the city with your hand in mine, and I'll be happy for the rest of my little life.” — Charlotte Eriksson
• “Morning without you is a dwindled dawn.“ — Emily Dickinson
• “The best feeling in the world is to know that you belong to me and you are mine. Every morning that is all I need to know, and that itself is enough for me to have a good day.” — Joseph Moran
• “Just one look at you and I know it’s gonna be a lovely day.” — Bill Withers
• “Sometimes I wish there was no alarm clock because that is the only device that wakes me up while I am dreaming of you.” — Natalie Jones
• “You are the softness of the morning dew!” — Avijeet Das
• “Every day, I want to sleep in your arms and wake up by your side in the mornings.” — Jagdish Joghee
• “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever.” — The Notebook
• “What is love? It is the morning and the evening star.” — Sinclair Lewis
• “The day will be what you make it, so rise, like the sun, and burn.” — William C. Hannan
• “Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”— Abraham Joshua Heschel
• “If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.” — J.M. Power
• “When you’re wide awake, say it for goodness sake, it’s gonna be a great day.” — Paul McCartney
• “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to bed with satisfaction.” — George Lorimer
• “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning." — Meister Eckhart
• "You are not fully dressed until you wear a smile." — Evan Esar
• “I drink cup of sunlight every morning to brighten myself.”― Debasish Mridha
• "Everyone wants me to be a morning person. I could be one, only if morning began after noon." — Tony Smite
• “I like freedom. I wake up in the morning and say, ‘I don’t know, should I have a popsicle or a donut?’ You know, who knows?” — Oscar Nunez
• “When I wake up in the morning, I feel like a billionaire without paying taxes.” — Ernie Banks
• “The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” — Dorothy Parker
• “Dracula is a morning person compared to me.” ― Kim Dallmeier
• “I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up.” — Benjamin Franklin
• “Today’s goals: Coffee and kindness. Maybe two coffees, and then kindness.” — Nanea Hoffman
• “Now that your eyes are open, make the sun jealous with your burning passion to start the day. Make the sun jealous or stay in bed.” — Malak El Halabi
• “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.” — Robert Frost
• “Be the person that when your feet touch the floor in the morning the devil says, 'Awe sh*t, they’re up.'” — Dwayne Johnson
• “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” — Kurt Vonnegut
• "Good morning is a contradiction of terms." — Jim Davis
• "Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day." — Glen Cook
• "There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, 'Good morning, God,' and the other is to say, 'Good God, morning!'” — Fulton J. Sheen
• "Morning will come, it has no choice." — Marty Rubin
• "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?" — J.R.R. Tolkien
• “What irritates me most of all about these morning people is their horribly good temper, as if they have been up for three hours and already conquered France.” — Timur Vermes
• “Morning Darling, I love you; we’re going to have a really great day today.” — Louise Hay
• “For each new morning let there be flow of love. Let there be light of happiness in every direction.” — Amit Ray
• “Good morning! Remember: A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm.” — Charles M. Schwab
• “Look out of the window and take in the brightness from the sun. Forget the clouds and shadows of doubt and fear. Life awaits you in all its fullness; it’s another beautiful day. Good Morning”! — Ron Manchester
• “Good Morning Starshine. The earth says ‘hello.’” — Hair, the musical
• “Because you know what happens when you say ‘hello’ or ‘good morning?’ You make a connection. And isn’t that what being human is all about?” — Philip Rosenthal
• “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
• “Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who do not.” — Christy Chung
• "No matter how bad things are, you can at least be happy that you woke up this morning." — D. L. Hughley
• “Gloom and darkness are temporary. Joy comes in the morning.” — Sunday Adelaja
• “A year from now, you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb
• “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
• “There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” — Bernard Williams
• “Every sunrise gives you a new beginning and a new ending. Let this morning be a new beginning to a better relationship and a new ending to the bad memories. It’s an opportunity to enjoy life, breathe freely, think and love. Be grateful for this beautiful day.” — Norton Juster
• "Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise." —George Washington Carver
• “What I know for sure is that every sunrise is like a new page, a chance to right ourselves and receive each day in all its glory. Each day is a wonder.” — Oprah Winfrey
• “There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.” — Mindy Kaling
• “Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.” — William Arthur Ward
• “Ask yourself a simple question: How do I wake up every morning? By that, I mean, what do those first few moments of consciousness feel like?” — Shawn Wells
• "Whether the day is for writing, designing, or painting, the consistent practice of a morning routine is the doorway into it all." — Elle Luna
• "Your first ritual that you do during the day is the highest leveraged ritual, by far, because it has the effect of setting your mind, and setting the context, for the rest of your day." — Eben Pagan
• "These morning practices are what fuel me; keeping my routine is not about willpower." — Jenny Blake
• “When I’m tempted to skip my morning routine or another form of self-care, I remind myself that I can better serve the people I love and the projects I care about when I start with me.” — Courtney Carver
• "Starting my day with exercise gives me a big mood and energy boost throughout the day and makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something right off the bat.” — Jake Knapp 
• “If I fail to follow my morning routine I try to get a hard workout in. A hard workout is like a manual restart of the day.” — Aubrey Marcus
• “There is enormous power in nailing your morning routine, but there’s even more power in adapting to it when it doesn’t happen as we’d like.” — Terri Schneider
• “Your morning sets up the success of your day. So many people wake up and immediately check text messages, emails, and social media. I use my first hour awake for my morning routine of breakfast and meditation to prepare myself.” — Caroline Ghosn

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