Thulasi Pius

Everyone knows how hard it is to sit through a speech or lecture that we don’t find riveting.  Keeping that in mind, we have to realize that one of the most difficult components of giving a good speech is keeping the audience captivated.  This is exactly what motivational speaker Jeff Yalden has perfected.  Being a motivational speaker is hard enough as it is, but Jeff’s targeted audience is teenagers.  Teen audiences are the most arduous age group to reach out to because of their susceptibility to distraction and obstinacy, which we all know.  Jeff however knows not just how to capture their attention just by his first statement but keep them like that till the very last word.  Jeff knows exactly how to deliver his speeches so that teens will be inspired by his words.

When Jeff delivers his speeches, he takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster.   For instance he repeatedly starts off with humor, and by doing so he catches the audience’s attention.  When applying humor he tends to level with the audience and make them feel comfortable by opening with jokes about himself.  He refers to his weight, his baldness, and even his height. Just by this the audience accepts him as one of them.  He is no longer someone who is telling them what to do or how to do it, he is now someone who associates with their problems and understands them.  Jeff has been through suicide, bad break ups, depression, learning disabilities, bad acne and more.  His speeches are so emotional at times that it brings listeners to tears. The passion and emotion he conveys show the audience just how authentic his pain is.  This is what touches their hearts and as Jeff put it “if you touch the heart the mind will follow”.  If you have ever listened to Jeff speak then you know this to be true and you will know that this emotional connection he constructs with his audience is what really inspires them.  The image above of Jeff delivering his speech to the laughing audience and then the shift to the very emotional student perfectly portrays this emotional bond he shares with his audience.