Where Are You on the Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs?

“If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.” – Abraham Maslow

Some of you may be familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Maslow postulated that all humans have the same needs which can be represented by a prioritized pyramid of in ascending order the following needs: Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. Maslow’s prioritized needs is pictorially shown below.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Before you can satisfy your Safety Needs of security and safety, you have to satisfy your Physiological Needs of food, water, warmth, and rest.

Before you can satisfy your Belongingness and Love Needs of intimate relationships and friends, you have to satisfy your Safety Needs of security and safety, and so on.

I posit to you just like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there is a Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs. In fact, you are, right now, somewhere on your personal Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs from lowest need to highest need are Speaker Security Needs, Speaker Belongingness Needs, Speaker Self-Esteem Needs, Speaker Self-Actualization Needs.

Speaker Security Needs

Characteristics of fulfilling your Speaker Security Needs are: (1) feeling competent in the technical details of your topic, (2) feeling confident you can deliver your message to your audience and (3) feeling confident you will be able to handle audience questions competently and confidently.

Speaker Belongingness Needs

Characteristics of fulfilling your Speaker Belongingness Needs are: (1) having several deep relationships with other speakers and clients, (2) belonging to speaker organizations like Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association and (3) being accepted by the speaking organizations you belong to and engaged in stimulating conversations at meetings of these organizations.

Speaker Self-Esteem Needs

Characteristics of fulfilling your Speaker Self-Esteem Needs are (1) you feel respected for your speaking by members of your speaking organizations and others who have seen you speak, (2) you have attained status in your speaker organizations and other organizations you belong to where you have to speak frequently and (3) you have received formal and informal recognition in your speaker organizations and other organizations you belong to where you have to speak frequently.

Speaker Self-Actualization Needs

Characteristics of fulfilling your Speaker Self-Actualization Needs are (1) you feel you are approaching or have attained your full-potential as a speaker, (2) you are recognized nationally and internationally as the expert in your area of expertise and (3) you have mastered your self-motivation and are an expert decision maker when it comes to speaking at any venue (e.g., keynotes, seminars, one-on-one/group coaching.

So where are you on your Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs for Security, Belongingness, Self-Esteem and Self-Actualization?

Look at the Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs as a strategy you can use to become all you can be as a speaker!

Call to Action

• Identify where you are on your Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Develop planning objectives to satisfy your present need on the Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Develop action plans derived from your planning objectives to satisfy your present need on the Speaker’s Hierarchy of Needs and move up to the next level

“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” – Abraham Maslow