A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Business entities may employ motivational speakers (for example) to communicate company strategy with clarity, to help employees to see the future in a positive light, and to inspire workers to pull together. The talk itself is often known as a pep talk.

There are similarities between motivational speakers and inspirational speakers, and someone could be labeled as both simultaneously, but they are not necessarily interchangeable. One subtle difference is that inspirational speakers often deliver a "warm, encouraging message, sometimes based on a story of overcoming great obstacles", with a desired outcome of enlivening or exalting emotion. In contrast, motivational speakers may deliver a presentation that is more energetic in nature, with a desired outcome of moving attendees to action.

Modern scholarship on classical oratory as a means of persuading and moving audiences can look to Cicero's De Oratore as an exemplar for "the rhetoric of motivation".

Anthony "Tony" Robbins (born February 29, 1960) is an American self-help author and motivational speaker. He became well known through his infomercials and self-help books, Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement and Awaken The Giant Within. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. Robbins began his career learning from many different motivational speakers, and promoted seminars for his personal mentor, Jim Rohn. He is deeply influenced by neuro-linguistic programming and a variety of philosophies.

Robbins's work has been featured in major media including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Life, GQ, Vanity Fair, Business Week, Tycoon and Success magazines, the CBS Evening News, NBC News, ABC's Prime Time Live, Fox News, CNN and A&E as well as newspapers, radio programs, and Internet media worldwide. Robbins has been mentioned or featured in 15 major motion pictures, including a cameo role a romantic comedy film Shallow Hal, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. In 2007, he was named to Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100" list.

Nicholas James Vujicic (/ˈvɔɪtʃɪtʃ/ VOY-chich; born 4 December 1982) is an Australian preacher and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally, as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs. Vujicic presents motivational speeches worldwide, on life with a disability, hope, and finding meaning in life. He also speaks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do His work and that God is big enough to overcome any and all disabilities.

The eldest child of a Serbian family, Vujicic was born in Brisbane, Australia. He was limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level, as well as legless. His feet were toeless except for two toes on one foot. Initially, his parents were devastated, though Vujicic was otherwise healthy.

Originally prohibited by Victoria state law from attending a mainstream school because of his physical disability, even though he was not mentally impaired, Vujicic became one of the first disabled students integrated into a mainstream school, once the laws changed.

Alfredo James "Al" Pacino (/pəˈtʃiːnɵ/; born April 25, 1940) is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Tony Montana in Scarface, though he has also appeared several times on the other side of the law — as a police officer, a detective and a lawyer. His role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1993 after receiving seven previous Oscar nominations, one of them being in the same year.

He made his feature film debut in the 1969 film Me, Natalie in a minor supporting role, before playing the leading role in the 1971 drama The Panic in Needle Park. Pacino made his major breakthrough when he was given the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather in 1972, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Other Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor were for Dick Tracy and Glengarry Glen Ross. Oscar nominations for Best Actor include The Godfather Part II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, ...And Justice for All and Scent of a Woman.

David Brent (within the series, born 1962 or 1963) is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary The Office, as well as a recurring character in the NBC series of the same name, portrayed by co-writer and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of the BBC series. He is the general manager of the Slough branch of the Wernham–Hogg paper merchants, and the boss to most of the other characters present in the series. Much of the comedy and pathos of the series centres on Brent's many idiosyncrasies, hypocrisies, self-delusions and self-promotion (including playing up to the 'documentary' cameras present in his workplace).

David Brent is the type of boss who wants to be a friend and mentor to those who work for him. He imagines his workers find him very funny and enjoy his company, while still respecting him and looking up to him as a boss, even a father figure. However, his employees generally find him annoying, frustrating and offensive.