By Guest Contributor Vinette Hoffman-Jackson
Imagine starting your speech with a bang and the audience is wowed. You inform, you entertain, and you inspire. Then, you come to the end of your speech, but you are the only person in the room who knows. So, you quickly mutter ‘Thank you’. There is an awkward silence, a few tentative, uncertain claps before it gathers momentum and you slowly slump off stage, or hover uncertainly in front of your camera, as the other video conference attendees gaze on awkwardly. How disappointing after so much work spent crafting your presentation.
The sad truth is many people do not dedicate enough time and effort to the closing of their speech. They either end abruptly, tell the audience they are done, or whisper thank you. Most people tend to remember the start and the ending of any speech or presentation. The recency effect is a memory default where we tend to remember the most recent events; so, it is important to ensure your speech starts with a bang but ends with an even bigger bang!
There are a few general points to remember when closing your speech:
- Make the close ten to fifteen percent of your speech. This may sound like a lot because most people tend to think the closing is only the last sentence of your presentation, but it should not be. Ten percent of a thirty-minute speech is just three This gives you a reasonable time to summarise key points, give a call to action or repeat your key messages without rushing. Remember to pause after each key point you want your audience to remember.
- Craft and practise your ending. Do not be tempted to ad lib. Deliver the closing as you have practised it. Going off on a tangent is likely to decrease the potency of your words and lose some part of your audience. You’re also more likely to use filler words such as ahm, err or like. Rambling will decrease your impact.
- Your speech should flow purposefully towards the conclusion. Make use of effective transitions to link the body of your presentation to the ending. A story to reiterate your key points and repeat your take-away message is a great way to end. This can be a bigger wow factor if you started and ended with the same story and added an unexpected twist. You can also use transitional connectives such as ‘having heard all this, you now understand why’ or ‘I am sure at this point you are thinking…’
- Do not cut your ending short or rush it. If you lose track of time during your presentation, do not rush to squeeze in every sentence. Acknowledge that you have run out of time. If necessary, cut something before the end, but still deliver your closing. Experience will help you become more adept at timings.
- Signpost the ending. Most speakers tend to incorporate terms such as ‘in summary’, ‘finally’, or ‘to conclude’ to herald the closing of their presentation. These words will trigger the recency effect and the audience will re-engage – even those who have mentally wandered off.
- Change your voice tone. Monotony kills most speeches, especially if they are over five minutes. Everyone has their own voice/tone but a great speaker will always vary their tone and intonations during their speech. Your closing and final words should be delivered using your own voice/tone. This will come across with more authenticity and sincerity.
- Use your body language. If you are presenting in-person to the room, make the most of your body language. For example, standing in a fixed position, arms at your side and slowly looking around at your audience with a smile on your face, in most cases, will quieten a room. Try and get eye contact with specific audience members at different points around the room to spread calm and silence.
For video face the camera, stay still, pause, possibly look around at the attendees on your screen (although you can’t make eye-contact in the same way, the gesture is clear), and then, having signposted with this body language, you can for example start your ending.
- Use the stage effectively. However, if you are on stage, whether the audience is in the room with you, or watching via a live stream and seeing the entire stage, then this point applies.
Each story or each point should ideally take place at different points on the stage. Movement will attract the attention of your audience; you determine the level of subtlety or exaggeration depending on your audience and what you are comfortable with. Two thirds from the back and in the middle of the stage is where you should stand to end your speech. This enables you to see your entire audience and focus all their attention on you.
If your speech involves a podium or limited movement, use technique number seven.
- Use the wrap-around technique. Expert speakers do a wrap-around and tie the closing of their speech to their opening. For example, the speaker may ask a rhetorical question at the start and ask the same question at the close using the closing minutes to give their answer.
Another clever technique, used in the movie industry, is the cliff hanger. The best thing about storytelling is, everyone wants to know how it all ends. Start your speech with a story and leave the ending of the story to synchronise with the close of your presentation. A word of advice here; this technique is best for shorter speeches as your audience can lose interest if the story is broken for too long.
How you structure the closing of your speech will depend on your intended outcome.
Do you want to leave your audience with a takeaway message, a call to action or a feeling? An informative speech should always end with a short summary of the main points presented. Try to stick with three main points as audiences tend to remember a list of three. Your final sentence should remind people of why this important and what is in it for them or end on a quote that complements or strengthens your message. Remember to give the source of your quote first then say the quote and not vice versa. This will focus the audience on the message and not who said it.
A speech that involves a call to action must appeal to ‘pathos’, the emotions of the audience. Your closing should include emotive language that appeals to the senses.
If your intention is to inspire and leave an audience with a feeling, whether it is love, inspiration or even anger; choose a story. No other tool can evoke such a range of emotions than a well told story. Choose a short, impactful story that reinforces your message. Carefully craft the final line of that story and deliver it word for word. Followed this with a pause then your call to action. Your call to action must not be more than three sentences long.
If you follow these techniques to close your speech or presentation, audiences will be talking about it long after the event. Close your speech with a big bang!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vinette Hoffman-Jackson, DTM is a member of Toastmasters International, a not-for-profit organisation that has provided communication and leadership skills since 1924 through a worldwide network of clubs. There are more than 400 clubs and 10,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Members follow a structured educational programme to gain skills and confidence in public and impromptu speaking, chairing meetings and time management. To find your nearest club, visit www.toastmasters.org
Web: https://www.toastmasters.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinette-hoffman-jackson-dtm-a3062345/
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