TIPS FOR CONCLUDING A SPEECH WITH IMPACT
end with a bang
Research tells us that people
most commonly remember the first and last things they hear when listening to a
speech, seminar or lecture.
Consider the situation: - You
begin your speech with a big bang opening. You cruise confidently into the
body. The audience is engrossed eagerly waiting for the climax. Then you run
out of gas as you approach the close. You finish speaking but your audience
isn't finished listening - yet. They stare at you. You stare at them. The
silence is deafening. You fidget. You can hardly breathe. Finally, you blurt
out: "Thank you." Mercifully, the audience applauds, putting you out
of your misery. You can breathe again. But your purpose is defeated.
The end of the speech is the
climax of all your hard work. The better you end the better your speech will be
remembered. Here are some top tips for how to prepare yourself to end your
speech with confidence and elegance. End your speech with an attitude, not a
platitude.
Call Attention to the
Close of Your Speech
Contrary to the prevailing
practice of too many politicians and business and community leaders, the most
influential speakers don’t end their speeches with a perfunctory and mundane
“Thank you.” That’s too easy. And too lazy. It takes creative thinking and a
compelling delivery to end your speech with a mighty climax that relegates the
perfunctory “thank you” as superfluous.
End Your Speech on a High
Note
Leading speakers end their
speeches like the opera star—on a high note, vocally and intellectually. Just
as the comedian should leave ‘em laughing, the speaker should leave ‘em
thinking. Last words linger. Last words crystallize your thoughts, galvanize
your message, and mobilize your audience.
Following are few tips of ways to
close your speech. Please feel free to test any of them, mix and match or find
new ways to conclude your speech with a bang.
Tips of Closing a speech
#Book Style Close: For a book
style speech closing, refer back to your opening anecdote or quote and say, “We
have arrived, now, where we began.”
Then reiterate the message you
want your audience to remember. This will achieve symmetry in the classic
3-part speech outline: Tell them what you are going to tell; tell them, then
tell them what you just told them.
#Drumming Close: Find a phrase
and structure that is in a repetitive format which looks like a drummer
building up the crescendo for the final finish. Very usefull for a motivational
speech
#Challenging Close: Challenge
your audience to apply what you have told them in the speech. This is very useful
if you are speaking on some very important day to day issues.
#Echo Close: Focus on one word in
a quotation and emphasize that word to echo your final point. This quotation
have to emphasize your total views.
#Title Close: Give your speech a
provocative title that encapsulates your message. Then, use the title of the speech
as closing words to keep your audience thinking about what they heard,
reinforcing the title you referenced to. For such close, its better to write
the close and then work on the Title.
#Callback Close: Refer back to a
story you told where some activity was not fully completed. Then pick up the
story and close it around your theme.
#Quotation Close: Use a famous
quotation to harness the audience’s attention, much like turning on a
spotlight.
Please note that these are just a
few tips. You can mix and match the tips to work on your close.
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