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Different Ways to End a Presentation or Speech

November 6, 2017 - Dom Barnard

The beginning and ending of your presentation are the most important. The  beginning  is where you grab the audience’s attention and ensure they listen to the rest of your speech. The conclusion gives you a chance to leave a lasting impression that listeners take away with them.

Studies show  that when people are tasked with recalling information, they “best performance at the beginning and end”. It’s therefore essential you leave an impact with your closing statement. A strong ending motivates, empowers and encourages people to take action.

The power of three

The rule of three is a simple yet powerful method of communication and we use it often in both written and verbal communication. Using information in patterns of three makes it  more memorable  for the audience.

Examples of the power of three being used:

• This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning – Winston Churchill
• Blood, sweat and tears – General Patton
• I came, I saw, I conquered – Julius Caesar

A compelling story

Ending your presentation on a short story, especially if that story is personal or illustrates how the content presented affects others is the best way to conclude.

If you want to talk about a customer experience or successful case study, think about how you can turn it into a meaningful story which the audience will remember and even relate to. Creating empathy with your audience and tying the story back to points made throughout the presentation ensures your presentation will be well received by the audience.

A surprising fact

A surprising fact has the power to re-engage the audience’s attention, which is most likely to wane by the end of a presentation. Facts with  statistical numbers  in them work well – you can easily search online for facts related to your speech topic. Just make use you remember the source for the fact in case you are questioned about it.

A running clock

Marketing and advertising executive Dietmar Dahmen ends his Create Your Own Change talk with a running clock to accompany his last statement. “Users rule,” he says, “so stop waiting and start doing. And you have to do that now because time is running out.”

If you’re delivering a time-sensitive message, where you want to urge your listeners to move quickly, you can have a background slide with a  running timer  to add emphasis to your last statement.

Acknowledging people or companies

There are times when it’s appropriate to thank people publicly for helping you – such as

• Presenting a research paper and want to thank people involved in the project
• Presenting data or information obtained from a company or a person
• When someone helped you build the presentation if it’s a particularly complex one

You can even use the  PowerPoint credits  feature for additional ‘wow’ factor.

A short, memorable sentence

A sound bite is an attention magnet. It cuts to the core of your central message and is one of the most memorable takeaways for today’s  Twitter-sized  attention spans. Consider Steve Jobs’ famous last line at his commencement address at Stanford University: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

Think about how you can distil your message down to a crisp, memorable statement. Does it represent your authentic voice? Does it accurately condense what your core message is about? Listeners, especially business audiences, have a radar that quickly spots an effort to impress rather than to genuinely communicate an important message.

An interesting quote

A relatively easy way to end your speech is by using a quote. For this to be effective, however, the quote needs to be one that has not been heard so often that it has become cliché.

To access fresh quotes, consider searching current personalities rather than historical figures. For example, a quote on failing from J.K. Rowling: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

You need to figure out what resonates with your audience, and choose a quote that fits the presentation theme. If you’re up to it, you can round off the quote with your own thoughts as well.

A visual image

Make use of this power by ending your presentation with a riveting visual that ties to your take-home message. Leave this slide on when you finish your presentation to give the audience something to look at and think about for the next few minutes.

Use a summary slide instead of a ‘thank you’ slide

‘Thank You’ slides don’t really help the audience. You should be verbally saying ‘Thank you’, with a smile and with positive eye contact, putting it on a slide removes the sentiment.

Instead of a ‘Thank You’ slide, you can use a  summary slide  showing all the key points you have made along with your call to action. It can also show your name and contact details.

This slide is the only slide you use that can contain a lot of text, use bullet points to separate the text. Having all this information visible during the Q&A session will also help the audience think of questions to ask you. They may also choose to take photos of this slide with their phone to take home as a summary of your talk and to have your contact details.

Repeat something from the opening

Closing a presentation with a look back at the opening message is a popular technique. It’s a great way to round off your message, whilst simultaneously summing up the entire speech and creating a feeling of familiarity for the audience. Comedians do this well when they tie an earlier joke to a later one.

Doing this will signal to the audience that you are coming to the end of your talk. It completes the circle – you end up back where you started.

There are a few ways to approach this technique:

• Set up a question at the beginning of your speech and use your ending to answer it
• Finish a story you started, using the anecdote to demonstrate your message
• Close with the title of the presentation – this works best with a provocative, memorable title

Link the main points to the key message

At the beginning of your talk, it’s important to map out the main ideas you will talk about. An audience that doesn’t know the stages of the journey you are about to take them on will be less at ease than one that knows what lies ahead. At the end of your talk, take them back over what you’ve spoken about but don’t just list the different ideas you developed, show how they are related and how they support your main argument.

Finish with enthusiasm

It’s only natural that you’ll feel tired when you get to the end of your talk. The adrenaline that was racing through your body at the beginning has now worn off.

It’s crucial that the audience feels that you are enthusiastic and open for questions. If you’re not enthusiastic about the presentation, why should the audience be?

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Don’t end with audience questions

When the  Q&A session  is over, stand up, get their attention and close the presentation. In your closing give your main argument again, your call to action and deal with any doubts or criticisms that out in the Q&A.

A closing is more or less a condensed version of your conclusions and an improvised summary of the Q&A. It’s important that the audience goes home remembering the key points of the speech, not with a memory of a Q&A that may or may not have gone well or may have been dominated by someone other than you.

If possible, try and take questions throughout your presentation so they remain pertinent to the content.

Getting rid of the “questions?” slide

To start, let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do. You shouldn’t end a presentation with a slide that asks “Questions?” Everyone does and there is nothing memorable about this approach.

Ideally, you should take questions throughout the presentation so that the question asked and the answer given is relevant to the content presented. If you choose to take questions at the end of your presentation, end instead with a strong image that relates to your presentation’s content.

Worried about no audience questions?

If you’re afraid of not getting any questions, then you can arrange for a friend in the audience to ask one. The ‘plant’ is a good way to get questions started if you fear silence.

Chances are that people do want to ask questions, but no one wants to be the first to ask a question. If you don’t have a ‘plant’, you might need to get the ball rolling yourself. A good way to do this is for you to ask am open question to the audience. Ask the most confident looking person in the room for their opinion, or get the audience to discuss the question with the person sitting beside them.

A cartoon or animation

In his TED talk on  The Paradox of Choice  , Barry Schwartz ends his presentation with a cartoon of a fishbowl with the caption, “You can be anything you want to be – no limits.” He says, “If you shatter the fishbowl, so that everything is possible, you don’t have freedom, you have paralysis… Everybody needs a fishbowl”. This is a brilliant ending that combines visuals, humour and a metaphor. Consider ending your presentation with a relevant cartoon to make your message memorable.

Ask a rhetoric question

So, for example, if you’re finishing up a talk on the future of engineering, you might say, “I’d like to end by asking you the future of manufacturing, will it be completely taken over by robots in the next 30 years?”

The minute you  ask a question  , listeners are generally drawn into thinking about an answer. It’s even more engaging when the question is provocative, or when it touches potentially sensitive areas of our lives

Thank the audience

The simplest way to end a speech, after you’ve finished delivering the content, is to say, “thank you.” That has the benefit of being understood by everyone.

It’s the great way for anyone to signal to the audience that it’s time to applaud and then head home.

Call your audience to action and make it clear

It’s not enough to assume your message will inspire people to take action. You need to actually tell them to take action. Your call to action should be clear and specific. Your audience should be left with no doubt about what it is you’re asking.

Use the last few minutes of the presentation to reinforce the call to action you seek. Examples of strong calls to actions include:

• Retain 25% more employees with our personal development solution
• Save your business 150% by using this framework
• Donate today to save millions around the world

Make it clear that you’ve finished

Nothing is more uncomfortable than the silence of an audience working out if you’ve finished or not.

Your closing words should make it very clear that it’s the end of the presentation. The audience should be able to read this immediately, and respond. As we mentioned previously, saying “thank you” is a good way to finish.

If the applause isn’t forthcoming, stand confidently and wait. Don’t fidget and certainly don’t eke out a half-hearted, ‘And that just about covers it. Thank you’.

50 Speech Closing Lines (& How to Create Your Own) | The Ultimate Guide

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

While speech openings are definitely one of the most important components of a speech, something that is equally as important is the way you conclude your speech.

There are few worse ways to end your speech than with a terse ‘thank you’–no elaboration or addition whatsoever.

Speech endings are just as crucial to the success of your speech as speech openings, and you must spend just as much time picking the perfect ending as you do to determine your best possible speech opening.

The words you speak at the beginning and end of your speech are words that your audience will pay the most attention to, and remember longer than any other part of your speech.

Speech endings can put even the most experienced speaker in flux, and increase their anxiousness manifold as they sit there attempting to figure out the perfect way to end your speech.

If you’re someone who’s in flux about your speech ending too, don’t worry. We’ve got some amazing ways to conclude your speech with a bang!

1. Circling Back To The Beginning

The idea behind circling back to the beginning of your speech is to reinforce the idea of your speech being a complete whole. By circling back to the beginning and connecting it to your ending, you let the audience understand that the idea of your speech is complete & standalone.

Circling back to the beginning of your speech also acts as an excellent way of reinforcing the central idea of your speech in the audience’s mind, and makes it more likely that they will remember it after the speech ends.

Need more inspiration for speech opening lines? Check out our article on 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines & Tips To Create Your Own.

How To Circle Back To The Beginning

The easiest way to do this is to set up your beginning for the conclusion of your speech. That is, if you’re saying something like, say, a story or joke in the beginning, then you can leave your audience in a cliffhanger until the ending arrives.

Another great way to circle back to the beginning is by simply restating something you said at the start. The added knowledge from attending the rest of your speech will help the audience see this piece of information in a new–and better–light.

1. Will Stephen

Ending Line: “I’d like you to think about what you heard in the beginning, and I want you to think about what you hear now. Because it was nothing & it’s still nothing.”

2. Canwen Xu

Speech Ending: My name is Canwen, my favorite color is purple and I play the piano but not so much the violin…

Think of a memorable moment from your life, and chances are you’ll realize that it involved a feeling of happiness–something that we can associate with smiling or laughter. And what better way to generate laughter than by incorporating the age-old strategy of good humor.

The happy and lighthearted feeling you associate with good memories is the kind of emotional reaction you want to create in your audience too. That’s what will make your speech stick in their memory.

Done incorrectly, humor can be a disaster. Done right, however, it can entirely transform a speech.

Humor doesn’t only mean slapstick comedy (although there’s nothing wrong with slapstick, either). Humor can come in many forms, including puns, jokes, a funny story…the list is endless.

How To Incorporate Humor In Your Speech Ending

The simplest way to incorporate humor into your speech ending is by telling a plain old joke–something that’s relevant to your topic, of course.

You can also tell them a short, funny anecdote–may be an unexpected conclusion to a story you set up in the beginning.

Another way would be by employing the power of repetition. You can do this by associating something funny with a word, and then repeating the word throughout your speech. During the end, simply say the word or phrase one last time, and it’s likely you’ll leave off your audience with a good chuckle.

1. Woody Roseland

Ending Line: “Why are balloons so expensive? Inflation.”

2. Andras Arato

Ending Line: “There are three rules to becoming famous. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.”

3. Hasan Minhaj

Ending Line: “And you want to know the scariest part? Pretty soon every country on the earth is going to have its own TLC show.”

4. Sophie Scott

Speech Ending: In other words, when it comes to laughter, you and me baby, ain’t nothing but mammals.

5. Tim Urban

Speech Ending: We need to stay away from the Instant Gratification Monkey. That’s a job for all of us. And because there’s not that many boxes on there. It’s a job that should probably start today. Well, maybe not today, but, you know, sometime soon.

6. Hasan Minhaj

Speech Ending: Showing my legs on TV is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done. And keep in mind last week I went after the Prince of Saudi Arabia.

3. Question

The idea behind posing a question at the end of your speech is to get the wheels in your audience’s minds turning and to get them thinking of your speech long after it has ended. A question, if posed correctly, will make your audience re-think about crucial aspects of your speech, and is a great way to prompt discussion after your speech has ended.

How To Add Questions To Your Speech Ending

The best type of questions to add to your speech ending is rhetorical questions. That’s because, unlike a literal question, a rhetorical question will get the audience thinking and make them delve deeper into the topic at hand.

Make sure your question is central to the idea of your speech, and not something frivolous or extra. After all, the point of a question is to reinforce the central idea of your topic.

1. Lexie Alford

Speech Ending: Ask yourself: How uncomfortable are you willing to become in order to reach your fullest potential?

2. Apollo Robbins

Speech Ending: If you could control somebody’s attention, what would you do with it?

Quotes are concise, catchy phrases or sentences that are generally easy to remember and repeat.

Quotes are an age-old way to start–and conclude–a speech. And for good reason.

Quotes can reinforce your own ideas by providing a second voice to back them up. They can also provoke an audience’s mind & get them thinking. So, if you add your quote to the end of your speech, the audience will most likely be thinking about it for long after you have finished speaking.

How To Use Quotes In Your Speech Ending

While adding quotes to your speech ending, make sure that it’s relevant to your topic. Preferably, you want to pick a quote that summarizes your entire idea in a concise & memorable manner.

Make sure that your quote isn’t too long or complicated. Your audience should be able to repeat it as well as feel its impact themselves. They shouldn’t be puzzling over the semantics of your quote, but its intended meaning.

1. Edouard Jacqmin

Speech Ending: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

2. Chris Crowe

Speech Ending: “It’s more certain than death and taxes.”

3. Olivia Remes

Speech Ending: I’d like to leave you with a quote by Martin Luther King: “You don’ have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”

4. Tomislav Perko

Speech Ending: Like that famous quote says, “In twenty years from now on, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do.

5. Diana Nyad

Speech Ending: To paraphrase the poet, Mary Oliver, she says, “So, what is it? What is it you’re doing with this one wild and precious life of yours?”

5. Piece Of Advice

The point of giving a piece of advice at the end of your speech is not to pull your audience down or to make them feel bad/inferior about themselves. Rather, the advice is added to motivate your audience to take steps to do something–something related to the topic at hand.

The key point to remember is that your advice is included to help your audience, not to discourage them.

How To Add Piece Of Advice To Your Speech Ending

To truly make your audience follow the advice you’re sharing, you must make sure it resonates with them. To do so, you need to inject emotions into your advice, and to present it in such a manner that your audience’s emotions are aroused when they hear it.

Your advice shouldn’t be something extra-complicated or seemingly impossible to achieve. This will act as a counter-agent. Remember that you want your audience to follow your advice, not to chuck it away as something impossible.

Our article, 15 Powerful Speech Ending Lines And Tips To Create Your Own , is another great repository for some inspiration.

1. Ricardo Lieuw On

Speech Ending: “Learn something new, or a new way of approaching something old because there are a few skills are valuable as the art of learning.”

2. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Speech Ending: “If we want to improve the competence level of our leaders, then we should first improve our own competence for judging and selecting leaders.”

3. Sharique Samsudheen

Speech Ending: “Some people love money, some people hate money, some people crave money, some people even kill for money. But what they miss is they just need to learn how to manage money well, and that will give them financial freedom.”

4. Kate Simonds

Speech Ending: Teens, you need to believe in your voices and adults, you need to listen.

5. Melissa Butler

Speech Ending: When you go home today, see yourself in the mirror, see all of you, look at all your greatness that you embody, accept it, love it and finally, when you leave the house tomorrow, try to extend that same love and acceptance to someone who doesn’t look like you.

6. Iskra Lawrence

Speech Ending: Speak to your body in a loving way. It’s the only one you got, it’s your home, and it deserves your respect. If you see anyone tearing themselves down, build them back up And watch your life positively grow when you give up the pursuit of perfection.

6. Contemplative Remark

As the name itself suggests, contemplative remarks are intended to make your audience contemplate or mull over something. The ‘something’ in question should be the idea central to your speech, or a key takeaway that you want them to return home with.

The idea is to get your audience thinking and to keep them thinking for a long, long time.

How To Add A Contemplative Remark To Your Speech Ending

To add a contemplative remark to your speech ending, you first need to figure out your key takeaway or main theme. Then, you want to arrange that as a question, and propose it to your audience at the end of your speech.

Remember that your question shouldn’t be something too wordy or complicated to understand. As with the quotes, you don’t want your audience stuck on the semantics. Rather, you want them to focus on the matter at hand.

1. Lisa Penney

Speech Ending: “So I invite you to pay more attention to your thoughts & consider the legacy you leave behind.”

2. Grant Sanderson

Speech Ending: “Some of the most useful math that you can find or teach has its origin in someone who was just looking for a good story.”

3. Greta Thunberg

Speech Ending: “We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up & change is coming whether you like it or not.”

4. Bill Eckstrom

Speech Ending: Now, think about this: it’s not the complexity-triggering individuals or events you should fear the most, but it’s your own willingness to accept or seek discomfort that will dictate the growth of not just you, but our entire world.

5. Robert Hoge

Speech Ending: Choose to accept your face, choose to appreciate your face, don’t look away from the mirror so quickly; understand all the love, and the life, and the pain that is the part of your face, that is the art of your face. Tomorrow when you wake up, what will your choice be?

7. Personal Anecdote

Personal anecdotes, as the name suggests, are anecdotes that are personal to the speaker or instances from their life. Personal anecdotes are a great way to incorporate the magical powers of storytelling in your speech, as well as to make a personal connection with the audience. Using personal anecdotes, you can hit two birds with one stone!

How To Add Personal Anecdotes To Your Speech Ending

To add personal anecdotes to your speech ending, you need to filter through your life experiences to find out ones that directly relate to your topic at hand. You don’t want to include an anecdote, no matter how compelling it is, if it doesn’t relate to your topic.

Remember to not keep your anecdote too long. Your audience will most likely lose their attention if you do so.

1. Sheila Humphries

Speech Ending: “Why do you go work for these people?” My answer to them was, “If I could help one child make it in this world, it’ll be worth it all.”

8. Call To Action

A call-to-action is one of the absolute best ways to conclude a speech with a bang. A well-written speech should aim to alter the audience’s mind or belief system in some way and to make them take an action in that direction. One crucial way to assure your audience does this is by using a call to action.

How To Add A Call To Action To Your Speech Ending

A call to action comes right before the ending of your speech to provide your audience with a clear idea or set of instructions about what they’re supposed to do after your talk ends.

A call to action should provide a roadmap to the audience for their future steps, and to outline clearly what those future steps are going to be.

1. Armin Hamrah

Speech Ending: “So tonight, after you finish your Math homework & before you lay your head down on that fluffy pillow, bring a piece of paper and pen by your bedside…”

2. Graham Shaw

Speech Ending: “So I invite you to get your drawings out there & spread the word that when we draw, we remember more!”

3. Andy Puddicombe

Speech Ending: You don’t have to burn any incense, and you definitely don’t have to sit on the floor. All you need to do is to take out 10 minutes out a day to step back, familiarize yourself with the present moment so that you get to experience a greater sense of focus, calm, and clarity in your life.

4. Amy Cuddy

Speech Ending: Before you go into the next stressful evaluative situation, for two minutes, try doing this in the elevator…

5. Jia Jiang

Speech Ending: When you are facing the next obstacle or the next failure, consider the possibilities. Don’t run! If you just embrace them, they might become your gifts as well.

9. Motivational Remark

As the name clearly explains, a motivational remark motivates your audience to carry out a plan of action. It ruffles the audience’s mind and emotions and has a powerful impact on the steps that your audience will take after you’ve finished speaking.

How To Add A Motivational Remark To Your Speech Ending

The key to a good motivational remark is to inspire your audience. Your motivational remark should act as a ray of hope to your audience and positively inspire them to take a desired course of action.

Your motivational remark should not be negative in any way. You don’t want to guilt or coerce your audience into doing something or feeling a certain way. You want to leave them on a positive note to move forward with their life.

1. Khanh Vy Tran

Speech Ending: “No matter what you’re going through right now & no matter what the future holds for you, please don’t change yourself. Love yourself, accept yourself & then transform yourself.”

2. Mithila Palkar

Speech Ending: “Get a job, leave a job, dance, sing, fall in love. Carve your own niche. But most importantly: learn to love your own randomness.”

3. Andrew Tarvin

Speech Ending: “Anyone can learn to be funnier. And it all starts with a choice. A choice to try to find ways to use humor. A choice to be like my grandmother, to look at the world around you and say WTF–wow, that’s fun.”

4. Laura Vanderkam

Speech Ending: There is time. Even if we are busy, we have time for what matters. And when we focus on what matters, we can build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.

5. Julian Treasure

Speech Ending: Let’s get listening taught in schools, and transform the world in one generation into a conscious listening world, a world of connection, a world of understanding, and a world of peace.

6. Mariana Atencio

Speech Ending: Let’s celebrate those imperfections that make us special. I hope that it teaches you that nobody has a claim on the word ‘normal’. We are all different. We are all quirky and unique and that is what makes us wonderfully human.

10. Challenge

Much like a call to action, the aim of proposing a challenge at the end of your speech is to instigate your audience to take some desired course of action. A challenge should make an appeal to your audience’s emotion, and motivate them to meet it.

How To Add A Challenge To Your Speech Ending

To apply a challenge effectively to your speech ending, you need to make sure that it’s something relevant to your topic. Your challenge should drive the central topic of your speech forward, and make your audience engage in real-life steps to apply your idea in the real world.

While its always a good idea to set a high bar for your challenge, make sure its an achievable one too.

1. Jamak Golshani

Speech Ending: “I challenge you to open your heart to new possibilities, choose a career path that excites you & one that’s aligned to who you truly are.”

2. Ashley Clift-Jennings

Speech Ending: So, my challenge to you today is, “Do you know, would you even know how to recognize your soulmate?” If you are going out in the world right now, would you know what you are looking for?

11. Metaphor

Metaphors are commonly used as a short phrase that draws a comparison between two ideas in a non-literal sense. People use metaphors quite commonly in daily life to explain ideas that might be too difficult or confusing to understand otherwise. Metaphors are also great tools to be used in speech, as they can present your main idea in a simple and memorable way.

How To Add Metaphors To Your Speech Ending

To add a metaphor to your speech ending, you need to first decide on the main idea or takeaway of your speech. Your metaphor should then be organized in such a way that it simplifies your main idea and makes it easier for your audience to understand & remember it.

The key is to not make your metaphor overly complicated or difficult to retain and share. Remember that you’re trying to simplify your idea for the audience–not make them even more confused.

1. Ramona J. Smith

Speech Ending: “Stay in that ring. And even after you take a few hits, use what you learned from those previous fights, and at the end of the round, you’ll still remain standing.”

2. Shi Heng YI

Speech Ending: “If any of you chooses to climb that path to clarity, I will be very happy to meet you at the peak.”

3. Zifang “Sherrie” Su

Speech Ending: “Are you turning your back on your fear? Our life is like this stage, but what scares are now may bring you the most beautiful thing. Give it a chance.”

12. Storytelling

The idea behind using stories to end your speech is to leave your audience with a good memory to take away with them.

Stories are catchy, resonating & memorable ways to end any speech.

Human beings can easily relate to stories. This is because most people have grown up listening to stories of some kind or another, and thus a good story tends to evoke fond feelings in us.

How To Incorporate Stories In Your Speech Ending

A great way to incorporate stories in your speech ending is by setting up a story in the beginning and then concluding it during the end of your speech.

Another great way would be to tell a short & funny anecdote related to a personal experience or simply something related to the topic at hand.

However, remember that it’s the ending of your speech. Your audience is most likely at the end of their attention span. So, keep your story short & sweet.

1. Sameer Al Jaberi

Speech Ending: “I can still see that day when I came back from my honeymoon…”

2. Josephine Lee

Speech Ending: “At the end of dinner, Jenna turned to me and said…”

Facts are another excellent speech ending, and they are used quite often as openings as well. The point of adding a fact as your speech ending is to add shock value to your speech, and to get your audience thinking & discussing the fact even after your speech has ended.

How To Add Facts To Your Speech Ending

The key to adding facts to your speech ending is to pick a fact that thrusts forward your main idea in the most concise form possible. Your fact should also be something that adds shock value to the speech, and it should ideally be something that the audience hasn’t heard before.

Make sure that your fact is relevant to the topic at hand. No matter how interesting, a fact that doesn’t relate to your topic is going to be redundant.

1. David JP Phillips

Speech Ending: 3500 years ago, we started transfering knowledge from generation to generation through text. 28 years ago, PowerPoint was born. Which one do you think our brain is mostly adapted to?

14. Rhethoric Remark

Rhetoric remarks are another excellent way to get the wheels of your audience’s minds turning. Rhetoric remarks make your audience think of an imagined scenario, and to delve deeper into your topic. Rhetoric remarks or questioned don’t necessarily need to have a ‘right’ or one-shot answer, which means you can be as creative with them as possible!

How To Add Rhethoric Remarks To Your Speech Ending

Since rhetorical questions don’t need to have a definite answer, you have much freedom in determining the type of question or statement you wish to make. However, as with all other speech endings, a rhetorical question shouldn’t be asked just for the sake of it.

A rhetorical question should make your audience think about your topic in a new or more creative manner. It should get them thinking about the topic and maybe see it from an angle that they hadn’t before.

Rhetorical questions shouldn’t be too confusing. Use simple language & make sure it’s something that the audience can easily comprehend.

1. Mona Patel

Speech Ending: Pick your problem, ask “What if?” Come up with ideas. Bring them down. Then execute on them. Maybe you’re thinking, “What if we can’t?” I say to you, “What if we don’t?”

2. Lizzie Velasquez

Speech Ending: I want you to leave here and ask yourself what defines you. But remember: Brave starts here.

Another great way to end your speech with a literal bang is by using music! After all, if there’s something that can impact the human mind with just as much force as a few well-placed words, it’s the correct music.

How To Add Music To Your Speech Ending

To add music to your speech ending, you must make sure that the music has something to do with your speech theme. Remember that you’re not playing music in your concert. The piece of music that you choose must be relevant to your topic & work to have a contribution in your overall speech.

1. Tom Thum

Speech Ending: *ends the TED Talk with beat boxing*

16. Reitirate The Title

The title of your speech is its most important component. That’s why you need to pay careful attention to how you pick it, as it is something that your viewers will most likely remember the longest about your speech.

Your title will also act as a guiding hand towards how your audience forms an initial idea about your speech and is what they will associate your entire speech with.

By repeating your title at the end of your speech, you increase the chances that your audience will remember it–and your speech–for a long time.

How To Retierate The Title In Your Speech Ending

Your title is something that your audience associates your entire speech with. However, you don’t want to simply add the title in your speech end for the sake of adding it. Instead, make it flow naturally into your speech ending. This will make it seem less forced, and will also increase the chances of your audience remembering your entire speech ending and not just the title of your speech.

1. Ruairi Robertson

Speech Ending: I feel we can all contribute to this fight worth fighting for our own health, but more importantly, our future generations’ health by restoring the relationship between microbe and man. There is SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

Need more inspiration for speech closing lines? Check out our article on 10 Of The Best Things To Say In Closing Remarks.

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To sum up, speech endings are just as imperative to the success of your speech as speech openings, and you must spend just as much time picking the perfect ending as you do to determine your best possible speech opening. The words you speak at the beginning and end of your speech are words that your audience will pay the most attention to, and remember longer than any other part of your speech.

Still looking for inspiration? Check out this video we made on closing remarks:

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Speech Conclusion: 12 Ways to End a Presentation the Best Way

If you’ve learned anything about speech writing, you’ll know that there’s a recommended formula to use in designing the best presentation.

Essentially, your talk should have a short opening where you engage your audience , a middle part where you coherently cover the details of your speech topic and an ending that neatly sums everything up .

Remember, people have come to hear you talk when there are definitely other ways that they could be spending their time.

They’re looking to be entertained, or moved in some way. They want to leave the room better informed, educated and possibly curious to study more about your subject.

Therefore, you owe it to your listeners to put together the best presentation that you can – that includes a dynamite finish that they’ll reflect on afterwards.

Let’s take a closer look at how to approach the task. We’ll begin by discussing what not to do .

How NOT to End Your Speech: What Not to Do

Sure, when your talk is coming to an end you might be feeling relieved to have gotten through what you have to say without any obvious missteps.

It’s understandable if you’re ready to quickly exit stage left, and take your seat again with the audience members. After all, you’ve earned that privilege – right?

This is a natural temptation and another good reason why you really must take the time to write a proper wrap up.

Having said that, when it comes to crafting an effective ending, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. Here’s what not to do.

 Regurgitating remarks

We’ve already mentioned that the ending is the place where you sum up the main message of your speech in some fashion.

However, you don’t want to repeat so much of your talk that your audience’s eyes start to glaze over.

Going on too long about what you’ve already said is a definite no-no. People may just think that you’re doubting their intelligence!

Taking a tangent

As well, you mustn’t go off on a tangent and introduce some new thoughts that are unrelated to what you’ve just spent some time telling listeners.

This will only confuse people.

Furthermore, the participants may second guess what your topic really was all about, and whether they’ve heard you properly.

Stopping abruptly

Take care not to finish abruptly. People need to know by what you say that you’re getting ready to wind things up.

It should not come as a shock that it’s already time for them to applaud.

Trailing off 

You also shouldn’t stop with a whimper, so to speak.

You voice has to remain clear and strong right up until you’ve delivered your last statement. Keep the volume up and don’t mumble!

Offer an apology

Seriously! Don’t do this!

It could be that you believe your speech wasn’t up to your own standards. Maybe you got off track a little, or missed making a minor point that you’d intended.

Whatever it is, your listeners in all likelihood didn’t notice. Even if they did, they’ve already moved on and forgiven you.

Therefore, you certainly don’t want to draw their attention to anything that you felt wasn’t up to par.

12 Best Ways to End a Speech to be Remembered

Be mindful that your final comments are probably going to be the most memorable part of your talk.

As people file out of the auditorium or meeting room, what you said last will be ringing in their ears. In addition, they may be sharing their reaction to your words with others in attendance.

Therefore, you want to leave them with a good impression.

Now that you can appreciate the importance of finishing off your presentation well − and some of the pitfalls to avoid – you’re ready to learn about a number of great ideas for speech endings.

Following are the different ways you can go.

1. Paraphrase the main points

Take a minute to recap the main points of your presentation.

Tell people again what you just told them, but be sure to do it in a very succinct way.

While you shouldn’t just say verbatim what you’ve relayed already, it’s quite acceptable to repeat a phrase or sentence from your opening as a way to reinforce your main point. Whatever you choose, keep it short.

One approach to paraphrasing is to package the information in three points.

It has been shown that patterns of three can have some staying power in the minds of listeners. Here are a few examples that illustrate this:

“...government of the people, by the people, for the people.” – Abraham Lincoln

“I came. I saw. I conquered.” – Julius Caesar

Basically, paraphrasing reinforces the main message of your talk so that those participating are much more likely to bring it to mind later on.

2. Give them a take-away

This approach is somewhat similar to the above idea. It involves giving people the single most important message that you want them to leave with.

Since you’re asking them to focus on only one thought, they’re more apt to commit it to memory.

Plus, boiling the information you’ve just delivered down to a central idea can be very impactful.

Listeners will take to heart that there’s one single take-away they should really pay attention to. They’re more likely to recall the main point you made, and even relay it in conversation with colleagues, friends and family.

One very effective method of doing this is to tell your audience upfront that you want them to recall something. For instance, you could preface your point with one of these phrases:

“When you leave here today, I want you to remember . . .”

“If you take anything away from my presentation today, it should be that . . .”

And say your point.

3. Call them to action

This is a very popular way to end a speech and, no wonder, when you think of how it can affect those listening.

Essentially, you’re going to ask people to do something as a result of absorbing your talk.

Maybe they’ve been swept away by the inspiration you’ve demonstrated in telling them a moving story of overcoming adversity. Perhaps they’re intrigued by the new ideas you’ve presented to manage personal stress.

At the end of your speech, the time is ripe to call them to an action of some sort. Here are some examples, using slightly different approaches:

“The next time you look at the stars in the night sky, I urge you to think about how incredibly vast is our universe.”

“When you see another television commercial about hunger, are you going to change the channel, or are you going to call the number on the screen and make a donation?”

Demanding something of your audience will cause them to reflect on your presentation and especially so when they next find themselves in the situation you’ve described.

Regardless of whether or not they decide to follow through on what you’ve asked, they’ll be thinking of what you said.

4. Repeat the title

Here’s a simple idea that you might have seen used.

Granted, we’ve already explained why you shouldn’t regurgitate your speech in your closing remarks.

However, just repeating the title of your speech can be a great way to sum up and refocus the audience on what your presentation was about.

Of course, this calls for creating an excellent title that will stand on its own as a representation of your talk.

Moreover, your title could be in the form of a provocative question, or employ an alliteration to make it really interesting and memorable.

5. Position with power

End your speech with a powerful bang by making a bold statement that links back to your talk.

Employ strong words or unique turns of phrase. This can be accomplished by writing out your closing statement and searching for synonyms for certain words that will convey more emotion, or spark increased interest.

Emphasize what you have to say with a confident posture that matches.

Another approach to show your power is to make a grand physical gesture. If, for example, your closing statement is “What I want the whole world to know is . . .” you could spread your arms wide in a circle to suggest that you’re reaching out across the globe.

Listeners will remember your words for the strength and enthusiasm behind them.

6. Use your body language

If you’ve done any public speaking, you’ll already appreciate the importance of experimenting with body language . The right posture and gestures can convey so much!

It’s just as critical to display impactful body language at the end of your speech since this is the last thing people will see.

What you do physically on stage should help your audience recall you for the right reasons.

Certainly, you can take a little bow and then walk confidently away from the podium. However, wouldn’t it make people recall you and what you told them better if you did something different?

Maybe you want to shimmy off stage with a dance move, skip or give a few low sweeping bows while blowing kisses to the audience? Use your imagination and find something that fits with your speech topic .

In the following video, Vikram did a somersault to conclude his speech and the audience went wild! (starts at 6:42)

7. Use a prop or visual

If you’ve brought a prop on stage and referred to it earlier in your speech, bring the attention of your participants back to it as you make your closing remarks.

Perhaps you’ve rolled a little suitcase behind you when you first walked to the podium as a visual about the personal baggage that we all carry. Well, grab the handle and give the case a little twirl to bring the audience’s eyes back to it.

Have you arrived on stage wearing a funny wig? You’ve probably set it aside so as not to distract from your words, but pop it back on your head at the end of your speech to help people make a connection to your entire message.

At the start of the following speech recording, the 2014 World Champion of Public Speaking Dananjaya Hettiarachchi pulled out the petals of a flower and threw them into a trash can. At the end of his speech, he pulled out a whole flower from the trash can to make a point. 

It was a 'wow' moment.

There are other options for leaving people with a visual that they’ll remember. Here are a few:

• Display a photograph – Try an eye-catching picture on a screen behind you that represents your talk. It could be an image of an endangered species or a clean shoreline if your topic was about the environment, for example.
• Unveil a hidden prop – Removing a cover from a prop that participants haven’t seen can indelibly lodge it in their mind’s eye (i.e., a scale model of building you’ve spoken about).
• Project a cartoon – Finish your speech with a funny cartoon or short video. This is entertainment that people really enjoy.
• Throw something   – You could toss out a few small gifts into the audience, shower the first few rows of people with confetti or do something else entirely.

Don’t forget, your prop or visual aid should relate back to your topic. If you’re talking about a wedding , then a confetti shower could be an unforgettable finish!

8. Surprise them

There are so many amazing ways to do this. The sky might just be the limit!

Your listeners will perk up at the mention of something unexpected and take the time to reflect on how it connects to your topic.

A club member once gave a speech about online Zoom meetings, and I suggested to her to wear a formal attire for her top, and home clothes for her bottom, so that at the end of her speech, she could stand up to reveal that juxtaposition and walk away.

That would be a surprise humorous ending.

Here are a couple of other methods to consider:

• Reveal an identity   – If your speech relates somehow to your own experience, keeping this information until the end can have people tuning in. On the other hand, there could be someone in the room that you want to introduce as having had a role in your story.
• State a fact   – End your talk with a startling piece of data that’s unfamiliar to your listeners.
• Give a timeline   − A variation on offering a fact that can have added oomph is to tell people something that has happened in the world during the time they’ve been listening to you – such as the number of births.

As always, have your surprise flow from the subject of your presentation.

9. Envision the future

Give your audience your take on the future. This will ignite a sense of curiosity, especially if they start to contemplate what it might mean for them personally.

Envisioning the future could be as simple as explaining what, in your mind, comes next or what you suggest needs to happen. Prepare a few words about what action needs to be taken to make a positive change, for instance.

Alternatively, you could forecast a future time when everyone will, or won’t, be doing something. Imagining the end of all wars around the world is one example.

Make your future image compelling with lots of detail. Draw on as many senses as you can to help participants to see, smell and hear your dream for the near or longer term.

You’ll have people quickly trying to connect the dots and the meaning of your speech.

10. Share a story

Polishing off your presentation with a short anecdote is another impactful method.

It should be a brief story that relates back to your speech. Tell people a tale that illustrates the point of your talk, and ensure that it’s both captivating and relatable.

You might want to give the ending to an anecdote that you spoke about earlier in your presentation, or a piece that just wraps everything up nicely.

When you think about, people will often quickly become engrossed in a story . It makes what you have to say more digestible, and more readily recalled.

11. Show your scholarly side

Construct a noteworthy closing by harnessing the strength of a few novel ideas. The following tips can, for sure, increase the memorability of your speech:

• Connect a quote − Ending with an inspirational quote, especially if it’s one the audience is familiar with, is a solid option. You can have a bit of fun with it, but be sure that it’s something that those listening can relate to, and not miss any cultural relevance.
• Rhyme your word s  – You could try your hand at writing a few lines of original poetry, or find something else that fits the bill.
• Try a metaphor – A metaphor can breathe more life into your final message. Albert Einstein used a metaphor when he said “All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.”

Any of these ideas will leave your listeners with something catchy, or special, to remember your presentation.

12. Thank them

Here’s another suggestion for a speech ending.

Say a few words of thanks.

You might express your appreciation directly to those in attendance that have been, hopefully, hanging on your every word. Thank them for showing up and giving you their time.

Additionally, you can talk briefly about your appreciation for others who may have invited you to speak or supported your presentation in some way.

This shows people very clearly that you’ve finished speaking.

However, if you had a strong conclusion, I wouldn't suggest this as it would weaken the impact of your conclusion and Call to Action.

How to Choose the Best Ending

Some of the ideas offered might lend themselves more to particular speech purposes. For instance, if your talk is intended to inspire it’s quite appropriate to finish off with a call to action.

And, you might feel more comfortable with certain options and gravitate towards them more readily.

Maybe you’ve already tired one or two of these methods?

Whatever the case, consider how your listeners are likely to respond to these examples, and decide on the ones that will work well with your speech.

Final Thoughts on Concluding a Speech

Once you’ve selected how you’re going to end your talk, prepare your lines .

There’s actually one school of thought that it makes sense to write your ending first and then build your speech from there. So, that’s something you might want to give a shot to.

Ideally, you’ll become practiced enough at public speaking , over time, that you’ll be able to memorize what you have to say. While it doesn’t have to be exactly what you wrote when you drafted your talk , it should be close enough.

In the meantime, your closing remarks are one of the two sections in your speech (the other is your opening) where you absolutely should memorize your lines .

This will help you ace your delivery, especially if you’re trying out a new way to end a speech that’s a little outside your comfort zone.

Happy experimenting!

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Best Ways to Conclude a Presentation

Last Updated: October 4, 2023 Fact Checked

Strategies for Wrapping up a Presentation

Other best practice presentation tips, public speaking advice, how should you end a presentation.

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz and by wikiHow staff writer, Ali Garbacz, B.A. . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 5,425 times.

You’ve just spent the last hour or so preparing a super thorough and detailed presentation. Now it’s time to add the finishing touches and come up with an attention-grabbing and memorable closer. What strategies can you use to make sure that people really remember what you've said? Keep reading to learn all the most effective methods you can use to conclude your presentation in a way that’ll really stick with your audience. We'll cover different strategies you can mix and match to end your presentation with a bang, then follow up with public speaking tips. Let's dive in!

Things You Should Know

• Bring your presentation to a close by first giving a clear indication that you’ll be wrapping up, followed by a short summary of your main ideas.
• Grab your audience’s attention with a strong call to action and an explanation of what good things will happen when they listen to your message.
• Make your presentation memorable by embellishing it with a powerful quote, a story, or a surprising statistic or fact.
• Get your audience involved by running a poll or survey at the end of your presentation.

• “In conclusion…”
• “In summary…”
• “As I conclude my presentation, let me ask you a question.”
• “This brings me to the end of my presentation today.”
• “In respect of time, allow me to wrap up my last comments.”

• “That brings me to the conclusion of my presentation. If you’re to take anything away from my presentation today, let it be the three Cs of credit that we talked about: character, capacity, and capital.”
• "Above all else, remember the acronym RAM: redesign, application, and management."

• “When you volunteer for this program, you will build your skills and gain valuable experiences.”
• “You will participate in the increased profitability of our company by joining this new program.”
• “Make this company a more inclusive and healthy place to work by taking just a few minutes out of your day to do these small actions.”

• “As the Greek historian Plutarch once said, ‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.’ Let’s kindle the fire within our minds and make the changes we want to see.”
• “I’ll leave you today with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: ‘Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.’”
• “Work hard to inspire not only those around you, but yourself as well.”

• Pair this statistic or fact with a memorable visual, such as an illustrated graph, a video, or a picture. The more visual your presentation is, the more memorable it will be to your audience.

• Another way to go about telling a story is to start it in your presentation’s intro and end it during the conclusion. Your audience will be curious to know how the story ends.

• “What do you think the word ‘success’ means?”
• “How can we make an impact every day through the work we do?”
• “Why do you think people are so afraid of change and questioning the way things have always been done?”
• Asking a question at the beginning of your presentation and answering it during the conclusion is another strategy to consider. Just be sure that you don’t forget to answer this question and accidentally leave your audience hanging.

• “What’s your usual mood during the workday?”
• “Have you ever presented your supervisor with a new idea or suggestion?”
• “Do you see yourself participating in this new program?”

• What they liked and disliked about the presentation
• What improvements could be made
• One memorable thing they took away from your presentation

• Before your presentation, go and talk with some of the audience members. This will give them a chance to warm up to you and can help you feel more relaxed once you get up and start presenting.

• Using hand gestures also shows the audience that you’re in control of the space around you, and makes you appear much more confident and at ease.

Expert Q&A

• Keep in mind that your presentation gives you the chance to be a messenger. Give your audience something meaningful to walk with at the end of your speech. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/worst-ways-to-end-a-presentation-2014-7
• ↑ https://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0
• ↑ https://www.wilmu.edu/edtech/documents/the-science-of-effective-presenations---prezi-vs-powerpoint.pdf
• ↑ https://www.mentimeter.com/blog/awesome-presentations/ways-to-end-a-presentation-and-tools
• ↑ https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/02/15-methods-of-every-effective-public-speaker/?sh=3a911bdd3047
• ↑ https://youtu.be/VRJzvJ5XPQI?t=11

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13 Powerful Ways How to End a Presentation

• Filed under: Featured articles , Public speaking articles , Public speaking tips and tricks , Speaking tips , Speech delivery

In my experience, a lot of my public speaking students give much more attention to how they start their speech rather than how to end it. Many of them don’t realize that how you end a speech is of paramount importance, too. After all, the last things your audience hears from you may make the biggest lasting impression.

What are some powerful ways how to end a presentation? There are some proven techniques for ending a presentation, like giving your audience a call to action or using the rule of three. You may also use some lesser-known ways like giving visual imagery or asking them a question.

Now, let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

How to End Your Presentation in a Powerful Way?

Today, I am going to show you 13 proven tips that I have found highly effective for ending your speech in a powerful way. And when I am done, you will be able to confidently give an ending to any presentation.

#1 Give Your Audience a “Call to Action”

A call to action is not only one of the most common ways to end a speech , but it is certainly one of the most powerful. The type of call to action you will give your listeners is based upon the tone and subject of your presentation.

The first step to planning this type of ending is to know what kind of action you want your audience to take. Then, find a way to tell them to take that action. Don’t just assume people will figure that out on their own; it’s okay to tell them, too.

Are you giving a marketing talk with the intention of selling a product or service to your audience members? Maybe your call to action is to encourage them to become a customer of yours.

Or maybe you are promoting a lifestyle of volunteering and helping others. Your call to action could be telling your audience how they should get involved with charity at a local level. Do you see where I’m going with this?

One common way of doing this is to give your audience two possible actions they could take, and the outcomes of each. First, you should give them a negative action.

This is the thing you don’t want them to do. Elaborate what might happen if they take this action. Then, tell them the action you want them to take, and what positive outcome they may have. Here is an example:

“Let’s say that you decide not to invest in a retirement account today. What will your future look like after age 65? How will you know you will have enough to live on without a retirement account? You could end up still working into your 70’s without the ability to fully retire.

Or, you could invest in your future today. And when it is time for you to retire, you will be able to enjoy those years without worrying about how you will make ends meet. If this is the future you want for yourself and your family, stop by one of our local branches today to talk about opening a retirement account.”

Can you see where we are giving the negative action choice and the positive action choice in the example above? Remember, the positive action choice is the action that you want your audience to take.

#2 End With a Quote

Do you know of a good quote by a trusted source that would help drive your point home? Or do you have a self-written quote you wish to share? Your presentation ending may be a good time to use a relevant quote.

People love quotes , and they provide a satisfying ending. But make sure that your quote is appropriate for the tone and message of your speech .

Recommended books

How to Deliver a TED Talk: Secrets of the World's Most Inspiring Presentations

Jeremy Donovan

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Nancy Duarte

Confessions of a Public Speaker

Scott Berkun

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Carmine Gallo

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Atul Gawande

The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!

Josh Kaufman

If you give a quote about an unrelated matter, you are no longer delivering a powerful ending. Instead, you may just end up baffling your audience.

If you plan on writing a quote, devote a lot of your speech-planning time to coming up with just the right one. Or maybe you want to give a quote that you have already used on social media, in a book, in a previous presentation, or somewhere else. That is fine, as long as it is relevant.

#3 Give a Quick Summary of Your Message

This is one of the more common methods that I see recommended to the beginners when it comes to ending a speech.

What is the message of your speech? Once you can effectively answer that question, write a brief summary ending that is based on that message.

After all, this is the thing you want your audience to remember most about your presentation. Ending with it will help drill the message into their minds. Don’t leave them walking away, confused about the purpose of your talk.

One easy way you can do this is by setting up a question at the beginning of your talk, and then answering it at the very end. This has the added benefit of keeping your audience hooked throughout your presentation , waiting for you to deliver that answer!

#4 Offer a Visual Image

Visual imagery is incredibly powerful to the human mind. That is why it might be a good idea to show an image to your audience that relates to your point when you are giving your closing.

While this may be easier if you are giving a PowerPoint slideshow during your talk , there are certainly other ways to incorporate this method.

Ask yourself what kind of image relates to the purpose of your talk, and might also be a good thing for your audience to see before they walk out the door? What will help solidify your message in their memories?

#5 Don’t End With a Question and Answer Session

Many good presentations include a question and answer session at some point to allow the audience to ask questions and get answers from the speaker.

And while many speakers usually have a question and answer period after making their main points, they will open up the floor. However, you should not make this the last thing you do during a presentation.

A lot of speakers don’t realize that this sort of ending is not powerful, nor is it memorable . It makes you go off track, and after all those questions?

Well, your audience may lose sight of the purpose of your speech . A negative question from an audience member can also leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth if it is the last thing they hear before they exit.

Don’t get me wrong, it is always a good idea to open the floor up to answer questions from your audience. But after that is done, end the question and answer period to give a proper ending. This will make a much greater, and more positive, impact.

#6 Ever Heard of the “Rule of Three”?

If you’ve attended a lot of public speaking events, chances are that you have heard someone use the rule of three before. But what exactly does this term refer to? There is a whole school of thought that says that our words are more powerful when we present information in sets of threes.

Look up famous quotes , and notice most of them present information in sets of threes. For example, you can say something like, “ Retirement accounts can provide three things for your future: financial stability, peace of mind, and something to fall back on during hard times”.

Three-word slogans or using the same memorable word three times can also both work. You can tailor the rule of three ideology to fit your own specific needs, but the principle remains the same.

#7 Ending With a Story

This tactic may take some extra planning, but it creates a very relatable experience for your listeners. After all, sharing a story with your audience gives a personal touch that lets them feel closer to you when you are speaking.

And if you have read any of my other articles , you know I’m a big fan of storytelling.

When you end with a story, try to make it brief. You don’t want to start something that is going to be long and drawn-out when you are trying to bring everything to a close.

In order to make this method really compelling, be sure to choose a story that is both personal and emotionally compelling. This creates a more powerful impact on your audience.

If you’re looking to take this a step further, I can offer you a more advanced tip. Start your story at the beginning of your presentation, and promise your audience you will get back to it later.

Then, end your speech with the rest of that same story. This will keep them hooked throughout your speech, waiting for you to finish that story!

#8 Have a Unique Tagline? Use it

Not all speakers have a personal tagline associated with them. But if you do have one, you should probably consider using it during your closing.

And what do I mean by a unique tagline? Well, do you have a catchphrase for you or your brand ? Have you coined a well-known saying in the business world or on social media?

If there is a tagline that you consistently use, you should consider using it as an ending for your speech. This helps to both reinforce your message in the short term, and build your brand in the long term.

In between the times that you give public speeches , I recommend that you constantly use this unique tagline as much as you can on social media and in other outlets.

#9 Go Back to the Beginning

Many students are baffled when I tell them to end their presentation by going back to the beginning . But when you think about it, this is a practice that really works.

Did you use a specific hook during your opening? Use that during your closing. Did you open with a quote or interesting fact? Restate it. Do you need to wrap up something that you started at the beginning? Wrap it up.

This can also work in reverse, as a lot of speakers use the content of their ending to decide what their beginning will be. This is why proper planning can help make a speech perfect.

#10 Ask Your Audience a Compelling Question

Many speeches are actually ended with the speaker asking the audience a compelling question that is relevant to the main topic. Because when you ask a question, people are automatically c ompelled to think about the topic in order to give a worthwhile answer.

Plan out a solid question related to your topic that will make your audience members think more in-depth about it.

For example, asking your audience what they think life will be like after retirement without a retirement account will certainly get people thinking about retirement funds.

#11 Don’t be Afraid to Use Humor

Maybe you would rather use a joke instead of a story or quote to end your presentation. Depending on your personality and the tone of your talk, this may actually be the most appropriate approach.

Examples of this include if you are known for your humorous personality, or if your talk is playful and friendly instead of professional and serious.

Humor is a good way to show your audience that you are trying to relate to them on a personal and authentic level. It is also a good feeling when everyone is walking away smiling and laughing. After all, laughter releases feel-good chemicals in the brain!

It almost goes without saying that you should not choose a joke that is sexually inappropriate, or culturally offensive to anyone. While these may seem funny to some of us in our personal lives, you should never use an offensive joke during a presentation.

#12 Plan Your Ending in Advance

If you know me, then you know I am a big fan of planning ahead. Rehearsing, planning and speech-writing can be incredibly effective tools for making sure your presentation is ultimately successful.

And if your speech is not an on-the-spot kind of thing, it should be easy for you to take time to plan the entire thing. This includes giving careful attention to the ending.

You could even take out a piece of paper with a pen, and write a list of possible endings to use . From there, you can make a proper decision. Once you have chosen, start fleshing out your ending plan with more details.

#13 No Matter What, Offer a Clear Sign You’ve Ended

You don’t want your audience still sitting in their chairs long after you’ve finished, uncertain of whether you are done or not.

I am surprised by the number of students I have taught who will walk off stage before making a clear ending. If you want to keep your audience coming back to see future presentations of yours, you have to give a clear and satisfying ending.

This can be tricky to master, but I promise you that it is worth it. Don’t fidget with things, shuffle your note cards, move about awkwardly, or randomly leave the stage.

Give your audience a verbal cue to indicate that you are finished, without sounding generic or cliche. Then, take a strong, confident stance.

And here’s an extra tip…

I want my readers to feel like they are getting all the information they need when they come to my blog. And that is why I am going to give you an extra tip in addition to the 13 that I have given you above.

Picture yourself as part of the audience instead of the speaker. You have just spent the better part of an afternoon of your life listening to a speaker giving a presentation on stage in front of you.

Throughout their presentation, you have listened intently, you took notes, and you applauded at the appropriate times. You even raised your hand and asked that burning question that was in the back of your mind all throughout the first part of the speech.

But before the speaker walks off stage, they take a brief moment to thank the audience members for coming out, listening, asking questions, and staying until the very end.

Whether you realize it or not, this speaker has just made a connection with you.

An important part of giving any speech is making your audience feel valued. That is why you should make sure you always thank your audience after a presentation. I explain to my students all the time that there are many reasons why this is a major key to giving a successful speech.

Without an audience, you would be speaking to an empty room of no one but yourself. Be sure to thank them each and every time.

The Tone Sets the Ending

So, what kind of presentation are you giving?

Clearly define the purpose of your speech long before you even begin or end it. This is important whether you are talking with or without notes .

Are you giving a persuasive speech on behalf of your business with the hopes of gaining more clients? Or is it a commencement speech at a college graduation? Or maybe an impromptu speech?

Obviously, you can see how these two types of talks have two distinctly different tones. It would not look very tasteful if you were trying to sell a product or service during a commencement speech.

And vice-versa, not using any sales techniques during a business speech may not be effective for trying to promote your services.

What kind of ending you should choose?

The tone of your presentation even can be important when you are deciding what to wear. A business talk demands a professional look, while a more casual gig may not.

And the reason I bring up tone is that it is an important part of deciding what kind of ending you should choose. If you’re giving a more informal presentation, then a joke or personal story may be most appropriate.

On the other hand, an incredibly formal, business-oriented company presentation for a room of potential clients may demand a much different kind of ending.

Take a few minutes to sit down and think about the tone of your message. If possible, do it with a co-worker, trusted friend, or mentor.

Try to put your thoughts down on paper so you can better organize them. Then, try to list various appropriate endings that you think you might be able to use for your presentation.

So, how much thought are you giving to your closing statement now? What method of closing do you prefer best? And what have you learned about the tone of your speeches?

After this, you should be able to end your speech with confidence , and send a powerful message to your audience. I have given you tips such as using the rule of three, asking a compelling question, and making sure you clearly mark your ending.

If you have any other tips that you would like to share, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

Does public speaking cause you to get all teared up? Check out my article about how to give a speech without crying.

Related Questions

What does the term “closing” refer to? The ending to your speech is often referred to as closing. Learning how to give a powerful closing to your speech is just as important as any other part of the presentation itself.

How do I effectively start a presentation? While it may sound like a paradox, you can add information from your written conclusion to your opening statement. Make sure that you have planned a clear ending before you take this approach. This also works in reverse, as many speakers tend to go back to the beginning for their closing.

How do I write a witty closing remark? Don’t force it, or it will sound awkward. After you’ve written a draft, ask a speaking friend or trusted mentor for feedback. Remember what the overall tone of your presentation is before you get started.

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How to end a presentation in english: methods and examples.

• By Matthew Jones

Naturally, the way you end a presentation will depend on the setting and subject matter. Are you pitching an idea to your boss? Are you participating in a group presentation at school? Or are you presenting a business idea to potential investors? No matter the context, you’ll want to have a stellar ending that satisfies your audience and reinforces your goals.

So, do you want to learn how to end a presentation with style? Wondering how to end an informative speech? Or do you want to know how to conclude a Powerpoint presentation with impact? We’re here to help you learn how to end a presentation and make a great impression!

How to End a Presentation: 3 Effective Methods

Every presentation needs a great beginning, middle, and end. In this guide, we will focus on crafting the perfect conclusion. However, if you’d like to make sure that your presentation sounds good from start to finish, you should also check out our guide on starting a presentation in English .

Though there are many ways to end a presentation, the most effective strategies focus on making a lasting impression on your audience and reinforcing your goals. So, let’s take a look at three effective ways to end a presentation:

1. Summarize the Key Takeaways

Most presenters either make an argument (i.e. they want to convince their audience to adopt their view) or present new or interesting information (i.e. they want to educate their audience). In either case, the presentation will likely consist of important facts and figures. The conclusion gives you the opportunity to reiterate the most important information to your audience.

This doesn’t mean that you should simply restate everything from your presentation a second time. Instead, you should identify the most important parts of your presentation and briefly summarize them.

This is similar to what you might find in the last paragraph of an academic essay. For example, if you’re presenting a business proposal to potential investors, you might conclude with a summary of your business and the reasons why your audience should invest in your idea.

2. End with a CTA (Call-To-Action)

Ending with a Call-To-Action is one of the best ways to increase audience engagement (participation) with your presentation. A CTA is simply a request or invitation to perform a specific action. This technique is frequently used in sales or marketing presentations, though it can be used in many different situations.

For example, let’s say that you’re giving an informational presentation about the importance of hygiene in the workplace. Since your goal is to educate your audience, you may think that there’s no place for a CTA.

On the contrary, informational presentations are perfect for CTA’s. Rather than simply ending your presentation, you can direct your audience to seek out more information on the subject from authorities. In this case, you might encourage listeners to learn more from an authoritative medical organization, like the World Health Organization (WHO).

3. Use a Relevant Quote

It may sound cliche, but using quotes in your closing speech is both memorable and effective. However, not just any quote will do. You should always make sure that your quote is relevant to the topic. If you’re making an argument, you might want to include a quote that either directly or indirectly reinforces your main point.

Let’s say that you’re conducting a presentation about your company’s mission statement. You might present the information with a Powerpoint presentation, in which case your last slide could include an inspirational quote. The quote can either refer to the mission statement or somehow reinforce the ideas covered in the presentation.

Formatting Your Conclusion

While these 3 strategies should give you some inspiration, they won’t help you format your conclusion. You might know that you want to end your presentation with a Call-To-Action, but how should you “start” your conclusion? How long should you make your conclusion? Finally, what are some good phrases to use for ending a presentation?<br>

Examples of a Good Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that we can increase our annual revenue this year. We can do this with a combination of increased efficiency in our production process and a more dynamic approach to lead generation. If we implement these changes, I estimate that annual revenue will increase by as much as 15%.

The example above shows a good conclusion for a business presentation. However, some people believe that the term in conclusion is overused. Here’s how to end a presentation using transition words similar to in conclusion .

Transition words help your audience know that your presentation is ending. Try starting your conclusion with one of these phrases:

• To summarize

However, transition words aren’t always necessary. Here are a few good ways to end a presentation using a different approach.

• Summarize Key Takeaways : There are two things that I’d like you to remember from today’s presentation. First, we are a company that consults startups for a fraction of the cost of other consultation services. And second, we have a perfect record of successfully growing startups in a wide variety of industries. If anything was unclear, I’d be happy to open the floor to questions.
• Make a Call-To-Action : I am very passionate about climate change. The future of the planet rests on our shoulders and we are quickly running out of time to take action. That said, I do believe that we can effect real change for future generations. I challenge you to take up the fight for our children and our children’s children.
• Use a Relevant Quote: I’d like to end my presentation with one of my favorite quotes: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

As you can see, your conclusion does not need to be very long. In fact, a conclusion should be short and to the point. This way, you can effectively end your presentation without rambling or adding extraneous (irrelevant) information.

How to End a Presentation in English with Common Phrases

Finally, there are a few generic phrases that people frequently use to wrap up presentations. While we encourage you to think about how to end a presentation using a unique final statement, there’s nothing wrong with using these common closing phrases:

• Thank you for your time.
• I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.
• I’ll now answer any questions you have about (topic).
• If you need any further information, feel free to contact me at (contact information).

We hope this guide helps you better understand how to end a presentation ! If you’d like to find out more about how to end a presentation in English effectively, visit Magoosh Speaking today!

Matthew Jones

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How to End a Presentation (+ Useful Phrases)

Table of Contents

Most people are aware of the power of first impressions.

However, our appearance and the first words we utter are only one part of the impact we have on others.

Arguably, the final words we exchange during an interaction can have an even more lasting effect . And that applies to public speaking, too.

Obviously, the way you introduce yourself and the topic you’ll be discussing is important.

However, the end of a presentation should also be recognized as a crucial part of the experience .

With that in mind, this article will walk you through some:

• Things you should consider before drafting your conclusion,
• Tips for ending a presentation memorably,
• Mistakes you should avoid, and
• Phrases you can use to wrap up your speech.

But, before we discuss how to end a presentation, let’s establish why having an impactful conclusion is so essential.

Why is it important to have an impactful ending for your presentation?

In our article about starting a presentation , we explained how the steps of the motivated sequence framework correspond to the structure of the average presentation or speech.

As we have established, the introduction of a presentation mirrors the first step of that model. That means that one of its main goals is to get the listeners’ attention .

The central part of the speech, or the body , corresponds to the second, third, and fourth steps of the motivated sequence framework. In other words, it has to:

• Introduce the audience’s need (or identify a problem the listeners are having),
• Offer a way to satisfy (or resolve) that need, and
• Help the listeners visualize the successful implementation of the speaker’s solution.

Having checked off these points, we arrive at the conclusion , i.e., the subject of this article.

That stage of a presentation corresponds to the final step of the motivated sequence model — which consists of the call to action .

So, the conclusion of a presentation allows the speaker to drive their point home and nudge the audience toward performing a specific action.

However, that’s not the only purpose of a conclusion.

According to the authors of Business Communication: Process & Product , the final section of a presentation should achieve 3 goals . It should:

• Summarize the main themes of the presentation,
• Leave the audience with a specific and noteworthy takeaway (i.e. propose a specific course of action), and
• Include a statement that allows the speaker to leave the podium (or pass the mic) gracefully.

Above all, the ending of a presentation should be memorable , akin to the punchline of a joke.

Having said that, let’s talk about some factors you should consider as you’re writing the conclusion of your speech.

Things to consider before crafting the conclusion of your presentation

If you’re trying to figure out how to end a presentation, knowing the goals of a conclusion should help.

However, those objectives are only one part of the puzzle. To get the others, you should also consider:

• Your audience’s demographic breakdown,
• The general purpose of your presentation ,
• The specific purpose of your presentation , and
• Your thesis statement .

With that in mind, let’s see how each of these factors can help you develop an impactful conclusion for your presentation.

Factor #1: The demographic breakdown of the audience

As we have noted in our article about starting presentations, understanding the demographic breakdown of one’s audience is a crucial part of drafting a speech .

After all, the audience affects all of the choices we make — from the way we present ourselves to the vocabulary and the supporting materials we use during our presentations.

In our quest to learn more about the effect an audience can have on a presentation, we spoke to Persuasion Strategist Juliet Huck .

Having spent a significant portion of her professional career preparing people to take the witness stand, Huck knows a thing or two about adjusting one’s messaging to fit the preferences of one’s audience. She says:

“[The] ending [of] every presentation should be different and always based on the background of your audience. This should not be a blanket statement.  It also depends on if you are educating your audience or persuading them to make a decision in your favor.  You must do the homework on your audience prior to giving a presentation and end by leading them to your desired conclusion by giving them a conclusion they can relate to.”

But, if you’re not entirely sure how to take your audience into account when drafting your conclusion, consider the following questions:

• How will your audience connect to the topic you’re discussing?
• How can you relate the information you’re sharing to the listeners’ needs?
• What would make your audience think back on your presentation in positive terms?
• What would be the most effective way to get your point across to this specific audience?

Knowing whether your audience is friendly, neutral, uninterested, or hostile will also help you adjust your approach.

If nothing else, it’ll tell you whether you should stick to the facts or feel free to deliver a more casual or rousing speech.

Examples of different audience breakdowns

In our article about starting a presentation, we demonstrated our tips through 3 fictional speakers. So, let’s use the same presenters to illustrate this point.

• Nick Mulder is talking about the dangers of phishing. He introduced himself as the head of the security department. So, we can assume that he’s speaking to an audience of fellow employees, perhaps even through video conferencing software. Therefore, he was addressing an internal problem the company was having in front of a fairly receptive audience.
• Joan Miller is talking about how artificial intelligence is changing the future of the marketing industry. In her introduction, she mentioned having over four decades of experience in marketing. Consequently, we can infer that she’s speaking to an audience of marketing specialists who were previously unaware of her credentials.
• Milo Green is talking about employee retention. In his introduction, he indicated that the audience may know him as the founder of Green & Co. So, he’s probably famous enough to be recognized by at least a portion of his audience. Between that and the subject of his presentation, we can assume that he’s talking to the upper management of other companies.

From our examples, we can see how the identity of the speaker and their level of familiarity with the listeners might affect the way they prepare their presentations .

Factor #2: The general purpose of your presentation

Understanding the general purpose of a speech brings you one step closer to knowing how to end a presentation.

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , most presentations can be sorted into one of 3 categories based on that factor. In that regard, your presentation could be:

• Informative , aiming to expand the listeners’ knowledge and/or help them acquire a specific skill,
• Persuasive , with the goal of changing the listeners’ opinions or encouraging them to behave a certain way, or
• Entertaining , which is good for getting the audience to relax and look forward to upcoming speakers or events.

The general purpose of your presentation will naturally affect your conclusion because it will change what you choose to emphasize.

💡 Pumble Pro Tip

The basic goal of your presentation could correspond with the type of presentation you’re giving. To learn more about presentation types and styles, check out this article:

• Presentation types and styles explained

Examples of defining the general purpose of a presentation 

Let’s see how our imaginary presenters would define the general purpose of their presentations.

• The general purpose of our phishing expert’s presentation is informative . The speaker’s primary goal is to teach his coworkers how to recognize and defend themselves against phishing attempts.
• Our marketing expert’s presentation is persuasive . She wants to change her listeners’ minds and make them more open to using AI in their marketing campaigns.
• The last speaker’s presentation about employee retention is also persuasive . After all, the speaker is attempting to show his listeners how they can increase the employee retention rate at their own companies. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the speech, it could also take on some entertaining qualities.

Factor #3: The specific purpose of your presentation

The specific purpose of a presentation is essentially the outcome you’re looking to achieve with your speech. Defining this goal will require you to know the answers to the following questions :

• Who do you want to influence?
• What do you want them to think or do?
• How, when, and where do you want them to do it?

Ideally, the specific goal you come up with should be realistic and highly specific .

To that end, the authors of Communicating at Work recommend setting measurable goals . So, for example, instead of thinking: “ I want to get approval for my project. ”,

“I want my manager to let me set aside one day per week to work on this project. I also want them to let me ask one or two other people to help me with it.”

Having this kind of goal in mind will help you figure out how to wrap up your presentation.

Examples of defining the specific purpose of a presentation

So, how would our 3 speakers specify the desired outcomes of their presentations in measurable terms? Let’s see:

“I want the people in my company to understand the dangers of phishing attacks. They should learn the exact steps they need to take when they see a suspicious email in their inbox.”

“I want these marketing experts to be more knowledgeable about the way artificial intelligence works right now and understand how they can incorporate that software into their professional practice.”

“I want managers and HR professionals to know how they can make their companies a better place to work so they can keep their employee retention rate high.”

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Factor #4: Your thesis statement

Ultimately, defining the general and specific goals of your presentation is a great way to keep yourself on track when crafting your speech.

However, the audience doesn’t need to know those goals.

Instead, they can hear your thesis statement — a summary of your overall message .

You can treat this statement as the throughline of your presentation. It will appear at least once in the introduction, followed by a few repetitions throughout the body of the presentation.

Finally, you’ll also want to include that same idea in your conclusion at least once.

In addition to keeping you, as the speaker, grounded, that repetition also keeps your audience from wondering what your presentation is about .

Examples of defining the thesis statement of a presentation

So, what would a thesis statement look like in practice? Let’s hear it from our fictional presenters:

“Identifying and reporting phishing emails will save the company’s information and money in the long term.”

“Right now, artificial intelligence isn’t as advanced as people think it is. However, we can still use it for marketing purposes as long as we make sure the process doesn’t begin and end with AI.”

“Improving your employee retention rate makes employees more engaged with their work and saves the company time and money that would otherwise go to training new personnel.”

How to end a presentation with a bang: 10 tips + examples

Now that we know why having an impactful conclusion is so crucial, it’s time to find the right way to achieve your goals.

To that end, we have highlighted 10 tips that might help you wrap up your presentation .

• Reiterate the key points and your core message.
• Mirror your opening statement.
• Elicit a response.
• Engage the audience.
• Call to action.
• Hand out materials.
• Acknowledge your contributors.
• Provide contact information.
• Thank the audience.
• Ask for feedback.

Of course, many of these methods we’ll discuss can be combined. However, your choices may be limited depending on the factors we have previously mentioned.

Tip #1: Reiterate the key points and your core message

Making sure the audience remembers your main points is one of the most important objectives your conclusion should accomplish.

With that in mind, you should dedicate some time at the end of your speech to reinforcing what you were trying to say throughout your presentation.

Take it from Mark Beal , Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Communication, at Rutgers University:

“Every presentation should deliver and consistently reinforce three key message points. Most audience members will not recall more than three messages. Some may only recall one or two. With that [in mind], an engaging and effective presentation should conclude with the three messages the presenter wants the audience to take away.”

In essence, you’ll want to summarize your presentation by reiterating up to 3 key points and then repeating your thesis statement.

You could even translate this tip to your presentation slides. As Juliet Huck says:

“Your last slide should always draw your audience to your desired conclusion. [It] should be your billboard message , as we remember 70% of what we see and 20% of what we hear.”

We can see what that might look like through the example of our imaginary presentation on the dangers of phishing, below.

Tip #2: Mirror your opening statement

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , splitting a narrative between the introduction and the conclusion of your presentation is a good way to keep your audience’s attention.

Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Communication at the State University of New York, Dr. Lee M. Pierce , agrees:

“Psychological closure is looping back to the beginning to give the audience a sense of a closed circle. Don’t add new information in the conclusion, just tie the presentation up with a bow. [For example,] I always customize my closings based on the opening of the speech. During a TEDx Talk on Beyoncé’s ‘Formation,’ I began by walking out to the introduction to the song, and then I ended by walking off to the end of the song.”

The above quote demonstrates that this tip can be useful no matter which method you used to start your presentation .

You can use it to put a new spin on a statistic you shared in the introduction, give a story you told a different ending, or finish the punchline of a joke you started with.

Overall, coming back to the theme you introduced at the beginning of your speech should make your presentation seem more complete and intentional .

Phrases you can use to reflect the introduction of your presentation in the conclusion

With all that being said, let’s see how our imaginary speakers would mirror the opening lines of their presentations in their conclusion.

Having started with a phishing statistic, our first speaker might say:

“Going back to the number we started with, remember that the Anti-Phishing Working Group has recorded 1,270,883 individual phishing attacks in the third quarter of 2022 — and that number is always on the rise. Luckily, you now have all the information you need to avoid becoming a part of that statistic.”

Our second speaker would have announced her plans to survey her listeners at the beginning of her presentation. In her conclusion, she might say:

“At the beginning of my presentation, I asked you to answer a quick survey on whether you’d be willing to work with AI. If you look back at your phones, you’ll see a different link in the #general channel on Pumble . Let’s see if this talk has managed to sway some opinions!”

Lastly, our final speaker might refer back to a humorous statement he made about chaining one’s employees to their desks to ensure that employee retention rates stay high.

“Once you start making your company a better place to work, your employees will happily perform their daily tasks — without being glued to their desks.”

Tip #3: Elicit a response

Making an audience experience strong emotions is always a good thing, but especially as the presentation comes to a close.

Putting the listeners in a contemplative mood or, even better, a cheerful one, means that they’ll be more likely to remember you and the points you made after your presentation ends.

On top of that, concluding your presentation in this manner would allow you to step off the stage gracefully, which is one of the main goals your conclusion should accomplish.

Now, depending on the type of presentation you’re delivering and, indeed, your style of presenting, you could elicit a response by:

• Ending with a short but powerful statement ,
• Asking a thought-provoking rhetorical question ,
• Relying on an impactful statistic or a quote , or even
• Inserting a funny picture or a meme on your final presentation slide.

Any one of these methods could help you solidify yourself and your message in the minds of the audience.

Phrases you can use to elicit a response from the audience

So, how would our 3 presenters try to get a response from their audiences? Well, they might use the following statements.

“Ultimately, the best defense against phishing attacks is human intelligence. You, alone, can ensure that your information remains secure by implementing the checklist I’ve shared today.”

“So, let me ask you again. Would you be willing to incorporate AI into your marketing campaign?”

“Hey, if the conditions you’re offering to your employees are good enough — there’s no need to keep them glued to their desks.”

Tip #4: Engage the audience

As we’ll discuss later on, having a Q&A session at the end of your presentation doesn’t always pan out the way you want it to.

Even so, getting your audience — or at least a few select listeners — to verbally respond to you can go a long way toward making you seem like a more engaging speaker.

Still, you can’t implement this tip without a strategy. You want to lead your audience to a certain type of response .

Professional speaker, career change consultant, and host of the Career Relaunch® podcast, Joseph Liu , had this to say:

“I often invite attendees to share what action they’re going to take amongst the potential ones I’ve covered throughout the presentation or to at least commit to taking some sort of action.”

Speaker, author, and editorial producer at CNN, Nadia Bilchik , agrees:

“If time allows, I always ask participants to share their biggest takeaway.”

The quote above also highlights the importance of being aware of the time as you are concluding a presentation — which is another thing we’ll talk about later.

For now, we’ll just boil this tip down to the following statement: if possible, try to make people verbalize or at least think about the knowledge they’re taking away from your speech .

Phrases you can use to engage the audience

Going back to our imaginary speakers, let’s see how this tip might work in practice.

“As we approach my conclusion, I’d like for us to reflect on everything we’ve learned here today. So, let me turn the spotlight on you all. Does anyone remember how to recognize a phishing email without opening it?”

“Now, I’m sure everyone here has some idea of how they might incorporate AI into their next marketing campaign. Is anyone willing to share their strategy?”

“Alright! Pop quiz time — don’t worry, I won’t grade you. Can you all shout out the main 3 ways to increase employee retention? Number 1?”

Tip #5: Call to action

Once you have finished reiterating your core message and making sure you have your audience’s attention, you need to be able to direct the listeners to the next step.

As Michelle Gladieux , author of Communicate with Courage and President of Gladieux Consulting, an employee coaching provider, would put it:

“What can the audience DO with the information you’ve shared? Suggest a positive, fruitful next step or, even better, suggest several, and let your presentation participants choose among options that have panned out well for others.”

In her workshops, Gladieux says:

“We ask participants to document at least one goal for behavior change that is specific, measurable, and time-based, and take a bonus step of inviting them to name one person they’ll tell about their goal for added accountability.”

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , there are 2 ways to deliver a call to action at the end of your presentation. Namely, you can either phrase it as:

• An appeal or a question (e.g. “If any of this sounds interesting, you can learn more by signing up for our newsletter through the link on the screen behind me.” ), or
• A challenge or a demand (e.g. “Now, you can keep doing what you’re doing and getting lackluster results. Or, you can sign up for our newsletter to receive tips that will help you upgrade your strategy.” ).

As always, your choice will depend on the factors we have listed at the top of this article.

Phrases you can use to call the audience to action

Let’s see what our fictional speakers’ calls to action might look like.

“Remember, even if you happen to open a phishing email, you’ll be able to deal with it easily by forwarding it to this email address. That’s the main thing you need to remember from this talk.”

“I bet many of you could come up with even more creative ways to incorporate AI into your marketing campaigns. So, how about this: if you fill out the form I’m about to send you, I’ll check in with you in about three months. Those of you who succeed in using AI in a meaningful way will get a chance to share your insights on this very stage next year!”

“I have a challenge for those of you who are ready to meet me at my level. I want you to sign a pledge, promising to boost your employee retention rate by 10% in the next year. We had a similar experiment at one of my talks a couple of years back, and even I was surprised by the results.”

If you decide to accompany this part of your speech with a call to action slide, keep Juliet Huck’s advice in mind:

“A call to action slide is not always persuasive. Persuasion is not a call to action — it is a directed action. To ‘call’ means someone can say no, but to ‘persuade’ [is to] direct your audience to your desired conclusion based on a number of steps.”

In effect, that means that your call to action should be the final step of your persuasion strategy.

You should start building to that desired outcome well before you get to the end of your presentation.

Tip #6: Hand out materials

The ending of a presentation is the perfect time to give the audience a keepsake of your speech .

But, keep in mind that a memento doesn’t have to be a physical item. As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“I like to direct my audiences to free downloadable resources on our website for those who want to continue their personal and professional growth as leaders and communicators.”

So, sharing resources through email or a business messaging app would work just as well.

Of course, you don’t have to hold off until the conclusion of your presentation to give your audience something to remember you by. Gladieux also shared a method she used in her workshops: 

“[Most of our] participants have our high-quality original workbooks in hand during the presentation and available later as a tangible resource. Folks add notes, take short assessments, and work on case studies when we teach using workbooks. If we use presentation slides, we keep the content as engaging visually as possible and short on words.”

If your budget allows you to do something similar, that might be a good way to make the audience remember you.

Phrases you can use before handing out materials

In the scenarios we have conjured up, the speakers might introduce their additional materials like so.

“If you’re interested in learning more about phishing and how you can defend yourself from future attacks, you’ll find more information by following the link on the screen.”

“Now, at this point, I see that my associates have already started delivering some additional materials and miscellaneous goodies to you. I hope you’ll use them to workshop further ideas for using AI in your marketing strategies.”

“I’ll go ahead and forward these presentation slides as well as some additional resources for improving employee retention to you all.”

If you’re looking for a convenient way to deliver additional resources to the attendees of your speech, Pumble is a great option. This article offers some practical tips for using business messaging software for educational purposes — including online conferences:

• Using Pumble for teaching and learning  

Tip #7: Acknowledge contributors

If you’re delivering a business presentation as a representative of a team or a department, you can also use the final moments of your speech to acknowledge everyone who worked on the presentation with you.

On the one hand, you could simply thank your team in general terms and leave it at that.

Alternatively, you could highlight the individual contributions of specific team members if you want to make sure their effort doesn’t go unnoticed.

Phrases you can use to acknowledge your contributors

Here’s how our fictitious presenters might acknowledge the people who helped them create their presentations:

“Before I sign off, I’d like to take a moment to thank Jill and Vanessa from the security team, who helped me compile the data and create the slides you just saw.”

“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge that this presentation wouldn’t be half as informative without the experts who helped me understand the technical side of AI.”

“Now, let’s all give it up for my wonderful team, who helped me organize this lecture.”

Improve communication and collaboration for increased team efficiency with Pumble.

Tip #8: Provide contact information

Business presentations often double as networking opportunities , both for presenters and for audience members.

With that in mind, you might want to put your contact information on one of your closing slides.

For one, doing so would show the audience how they can get in touch with you after your presentation ends. After all, they may have additional questions or even interesting business opportunities for you.

On top of that, putting your contact information on the last slide is also a good way to remind the audience of your name and credentials .

For that reason, our second imaginary speaker might have “Joan Miller — Chief Marketing Officer at Happy Media” on her final slide.

Phrases you can use to provide contact information

So, how would our presenters encourage their audience to keep in touch? Well, they might say: 

“I’m always happy to answer any of your security or phishing-related questions on Pumble. You’ll find me by clicking the plus sign next to the direct messages section and searching my name, Nick Mulder.”

“If you all have any follow-up questions for me or one of the AI experts I’ve spoken to, you’ll find all of our contact information on this slide.”

“If you want to stay up to date on Green & Co’s latest news, follow us on LinkedIn.”

Tip #9: Thank the audience

Many presenters find a way to incorporate a “ thank you ” slide at the end of their presentations.

If you want to express your appreciation to your audience members , you could do the same thing.

However, as we’ll soon discuss, many of the experts we’ve spoken to would advise against having pointless visuals at the end of your presentation.

After all, you want to leave the audience with something memorable to take away from your speech.

Still, if you want to thank the audience, you could always make that final slide serve multiple functions .

For example, a “thank you” slide can also contain the speaker’s contact information, as well as additional resources.

Tip #10: Ask for feedback

Lastly, some speakers might benefit from knowing what the audience thinks about their delivery and other aspects of their presentation.

That’s why some of the experts we’ve spoken to suggest that conducting a brief survey of the audience could be a good activity to end a presentation with.

Rutgers University professor, Mark Beal, says that:

“Offering audience members the opportunity to take a concise survey at the conclusion of a presentation will result in valuable insights that will inform how to consistently evolve and improve a presentation. […] We use the last few minutes of seminars to allow participants to answer a few questions about what was most useful in our content and delivery, and what, in that individual’s opinion, could improve.”

Michelle Gladieux is also an advocate for audience surveys, saying:

“I’ve delivered thousands of training workshops and keynotes and never miss an opportunity to ask for feedback formally (in writing), informally (in conversation), or both. As you might guess, I advise every presenter reading this to do the same.”

You could encourage this type of feedback by:

• Asking attendees to share their thoughts on your presentation after you step off the stage,
• Setting up a notebook near the door and asking people to jot down their thoughts as they exit,
• Having a suggestion box for hand-written feedback notes, or
• Creating an anonymous survey online and linking to it on your presentation slides.

Most presenters nowadays tend to rely on technology to compile audience feedback, but the method you use will depend on the circumstances surrounding your presentation.

If you’ve never had to ask for feedback before, you might find this article interesting:

• How to ask your manager for feedback  

The worst ways to end a presentation

Having gone through the best practices for concluding a presentation memorably, we also wanted to know what are some of the mistakes speakers should avoid as they reach the end of their speech.

The experts we have spoken to have identified 5 of the worst ways to end a presentation :

• Overloading your final slide.
• Settling for a lackluster closer.
• Ending with a Q&A session.
• Not having time for any questions at all.
• Going over your time.

So, let’s see what makes these mistakes so bad.

Mistake #1: Overloading your final slide

Overloading your presentation slides isn’t a mistake you can make only at the end of your presentation.

Professional speakers know that slides are only there to accompany your speech — they shouldn’t be the main event.

As Nadia Bilchik says:

“Slides are only there to support your message. Towards the end of the presentation, I may even stop the slideshow entirely and just have a black screen. At the very end of the presentation, my suggestion is to have a slide up with the next steps or a call to action.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce also tends to use blank slides:

“I always end and begin with blank slides. As a speaker, you’re trying to build connection and rapport between you and the audience, not between the audience and your slide deck.”

Therefore, putting too much information onto a single slide can make the speaker seem unprepared, in addition to overwhelming the audience.

When in doubt, remember Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule :

• No more than 10 slides per presentation,
• Keep your presentations under 20 minutes, and
• The text on your slides should never be smaller than 30-point font. 

Mistake #2: Settling for a lackluster closer

If your goal is to become a proficient speaker, you’ll have to stop using uninspired closers like:

• “Well, I guess that’s it.”
• “That’s pretty much all I had to say.”
• “That’s about it from me. Can we get some applause?”

The audience will respond if you say something deserving of a response.

Instead of using these bland lines, remember Juliet Huck’s advice:

“Never end your presentation without closing the loop of your beginning theme and being specific when asking for your desire conclusion.”

As we have established, it’s best to conclude your speech by bringing back your thesis statement and key points.

Finishing with weak visuals is similarly offensive — and here we’re not just talking about presentation slides.

Remember, body language is an important component of our communication .

Fidgeting as your presentation comes to a close or slumping your posture as soon as you’re finished speaking won’t do.

As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“Never end a presentation seeming happy to be done, even if you are! Be certain you’re happy to be the presenter before you begin, or find someone else to do it.”

In other words, try not to show signs of anxiety during your presentation .

Maintain a confident demeanor for as long as you remain on stage or as long as you’re on camera, in the case of virtual meetings .

Mistake #3: Ending with a Q&A session

One of the experts we have spoken to, Nadia Bilchik, was particularly adamant about not ending presentations with Q&A sessions.

“Never ever end a presentation on a question-and-answer session. I have seen numerous presenters end by asking ‘Any questions?’ Too often there are no questions, and the presenter is left looking deflated and muttering ‘Thank you.’ [If there are] no questions, you can always say ‘A question I’m often asked is…’ or ‘Something I would like to reiterate is…’ Never end your presentation without your audience being clear about what they are expected to do with the information you have just shared.”

Adding that you can:

“Ask for questions, comments, and concerns, and only then end with a quick wrap-up. The goal is to end with your audience being clear on their next steps.”

Even if the listeners do have questions, there’s a good reason not to have a Q&A session at the very end of your presentation.

Namely, there’s always a chance that someone will ask a question that completely derails the conversation.

If you have the Q&A portion right before your conclusion, you’ll have time to reiterate your core message and proceed with a memorable closing statement .

For reference, you can ask for questions by saying:

“Before I close out this lecture, do you guys have any questions for me?”

Then, if there are no questions, you can still proceed to your conclusion without losing face. 

A Q&A session is one of the best ways to make your presentations more interactive — but it’s not the only way to go about it. To learn more, check out this article:

• 18 Ways to make presentations more interactive and engaging

Mistake #4: Not having time for any questions at all

Ending with a Q&A session could be a problem — but, perhaps, not as big of a problem as not taking questions at all.

As Mark Beal would say:

“Not giving the audience the opportunity to participate in the presentation via a question and answer session is another ineffective way to end a presentation. Audiences want to have a voice in a presentation. They will be more engaged with the presentation content and recall it more effectively if given the opportunity to participate in the presentation and interact with the presenter.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce adds:

“It’s always good to leave at least 15 minutes for questions. Leaving 5 minutes is annoying and pointless. Also, be prepared that the audience may not have questions or not feel comfortable just jumping in, so have some of your own questions ready to offer them. You can say something like, ‘Just to put it out there, if I were going to ask me a question, I’d ask…’ ”

Now, both Nadia Bilchik and Lee M. Pierce have mentioned phrases you can use if no one comes forth with a question.

You’ll notice that the sentences they have come up with will require you to consider the questions you may be asked ahead of time .

In addition to helping you create a better presentation, doing this will also allow you to answer any questions effortlessly.

Mistake #5: Going over your time

Last but not least, many of the professional speakers we have interviewed have stressed the importance of ending one’s presentation on time.

Michelle Gladieux said it best:

“The best way to end a presentation is ON TIME. Respect others’ time commitments by not running over. You can always hang around for a while to speak with people who have more to say or more to ask.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce agrees:

“The worst thing you can do is run over time. If you were given 45 minutes for a presentation plus 15 minutes for Q & A, you should end at 45 minutes — better if you end at 35 or 40.”

Then again, according to Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule, even going over the 20-minute mark could risk boring and alienating one’s audience.

Useful phrases for ending a presentation

In the course of our research, we’ve found many practical phrases one might use to wrap up a presentation.

We even had experts send in their suggestions. For example, Nadia Bilchik says:

“I always end with a very quick summary of the content, a definitive call to action, and a reiteration of the benefits to the audience. This is a superb model, and I have shared it with thousands of individuals who have found it immensely valuable. Use this as your framework: What I have looked at today… What I am asking you to do… The benefits are…”

Other phrases you might use at the end of your presentation include:

“To recap, we’ve discussed…”

“Throughout this presentation, we talked about…”

“In other words,…”

“To wrap up/conclude,…”

“In short, I’d like to highlight…”

“To put it simply,…”

“In conclusion…”

“In summary, the goal of my presentation…”

“If there’s one thing you take away from my presentation…”

“In bringing my presentation to a close, I wanted to…”

If you’d like to incorporate a call to action, you might say:

“I’m counting on you to…”

“After this presentation, I’d like to ask you to…”

“Please take a minute to…”

“Next time you (see a suspicious email), remember to (forward it to this email address).”

To end with a quote, you could say:

“Let me leave you with this quote…”

“That reminds me of the old saying…”

Lastly, more useful phrases include:

“Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.”

“For more information, head to the link on the screen.”

“Thank you for your time/attention.”

“I hope you found this presentation informative/useful/insightful.”

Remember: the last words you say should make it abundantly clear that your presentation has ended.

What should your final slide look like?

If you don’t want to leave your final slide blank as some of the experts we have talked to would recommend, there are other ways to fill that space.

Joseph Liu told us:

“I tend to make it very clear the presentation is coming to an end by having a slide that says, ‘Closing Thoughts’ or something to that effect. I recommend ending with a recap of your content, reconnecting with the initial hook you used at the start, and finally, some sort of call to action.”

Mark Beal has a similar formula for his closing slides, saying:

“The final slides of my presentation include: A slide featuring three key messages/takeaways, A question and answer slide to engage the audience at the conclusion in the same manner a presenter wants to engage an audience at the start of a presentation, and A final slide including the presenter’s contact information and a website address where they can learn more information. This slide can include a QR code that the audience can screenshot and access the presenter’s website or another digital destination.”

Between these two suggestions and the many examples we have included throughout our guide, you ought to have a clear picture of what your final slide might look like.

End your presentations with a bang on Pumble

Knowing how to end a presentation effectively is a skill like any other — you’re bound to get better through practice and repetition.

To get the most out of your presentations, make sure to give them on Pumble.

Pumble — a team communication and collaboration app — allows you to have the most interactive, efficient presentations thanks to:

• The video conferencing feature that allows you to share your knowledge with a large group of people,
• The screen sharing feature that allows you share your presentation,
• The in-call message feature, to ensure your audience can participate (and send questions for the FAQ partition of the presentation, for example), and
• The blur background feature, that ensures your audience’s attention is always on you and you alone.

Secure, real-time communication for professionals.

Olga Milicevic is a communication researcher and author dedicated to making your professional life a bit easier. She believes that everyone should have the tools necessary to respond to their coworkers’ requests and communicate their own professional needs clearly and kindly.

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9 Tips to End a Speech With a Bang

A good talk or public speech is like a good play, movie, or song.

It opens by arresting the listener’s attention, develops point by point, and then ends strongly.

The truth is, if you don’t know how to end a speech, the overall message won’t be persuasive and your key points may get lost.

The words you say at the beginning, and especially at the end of your talk, are usually the most persuasive parts of the speech and will be remembered longer than almost any other part of your speech.

Some of the great speeches in history and some of the most memorable Ted talks have ended with powerful, stirring words that live on in memory.

How do you end a speech and get the standing ovation that you deserve?

Keep reading to discover how…

Here are 9 tips and examples for concluding a speech.

1) Plan Your Closing Remarks Word for Word

To ensure that your conclusion is as powerful as it can be, you must plan it word for word.

Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this talk?”

Your answer should involve the actions that you want your listeners to take after hearing you speak on this subject.

When you are clear about the end result you desire, it becomes much easier to design a conclusion that asks your listeners to take that action.

The best strategy for ending with a BANG is to plan your close before you plan the rest of your speech.

You then go back and design your opening so that it sets the stage for your conclusion.

The body of your talk is where you present your ideas and make your case for what you want the audience to think, remember, and do after hearing you speak.

2) Always End a Speech With a Call to Action

It is especially important to tell the audience what you want it to do as a result of hearing you speak.

A call to action is the best way to wrap up your talk with strength and power.

Here is a Speech Conclusion Call to Action Example

“We have great challenges and great opportunities, and with your help, we will meet them and make this next year the best year in our history!”

Whatever you say, imagine an exclamation point at the end. As you approach the conclusion, pick up your energy and tempo.  This is even more important if the presentation you are giving is virtual .

Speak with strength and emphasis.

Drive the final point home.

Regardless of whether the audience participants agree with you or are willing to do what you ask, it should be perfectly clear to them what you are requesting.

3) End a Speech With a Summary

There is a simple formula for any talk:

• Tell them what you are going to tell them.
• Then, tell them what you told them.

As you approach the end of your talk, say something like,

“Let me briefly restate these main points…”

You then list your key points, one by one, and repeat them to the audience, showing how each of them links to the other points.

Audiences appreciate a linear repetition of what they have just heard.

This makes it clear that you are coming to the end of your talk.

4) Close with a story

As you reach the end of your talk, you can say,

“Let me tell you a story that illustrates what I have been talking about…”

You then tell a brief story with a moral and then tell the audience what the moral is.

Don’t leave it to them to figure out for themselves.

Often you can close with a story that illustrates your key points and then clearly links to the key message that you are making with your speech.

To learn more about storytelling in speaking, you can read my previous blog post “8 Public Speaking Tips to Wow Your Audience.”

Here’s a recap of these 4 tips in a video…

5) Make Them Laugh

You can close with humor.

You can tell a joke that loops back into your subject and repeats the lesson or main point you are making with a story that makes everyone laugh.

During my talks on planning and persistence, I discuss the biggest enemy that we have, which is the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. I then tell this story.

Ole and Sven are out hunting in Minnesota and they shoot a deer. They begin dragging the deer back to the truck by the tail, but they keep slipping and losing both their grip and their balance.

A farmer comes along and asks them, “What are you boys doing?”

They reply, “We’re dragging the deer back to the truck.”

The farmer tells them, “You are not supposed to drag a deer by the tail. You’re supposed to drag the deer by the handles. They’re called antlers. You’re supposed to drag a deer by the antlers.”

Ole and Sven say, “Thank you very much for the idea.”

They begin pulling the deer by the antlers. After about five minutes, they are making rapid progress. Ole says to Sven, “Sven, the farmer was right. It goes a lot easier by the antlers.”

Sven replies, “Yeah, but we’re getting farther and farther from the truck.”

After the laughter dies down, I say…

“The majority of people in life are pulling the easy way, but they are getting further and further from the ‘truck’ or their real goals and objectives.”

That’s just one example of closing using humor.

6) Make It Rhyme

You can close with a poem.

There are many fine poems that contain messages that summarize the key points you want to make.

You can select a poem that is moving, dramatic, or emotional.

For years I ended seminars with the poem, “Don’t Quit,” or “Carry On!” by Robert W. Service. It was always well received by the audience.

7) Close With Inspiration

You can end a speech with something inspirational as well.

If you have given an uplifting talk, remember that hope is and has always been, the main religion of mankind.

People love to be motivated and inspired to be or do something different and better in the future.

Here are a few of my favorite inspirational quotes that can be tied into most speeches.  You can also read this collection of leadership quotes for further inspiration.

Remember, everyone in your audience is dealing with problems, difficulties, challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and temporary failures.

For this reason, everyone appreciates a poem, quote or story of encouragement that gives them strength and courage.

Here are 7 Tips to Tell an Inspiring Poem or Story to End Your Speech

• You have to slow down and add emotion and drama to your words.
• Raise your voice on a key line of the poem, and then drop it when you’re saying something that is intimate and emotional.
• Pick up the tempo occasionally as you go through the story or poem, but them slow down on the most memorable parts.
• Especially, double the number of pauses you normally use in a conversation.
• Use dramatic pauses at the end of a line to allow the audience to digest the words and catch up with you.
• Smile if the line is funny, and be serious if the line is more thought-provoking or emotional.
• When you come to the end of your talk, be sure to bring your voice up on the last line, rather than letting it drop. Remember the “exclamation point” at the end.

Try practicing on this poem that I referenced above…

Read through “Carry On!” by Robert Service .

Identify the key lines, intimate parts, and memorable parts, and recite it.

8) Make it Clear That You’re Done

When you say your final words, it should be clear to everyone that you have ended. There should be no ambiguity or confusion in the mind of your audience. The audience members should know that this is the end.

Many speakers just allow their talks to wind down.

They say something with filler words like, “Well, that just about covers it. Thank you.”

This isn’t a good idea…

It’s not powerful…

It’s not an authoritative ending and thus detracts from your credibility and influence.

When you have concluded, discipline yourself to stand perfectly still. Select a friendly face in the audience and look straight at that person.

If it is appropriate, smile warmly at that person to signal that your speech has come to an end.

Resist the temptation to:

• Shuffle papers.
• Fidget with your clothes or microphone.
• Move forward, backward, or sideways.
• Do anything else except stand solidly, like a tree.

9) Let Them Applaud

When you have finished your talk, the audience members will want to applaud…

What they need from you is a clear signal that now is the time to begin clapping.

How do you signal this?

Some people will recognize sooner than others that you have concluded your remarks.

In many cases, when you make your concluding comments and stop talking, the audience members will be completely silent.

They may be unsure whether you are finished.

They may be processing your final remarks and thinking them over. They may not know what to do until someone else does something.

In a few seconds, which will often feel like several minutes, people will applaud.

First one…

Then another…

Then the entire audience will begin clapping.

When someone begins to applaud, look directly at that person, smile, and mouth the words thank you.

As more and more people applaud, sweep slowly from person to person, nodding, smiling and saying, “Thank You.”

Eventually, the whole room will be clapping.

There’s no better reward for overcoming your fear of public speaking than enjoying a round of applause.

BONUS TIP: How to Handle a Standing Ovation

If you have given a moving talk and really connected with your audience, someone will stand up and applaud. When this happens, encourage others by looking directly at the clapper and saying, “Thank you.”

This will often prompt other members of the audience to stand.

As people see others standing, they will stand as well, applauding the whole time.

It is not uncommon for a speaker to conclude his or her remarks, stand silently, and have the entire audience sit silently in response.

Stand Comfortably and Shake Hands

But as the speaker stands there comfortably, waiting for the audience to realize the talk is over, one by one people will begin to applaud and often stand up one by one.

If the first row of audience members is close in front of you, step or lean forward and shake that person’s hand when one of them stands up to applaud.

When you shake hands with one person in the audience, many other people in the audience feel that you are shaking their hands and congratulating them as well.

They will then stand up and applaud.

Soon the whole room will be standing and applauding.

Whether you receive a standing ovation or not, if your introducer comes back on to thank you on behalf of the audience, smile and shake their hand warmly.

If it’s appropriate, give the introducer a hug of thanks, wave in a friendly way to the audience, and then move aside and give the introducer the stage.

Follow these tips to get that standing ovation every time.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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Practical Media Training and Public Speaking Tips

How to Close a Speech – 15 Unique Ways

The question of how to close a speech is an important one that every presenter must ask, given the weight those final words have on your audience.

As the open of your speech sets the stage, your close seals the deal. It is your last chance to restate a key idea, make a final impression, inspire the audience, move a group to action, or change a person’s perspective. A tall order, yes, but it’s far from impossible.

When speakers think about how to close a presentation, there are several key elements to consider when it comes to their close:

• Is it engaging?
• Does it reiterate your message?
• Have you clearly identified the next step you want your audience to take?

Too often, speakers mistakenly believe that the audience will be able to infer what they should do next. The truth of the matter is even the most talented presenter can benefit from sending the audience off with a clear call to action . When it is specific, easy to execute, and aligns with their needs, wants, and concerns, they are more likely to take you up on your request.

Since these final words are so important, you’ll want to make a singular impression.

Here, we offer 15 unique ways to close a speech.

15 Unique Ways to End a Speech

These presentation closes highlight many different approaches in how to end a speech that work for our clients in our public speaking classes . What they are not are recipes for quick escapes. Save the “thank you for your time,” “feel free to email or call me with questions,” and “that’s all I have for today” for another day. Your close is what you want them to remember, so make sure it’s something they can’t forget.

1. The Summary Close –  Let’s talk turkey. This close is about the most straightforward, direct, and unequivocal one in the list. In the annals of how to close a presentation speech, it also could be called the “recap” close. If you opt to close a speech with a summary, you want to be clear with your biggest idea and convey to the audience that it is what you want them to remember. That doesn’t mean, however, the summary close is never engaging.

For example, you’re a doctor who is encouraging an audience to adopt lifestyle changes that can lead to longevity. You could end your talk by saying:

“In conclusion, while genetics plays an important role in our lifespans, there are decisions you can make that can improve your chances for a longer and more productive life. There are three letters I want you to remember, “i”, “a,” and “n.” Why? They come at the end of three important words: octogenarian, nonagenarian, and centenarian. If you plan to be active in your 80s, 90s, and 100s, you better start eating better, getting more exercise, eliminating unnecessary stress, and scheduling those routine screenings. A thriving future is in your hands.”

2. The Illustrative Close – The artistry in this close comes from your ability to appropriate a first- or third-person anecdote, case study, or fable; an apocryphal (fictional but plausible) tale; or another storytelling device to serve as an illustration of the main points you made during your talk. Quick tip: Many talks begin and end in this manner.

Example No. 1: You are a senior vice president of a nonprofit that provides health and humanitarian care to locations around the world. You are talking to a group of would-be donors about the significance of their contributions. You decide to end your speech with a personal experience.

“I’ve spent the past 20 minutes encouraging you to dig into those pockets to help make the world a better place for others. I want to tell you one more story. It’s about a personal decision I made some 10 years ago after visiting a coffee shop. I plunked down my two dollars, grabbed my coffee, and headed out the door. During my five-minute walk back to my office, my one-minute walk up the stairs, and the four minutes I spent catching up on email, I had finished it. In 10 minutes, I had managed to spend and consume the amount of money that the world’s poorest people live on in a day. Could I give up that coffee to help others? You bet I could, and I did. Since then, no matter what else I donate each year, it always contains $520, what I call my “coffee fund.” Simple measures not only add up but have the power to change lives.”

Example No. 2:

You are a guidance counselor who is speaking to a group of students who are applying to college. Throughout your talk, you impress upon them the importance of planning and setting deadlines. You could end your speech by referencing Aesop’s fable The Ants and the Grasshopper .

“I want to tell you all a story, and perhaps it is one you remember. Long ago, a grasshopper decided to spend his summer making music and otherwise lazing about. In contrast, a group of ants busily set aside food for the winter. The grasshopper thought he would be fine if he waited to the last minute. He wasn’t, nor will you be if you put off the tasks that need to be done today. Applying for college is an intense and important process that can’t be rushed at the end.”

3. The Surprise Close – Some of the best movie endings of all time were wicked twists, surprising conclusions, and outright shockers. Why are they so memorable? First, they are unexpected. It turns out our brains are more active when we experience something we didn’t anticipate. Second, we expected a different conclusion. When a pattern is broken, we become particularly attuned to what comes next . When you close a speech with a surprise ending , you are signaling to your audience to listen up. Here are some ways to do that:

• Your talk is about how positive thinking gives you the power to overcome overwhelming obstacles. Your talk has been about a woman who “beat the odds.” At the end, you reveal that person is you.
• You lead a school building committee, and you are giving a presentation about the renovation plans for an 80-year-old school. You want to persuade the community to back the plan. As you end your speech, you concede that speaking about the design is a lot less effective than seeing it. You could close with this:

“We all know seeing is believing. So, while I do not have an actual building to show you, I want to take you on a virtual tour of our new middle school. You are the first to see this. (You reveal a screen and project a short video.) This plan provides for the students’ futures and doesn’t keep them stuck in the past.”

4. The Metaphor Close – When it comes to how to close a speech, you may feel that you are drowning in options, but if you take a careful look at your topic and what you want to convey, you will find it’s as easy as pie. We bet that’s music to your ears. Welcome to the metaphor close. We just gave you three. Metaphors are figures of speech that make an indirect comparison between two things that are symbolically similar but literally different. You are not literally drowning in options, but it sure can feel that way.

Here’s a way to employ this close: You are a spokesperson for a technology company that is releasing a new residential surveillance product. You outlined its merits throughout your talk and have arrived at the end. Here, we show you two closes, one without and one with a metaphor.

Example No. 1 (Without)

“Our proprietary technology makes our product stand out. By installing our surveillance system, you have – at your fingertips – one of the industry’s strongest lines of defense against would-be thieves, intruders, and other unwanted visitors.”

Example No. 2 (With)

“When you install our surveillance system, it is as if you have dozens of lookouts guarding your home.”

5. The Forward-Looking Close – Calling all dreamers and visionaries: Paint a picture of what the world might look like in the future. This speech close is a good option if you are talking about recommendations to adopt or future trends that could have a bearing on your topic. It’s important to create a vivid and vibrant picture to help the audience better visualize what it is you hope to accomplish. Say you are a financial advisor talking to a group 15 years away from retirement. During your talk, you have shared a portfolio of products and your firm’s approach to investment. Your close could be this:

“I have shared with you some tips and techniques that will help you to grow your money, so you have it when you need it most. We have talked about your bottom line, market variability, and the strategies that go into investing. But, I want to leave you with a different picture. When you pay attention to your investments today, your tomorrows will be spent poolside, hiking mountains, traveling the globe, learning a new skill, or finally attaining what you have always dreamed of doing. You will no longer be working for your money. Your money will be working for you.”

6. The Backward-Looking Close – We move away from the future and reach into the past. Some audiences, including those who are discouraged or complacent, may need to be reminded of how far they have come. Say you are the manager of a sales team that has spent the past two years working full tilt to hit revenue goals. During your speech, you outlined an ambitious approach to the coming year that some audience members believe is unattainable. Your close, then, encourages them to move forward with confidence, given their past successes. You could offer this:

“I know how hard you all worked these past two years to increase revenue and create a more thriving and vibrant environment. You may not think it, but I can hear your silent groans of frustration. Yes, we do have an ambitious path before us. However, I have no doubts that you are all up to the task. In the past two years, you have taken a company with $500,000 a year in sales to one that clears $1 million. The expressions of doubt and concern that face me now were the same I saw two years ago. But guess what? During these past two years, whatever challenges we faced were met and managed quickly – and that is entirely due to your work ethic. I know we can do this. I know we will do this.”

7. The Next Steps Close – You probably have several to-do lists in your life. There are those that cover daily needs; others focus on short-term goals. There’s likely one lurking out there for long-term dreams, too. Although the timeframe may be different, each list has its own set of tasks that must be met to ensure that things get done. You can close a speech with a similar list. In this case, you want to lay out the sequence and timeline of steps needed to make a decision or achieve a goal.

8. The Rhetorical Question Close –  You don’t have to wait until the end, as rhetorical questions are effective throughout a talk. However, asking one at the conclusion of your presentation is powerful since the audience leaves with your question rattling around their minds. One of the most famous rhetorical questions came during a 1980 presidential debate between President Jimmy Carter and his challenger, Governor Ronald Reagan. In the ensuing years, Reagan’s message has become an oft-asked question during every presidential election cycle: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Here’s what he said to end that 1980 debate:

“Next Tuesday is Election Day. Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place, and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we’re as strong as we were four years ago?” And if you answer all of those questions yes, why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don’t agree, if you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.”

9. The Provocative Close – Merriam-Webster defines provocative as “serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate.” Of course, every presenter hopes to stimulate the minds of their audiences, but a provocative close snaps people to attention. Here’s how to end a presentation speech provocatively. For instance, you are:

• Delivering a wake-up call – You conclude with a forceful call to action. This is particularly effective if you have power or hold sway over the group to whom you are presenting. For example, you have just delivered a talk to employees about a new technology they are going to have to learn – no ifs, ands, or buts.
• Talking to a group that resists change – You could end with the consequences if no action is taken regarding your topic. You want to paint an “if we fail to act” vision, but it’s also important to take it easy. Too much negativity could lead to a sense of hopelessness, and hopelessness is not the greatest of motivators.

10. The PowerPoint Close – When you dispense with cluttered visual presentations and instead offer an image that draws your audience in, PowerPoint can create a memorable close. Powerful visuals encourage curiosity. Here are a few options to close a speech with a PowerPoint slide. You might project:

• A photo that is seemingly unrelated to your speech topic and requires your explanation.
• An image that is humorous but makes a profound point.
• A line graph showing two potential outcomes – one if the audience gets involved and another if they don’t.

11. The Recommendation Close – In the long-running game show “Let’s Make a Deal,” contestants, who are dressed in outlandish costumes, are urged to, yes, make a deal for cash and prizes. They must choose a prize or gamble for another, which is often behind a curtain or some other wall or obstruction. “Let’s Make a Deal” contestants don’t know what’s behind the curtain, but your audience will. With the recommendation close, you provide your audience with the plusses and minuses of several different options – no curtains or costumes needed.

To be viewed as credible, however, you should offer honest pros and cons for each recommendation. It should not appear to the audience as if you are stacking the odds in favor of one column over the other. Just be mindful not to tip your hat, and the audience will get an unvarnished look at the options before them.

12. The Activity Close – As you can see, how to conclude a presentation speech is as unique to the presenter as it is to the message. In this close, you engage in an activity that drives your main message home. For instance, you could employ a group “pop quiz” to see how many of your key points landed. ( Added bonus: The feedback affords one more opportunity to clarify and reiterate what you want the audience to remember.) You could also end with some of the following activities:

You are a representative for a cosmetics company and are unveiling a new foundation. For your close, you break the audience into groups, provide samples, and ask the groups how it delivered. You run a government agency that is implementing a new program for requests for proposal. You are running some information sessions for contractors, consultants, and other businesses. For your close, you could lead participants through one test round of the system.

13. The Takeaway Close – Parents of young toddlers and teenagers do this every day, to mixed results, but when used to close a speech it can be entirely effective. You ask the audience to reflect on two or three things they heard you say that resonated with them the most. You might even ask them to write them down. The exercise has a twofold benefit – you get to see whether your messages stuck, and the audience is forced to recall what you said, but on their terms.

14. The “Since I Started Speaking” Close – This close works well when talking about a health issue, a societal phenomenon, or anything that can be explained through statistics and further broken down into concrete examples. Say, for instance, you are a spokesperson for a smoking cessation program, and you are talking to a group of employees about the dangers of smoking. After you have outlined how smoking leads to disease and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, you could end with this:

“In the 60 seconds it will take me to finish my presentation, someone in the United States will have died from cigarette smoking. That happens every minute, making smoking the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The dangers are real, and the dire consequences of smoking are relentless, yet it remains an unhealthy habit that too many are unable to quit. What will it take to make that change? After you leave here today, why don’t you take a minute and think of how much it costs you to smoke. Then think of what you could be doing with the money instead. Vacations? Home renovations? New bikes? A new wardrobe? Philanthropic pursuits? Find the incentive that finally gets you to stop lighting up. Quitting is difficult, but it isn’t impossible. And we’ll be here to help you, even if you fall down a few times along the way.”

15. The Relevance Close – In today’s fast-paced society, yesterday’s news ain’t what it used to be. A fresh tidbit during the morning news cycle is stale by lunchtime. Such an environment can make it hard for a presenter whose talk is historical or retrospective in nature. How to close a speech in this scenario? Connect old ways or thoughts to contemporary norms or thinking. Perhaps, you find that your topic reflects an adage that stands the test of time. Say you are a museum curator whose latest exhibition delves into the history of work and the machines that revolutionized different industries. You have just wrapped up a presentation about the show to a group of donors. You have laid out the main points and are heading for the close. Here are some closing techniques:

You might remind the audience how the machines of yesterday were once the state-of-art technology of their day. Then, encourage them to think about what will replace current technology and how that will affect the nature of work. Map out the historical line between an object of today with its predecessors to show how the technology of work is ever evolving. Find an adage or quote that covers the overall theme of how technology and human industry have been and will be linked into the future.

One caveat: For most talks, speakers would want to establish such a relevance early on (i.e., what now seems old was once state of the art). However, for some talks, such as the one referenced above, the moment might have more impact and resonance if it is saved until the end.

Need Help Closing Your Speech?

While every presenter needs to think about how to close a speech, the answer is not always going to be the same. It’s a personal decision that should reflect your personality, your goals, and the content of your presentation. You might choose one that is straightforward, traditional, creative, or innovative.

Whichever you choose, aim to end on a high note. This is not the time for quick goodbyes, mumbled thank-yous, or body language that suggests all you really want to do is flee. There are many public speaking tips  we share with our clients, and a key one is to remember that a presentation’s close is one of its most important parts.

It’s your last chance to make an impression on your audience – which in turn will help you to inspire them to think big, persuade them to change their perspective, or move them to action. Make it count!

Most speakers benefit from teaming any of these unique endings with a second close, which can make for a more powerful and memorable ending. Want to learn more? In this post , we delve into the art of wrapping up your talk with two closes, rather than just one. 

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How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Practical Tips to Grab Attention and Make an Impact

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By Al Boicheva

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No matter how well-crafted and planned the body of your presentation, its impact depends on its opening and ending.  On one hand, you have 30 seconds to grab your audience’s attention so people would be interested in hearing what you have to say. On the other, your ending is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it. This might be like a lot of pressure but the truth is, it’s easier than it sounds. This is why, in this article, we will help you achieve this and more with 10 practical tips on how to start and end a presentation effectively .

Article overview: The Opening: 5 Tips To Get Your Audience Invested  1. The Hook 2. Transition 3. Personal Story 4. Build Tension with Silence 5. Use Startling Statistics The Ending: 5 Tips To Make an Impact 1. The Rule of Three 2. Come Full Circle 3. Food for Thought Question Ending 4. Inspire with Personal Involvement 5. Make Your Audience Laugh

5 Practical Tips on How to Start a Presentation

Imagine you spent weeks preparing an amazing presentation with lots of valuable insight that you just can’t wait to share with your audience. Unfortunately, only a few minutes in, you notice that most of your viewers are on their phones scrolling and barely paying any attention to what you have to say. What happened?

Presenters and speakers often start with a long introduction. They introduce themselves, share how excited they are, thank the audience for attending, explain what they’re going to speak about in a minute, why the topic is important, etc. This might take only one or two minutes, however, when it comes to presentation,  two minutes without telling anything interesting might result in losing your audience. In fact, you only have 30 seconds to grab your audience’s attention .

This is why, no matter the topic and goal of your presentation, you must always captivate your audience’s attention first. Leave the introductions and summaries for later .

In this section, we’ll talk about ways to hook your audience in the first 30 seconds and get them invested in what you have to say in your presentation.

1. The Hook

Anything unpredictable that catches you off-guard, will get your attention.

This tactic, masterfully named as a metaphor for attracting fish with a juicy worm on a hook, refers to a few-second short story, metaphor, shocking fact, statistics, analogy, controversial statement, or anything unconventional and unexpected that will capture your viewer’s imagination. We’ll have a look at three examples for hooks.

1.1 Bold Claim

“Here’s all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid.” This opening line by stand-up comedy legend George Carlin is a great example of a hook in the form of a bold claim. If you’re confident enough with your presentation and you have a bold claim up to your sleeve, don’t save it for the end. Instead, shoot that bullet confidently the second you start your presentation. It will immediately catch your audience off-guard and you will have it paying attention to your every word after that.

Here are some examples for bold claim starters in presentations and public speaking.

• “What you’re doing right now at this very moment is killing you.” ( Nilofer Merchant )
• “Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead through the food that they eat.” ( Jamie Oliver )
• “I’m going to try to increase the lifespan of every single person in this room by seven and a half minutes. Literally, you will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise just because you watched this talk.” ( Jane McGonagall )
• “I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room. However, it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar.” ( Pamela Meyer )

1.2 Imagine

One of the greatest ways to get attention and start strong is through storytelling. People love stories and are always interested in hearing one. In fact, many presentations may revolve around a story or just use small anecdotes to enhance their message. With this being said, amongst the best methods to create a compelling story is to get your audience involved. To do so, make them imagine themselves in the shoes of the main character. This attention-grabber invites your viewers to create a mental image and get emotionally invested.

Here are examples of speeches starting with the Imagine play:

• “I want you, guys, to imagine that you’re a soldier, running through the battlefield. Now, you’re shot in the leg with a bullet that severs your femoral artery. This bleed is extremely traumatic and can kill you in less than 3 minutes. Unfortunately, by the time a medic actually gets to you, what the medic has on his or her belt can take 5 minutes or more with the application of pressure to stop that type of bleed.” ( Joe Landolina )
• “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3000 feet. Imagine a plane full of smoke, imagine an engine going clack-clack-clack-clack-clack. Well, I had a unique seat that day.”( Ric Elias )

1.3. Humourous Twists

Great stories have unexpected plot twists. The best stories, however, have a funny plot twist. Depending on your topic, you can start by telling your story, get your audience in the mood for a serious talk, and then contradict all expectations with a hilarious spin.

• “I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know. But here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school.” ( Daniel Pink )

2. Transition

Your next step would be to make an organic transition between your hook and the main point of your presentation. You can do this seamlessly or by linking directly with “I tell you this, because”, “This brings us to…”. Mohammed Qahtani, for example, does this transition so smoothly, that you’ll never even catch it.

First, as a hook, he chooses to use a prop. He literally goes on stage and lights a cigarette, capitalizing on unpredictability, originality, bold statement, humor, and immediately uses the second hook in the form of a provocative question, asking the audience “You think smoking kills?”. The third thing he does is strike with shocking data that he immediately admits to being fake. He already has the audience on the tip of his fingers. Having accomplished that, Mohammed Qahtani is ready to finally move to the body of the presentation and reveal his actual message.

3. Personal Story

Another storytelling technique besides making people from your audience imagine themselves in a particular situation, is to start with your own personal story. One that is relevant to the topic of your presentation. Your personal involvement and experience give you credibility in the eyes of the viewers, and, as we mentioned, everyone loves to hear an interesting story. This is because stories are relatable, easy to identify with communicating honesty, openness, and connection.

4. Build Tension with Silence

Interestingly enough, saying nothing is also a very powerful option. In fact, standing in front of an audience and confidently keeping silent is as powerful as making a bold statement. Silence will definitely build tension and pique your audience’s curiosity about what you have to say. Be careful, however, as this technique requires knowing your timing.

5. Use Startling Statistics

Sometimes you just can’t think of a story, a joke, or a specific statement that is bold enough. And that’s okay. As a last resort, but also a pretty effective one, you can always rely on curious shocking statistics, related to your topic, to instantly gain people’s attention. Take your time researching curious statistics that will emphasize the seriousness of your topic or as a tool to start over the top.

To sum it up, your presentation opening follows 5 steps:

• Hook: You immediately strike your audience instantly with something interesting and unconventional they wouldn’t expect.
• Transition: You link your hook to your main point.
• Introduction: Once you already have your audience’s attention, you can finally make a very brief introduction with something relevant to your topic.
• Preview: Give your audience a brief preview of what you’re going to talk about.
• Benefits: Tell your audience how will they benefit from listening to your presentation. (ex. “By the end, you will already know how to…”)

Keep in mind, that your opening, consisting of these 5 steps, should be brief and ideally not exceed 2 minutes . If you manage to make a great hook, transition, introduction, review and list the benefits in 2 minutes, you already have your audience’s full attention and they will be listening to your every word throughout the body of your presentation.

5 Practical Tips on How to End a Presentation

Let’s consider this situation. You start watching a movie that instantly opens with a jaw-dropping suspenseful scene that raises questions and makes you want to unravel the mystery. This scene will certainly make your stay through the movie. You are very invested, you love the story, the build-up keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end when the reveal is so underwhelming, you feel disappointed. The ending doesn’t fit the intensity of the story and feels incomplete and rushed. How does this relate to your presentation?

Having a great start for your presentation is what will keep your audience interested in what you have to say. However, the end is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it.  In short, if you fail your opening, you will still be able to catch up with your presentation and capitalize with a great closing line. But an underwhelming conclusion can kill the velocity of a good presentation and ruin the overall experience.

Let’s look at some practical tips and examples by great presenters to get inspired and never let that happen.

1. The Rule of Three

This powerful technique in speech writing refers to the collection of three words, phrases, sentences, or lines. In photography, there’s a similar rule, known as the Rule of Thirds, that serves to divide an image into three. In writing, the Rule of Three combines a collection of thoughts into three entities with combined brevity and rhythm to create a pattern.

Information presented in a group of three sticks in our heads better than in other groups. This is why this principle presents your ideas in more enjoyable and memorable ways for your audience.  It also serves to divide up a speech or emphasize a certain message. Let’s see a couple of examples where the rule is applied in different forms.

Examples of the Rule of three in Speeches

• “ I came, I saw, I conquered .” (Veni, Vidi, Vici. ) by Julius Caesar in a letter to the Roman Senate
• “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people , shall not perish from the earth.” from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
• “ It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. lt means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.” from Steve Job’s Stanford Commencement Speech

In Veni Vidi Vici, the rule serves to divide the concept of Caesar’s victory into three parts to prolong the conclusion in order to give it more power. The “came” and “ saw” parts are technically obvious and unnecessary in terms of context. However, they serve to build up the conclusion of conquering, creating a story, rhythm, and, ultimately, a memorable and powerful line. A single “I conquered” wouldn’t impress the Senate that much, let alone become such a legendary phrase preserved in history.

Lincoln’s famous speech ending shows an excellent practice of the Rule of Three in the form of repetition to emphasize the new role of the Government.  “That Government of the people shaw not perish from the earth.” would still be a good line, however, the repetition makes it way more powerful and memorable.

And last, Steve Job uses the Rule of Three in the form of repetition to accomplish building up the conclusion and emphasizing what “it means”.  This repetition gives rhythm and helps the audience to be more receptive, stay focused, and follow the speaker to the final conclusion.

You can also use the Rule of Three to close your presentation by giving your audience two negatives and ending with a positive . Typical structures would be “This is not… this is not… but it is”; “You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t… but you would..”, etc.

For example, you can conclude a speech about self-growth with something similar to “Your future isn’t a matter of chance, it isn’t a matter of circumstances, it’s a matter of choice.”

2. Come Full Circle

In short, this means capitalizing  on your message by ending your presentation the exact way you started it . If done right, this is a powerful tool to make an impact. Usually, you begin your presentation with a statement that piques your audience’s curiosity. You use it to set the topic and start building on it. You take your audience on a journey, you make them start at one point, follow them through the entire journey, and make them end at the same point. By repeating the opening line as an ending, now the message makes more sense, it’s way more personal and makes a satisfying logical conclusion .

A good example of this comes from Yubing Zang in her speech “Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone.” The speaker opens her TED talk with that same line to take you on a journey. You experience her story, you learn how fear is the biggest thief of dreams while comfort is a drug that keeps you from following them. After that strong message, she finishes with that same phrase. In the end, this phrase isn’t just an abstract quote, now it makes more sense and feels more real and personal.

You can also use the full circle method to start and finish your presentation with the same question. As an opening line, your question will make your audience think. It will compel them to listen to your presentation and learn the answers. As an ending, however, this same question will become rhetorical .

And speaking of questions…

3. Food for Thought Question Ending

The easiest way to end a speech on a good note is to leave your audience with a question. The kind of open-ended question that will inspire your audience to reflect on . Such questions can be so inviting, they will give your audience something exciting to think about and even think of throughout the day.

Examples of open-ended questions, depending on your topic, could sound like this.

• What if it doesn’t work out that way?
• What does this look like for you?
• If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

Unlike close-ended questions that the viewers can answer immediately on the spot and forget about your speech later, interesting open-ended questions that give them food for thought will inevitably surface on occasion.

For example, Lera Boroditski closes her topic on “How Language Shapes the Way We Think” with ” And that gives you the opportunity to ask: why do I think the way that I do? How could I think differently? And also, what thoughts do I wish to create?”

In order for your open-ended question to become food for thought, make sure your presentation raises it organically . It should sound like a relevant and logical conclusion to what you’ve built during your speech. Otherwise, the question would be forced and would seem like coming from nowhere. The best way to think of such an open-ended question is to reflect on what is the question you wished to answer during your presentation but couldn’t. Something that doesn’t have a solution yet.

• Why do people fear losing things that they do not even have yet?
• Why do we strive for perfection if it is not attainable?
• How much control do you have over your life?
• When will we reach a point where terraforming Mars will be our only chance at human survival? How can you influence this deadline?

This will give a great puzzle for your audience to solve and something to remember your presentation with, for a long time.

4. Inspire with Personal Involvement

If you have a story to share, don’t hesitate to inspire your audience with it during your own presentations.

This method is most powerful when we share a personal story or experience . Our vulnerability and personal touch are what will help you inspire your audience without sounding insincere or forcing them a piece of advice out of nowhere. The key here is to have credibility and personal involvement . It might come from your degree, accomplishments, or from your life’s story. Also, make sure the story is relatable and encourages empathy from your audience.

Steve Jobs gave a commencement speech at Stanford University sharing his personal experiences in order to inspire change in his audience’s mindset. He uses his authority and credibility to shape the spirit of leadership and entrepreneurship in young people. He aims to inspire people that they should learn to color outside the lines instead of following the patterns and structure of society. And he serves as a great example with his own life story and accomplishments .

Which makes the ending memorable and impactful: “ Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. ”

In conclusion, the entire speech builds up to this conclusion making it powerful as the personal involvement and experience make it sincere and inspirational.

5. Make Your Audience Laugh

If your topic allows it, one of the best ways to make your presentation memorable and a great experience for your audience is to end with a joke. Just make sure to craft a joke that relates to the main point of your presentation.

As an example for this tip, we chose the TED talk of webcartoonist Randall Munroe where he answers simple what-if questions using math, physics, logic, and -you guessed it- humor.

He ends by sharing an allegedly personal experience about receiving an email from a reader with a single subject line “Urgent”. “And this was the entire email: If people had wheels and could fly, how would we differentiate them from airplanes? Urgent. And I think that there are some questions math just cannot answer. ”

Final Words

In conclusion, the start and end of your presentation are crucial to its success. No matter the topic and goal of your presentation, you must always captivate your audience’s attention first, leaving the introductions and summaries for later. Having a great start for your presentation is what will keep your audience interested in what you have to say. However, the end is what your audience will be left with and will shape how they feel about your presentation and how they’ll remember it.  We hope we managed to inspire your inner public speaker to rock your presentation like a pro.

In the meantime, you could also check some more insights on related topics, gather inspiration, or simply grab a freebie?

• Digital Marketing Trends 2022: How To Win An Audience and Keep It
• 30 Free Marketing Presentation Templates with Modern Design
• 35+ Free Infographic PowerPoint Templates to Power Your Presentations

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25 Ways to End a Speech or Presentation

You have just given a great presentation that had your audience wrapt the entire time, and it is time to bring it to a close. Just as you want to start your presentation strong, you want to finish strong to really bring home your point and leave your audience with a positive lasting impression. Here are 25 effective ways to end a speech or presentation.

1. Plan Your Closing Remarks Word for Word You have to be careful about how you end your speech or presentation, so planning your conclusion word for word is the best way to go. Ask yourself what the purpose of this speech is, and your answer should involve the actions that you want to see be taken by your listeners after you finish speaking. Be clear about the end result you prefer to have, and it will become much easier to create a conclusion that will motivate your listeners to take that action. Sometimes planning your close before the rest of your speech is the best strategy.

2. Quote Depending on what kind of quote you use, it can stay with audience members long after they leave the room. If you are presenting a speech about how to motivate staffs at the workplace, you can share tips and techniques that have worked for you, but a powerful way of getting your message across to the audience is to wrap your message around a simple quote that is relevant to what you discuss.

“Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company.” -Zig Ziglar

3. Call to Action The primary purpose of most business presentations is to compel the audience to take action. Use the last few minutes of your presentation to reinforce the call to action you seek. Whatever you say in telling the audience what to do, imagine an exclamation point at the end. Pick up your energy and tempo as you get to your conclusion, speak with authority and emphasis, and drive the final point home. Whether they agree or disagree with your message, you should make it perfectly clear to the audience what you are asking for. Examples of strong calls to action include:

“Finish the Fight” “Start the Adventure” “Improve the Process” “Contribute Today”

4. Summary Speeches have a simple formula. First, you tell people what you are going to tell them. Second, you tell them. Then, you tell them what you have told them. When you reach the end of your speech, say something like “Let me briefly restate my main points”, and you then list your main points one by one. By showing the audience how each point is linked with each other, they will learn to appreciate the structure of your message. Having a summary at the end is effective in getting the audience to understand why all of your points related to each other and mattered.

5. Close With A Story Especially if it is of personal significance to you, or if it illustrates how the presented content affects other people, telling a compelling story to end your presentation is one of the strongest ways to conclude. When approaching the end of your talk, you can say “Let me tell you a story that shows you what I mean” , then you tell the story that has a moral to it. You tell the audience what the moral is, and you don’t leave it to them to figure it out for themselves.

6. Humor Having a sense of humor lightens the mood of any speech, especially if your speech ends with laughs. Telling a joke that circles back into your core subject and repeats the main point you are making with a certain detail that makes the audience laugh will have a lasting impression. While it is not as easy as saying “Two bears walk into a bar”, highlighting a funny part of an otherwise serious story establishes common ground between you and the audience, and it won’t take away from the key points you were making in your speech.

7. Repetitive Close In some cases, repetition can be a negative thing, but when it comes to speeches and presentations it can play a pivotal role in motivating an audience. Find a phrase and structure it in a repetitive format that beats to its own drum, building to a crescendo ending of a motivational speech. As long as your chosen phrase remains consistent to the heart of your message, repeating the phrase brings the message home for your audience.

“Governments cannot legislate it. Judges cannot adjudicate it. Lawyers cannot litigate it. Politicians cannot appropriate it. Only you can orchestrate it.”

8. Be Poetic There are many great poems that contain messages that summarize the main points you want to make. Choose a poem that is moving, dramatic, or emotional, and it doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme. Some of the best poems ever made don’t rigidly rhyme word for word. As someone who writes speeches, this is the chance for you to express yourself in a creative way while you also keep the emphasis on the main points of your message. Delivering a powerful close to a speech sometimes involves having a poetic tone and structure, as long as you stay consistent with the core of your message.

9. A Running Clock PowerPoint has a feature where a timer is often seen in its software. You can use a timer to schedule breaks in between presentations, but you can also implement timers for speeches themselves, putting yourself on the spot as a speaker. In the “Create Your Own Change” talks run by marketing and advertising executive Dietmar Dahmen, a running clock accompanies his last statement. Dahmen normally says “Users rule, so stop waiting and start doing. And you have to do that now because time is running out.”

If you deliver a time-sensitive message and you want to urge your listeners to move quickly, add a background slide with a running timer to put more emphasis on your last statement.

10. Echo Close Focus on a single word in a quotation and continue to emphasize that word to echo your last statement. For example, if you want to wrap your message around the word “understand”, consider using it at least five times at the end of your speech. This will let the audience know that having a great understanding of the topic you are discussing matters.

“Once we understand what is required of us in advertising, we go forward with that knowledge. Successful advertisers understand that powerful messages sell. If you don’t understand how to sell, you can’t advertise. Understand that we are in this together as a team. Before we can grow our business, we must understand the business.”

11. Make It Clear You Have Concluded All too often there is the temptation for you to shuffle papers around, fidget with your clothes or microphone, or move forward, backward or sideways. If you do anything else aside from standing still like a tree, then chances are that you won’t make an impact when ending your speech. When you say your final words, they should be made clear. No ambiguity or confusion should be in the minds of your audience. They should know when it is over. When you finish, discipline yourself to stand perfectly still. Select a friendly face in the audience and look straight at that person.

12. Title Close Your speech should have a provocative title attached to it. Having a title that encapsulates your message memorably will stay in the minds of listeners for some time. Use the title of your speech as your closing words to encourage your audience to think harder about what they have just heard, reinforcing the title of the speech that you referenced earlier. Mentioning the title of your speech at the end allows you to bring everything logically back full circle.

13. Blank the Screen If you are using slides for your presentation, consider blanking the screen towards the end of it. This will change the mood of the audience in the room and it will force them to put their focus back on you as you deliver your last statement. If you know you are working with an audience that loves to see visuals, blanking the screen will send a message of its own to keep things in perspective. Afterward, you can refer back to the visuals you presented and reveal to the audience the main reasons why you presented them.

14. A Visual Image Sometimes you will be speaking to an audience that needs to see an image at the end to remember all the key points of what you said. End your presentation with a riveting visual that connects to your last statement. Leave this slide on when you finish, and give your audience enough time after your presentation to look at this image. Remember that famous saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” , and apply that saying to this close. A lasting image reinforces your message.

15. Bookend Close If you want to give your speech a bookend, then you will have to refer back to your opening anecdote or quote and say something like “Now we have arrived at where we began.” After saying this, reiterate the message that you want your audience to remember. The classic three-part speech outline of “Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them, then tell them what you just told them” will be completed with closings like this. By coming back full circle to what you said in the beginning, the entirety of your message will be remembered more clearly by the audience.

16. Movie or Book Close Making a reference to a well-known movie or book will allow the audience to view your speech from a different angle. If you want to provide a history lesson to the audience, you can refer back to the 1915 film “The Birth of a Nation” and its last line of “Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever!” , and use this line to relate to your political message. You can also refer to fictional stories like “The Prince and the Pauper” and how its ending can relate to a message about the economy. “That means that as long as you live, you’ll have money to live on. And if anybody’s unkind or cruel to you, they’ve committed an offense against the Crown.”

17. Thanking People or Companies There are times when it is appropriate for you to thank people publicly for helping you. These times include when you present a research paper and want to thank people involved in the project, presenting data or information obtained from a company or person, or when someone gave you considerable help in building a presentation that was particularly complex to begin with. If you are using PowerPoint to show slides, use its credits feature to spruce up your speech.

18. End with a Statement One mistake you will often make when you are just beginning your journey in public speaking is that you end your speeches by asking the audience a question. Upward inflection is a question, and this means that you are implying to the audience that there is more coming. Saving questions for the end doesn’t work well. Downward inflection is a statement. When you know for certain that you have a strong ending, you automatically speak with authority, which makes it easier to add impact with your voice and emphasize your message.

19. Let Them Applaud When you finish your speech, the audience members will want to give start clapping. What they will need from you will be a clear signal that now is the time to begin applauding. Some people will recognize sooner than others that you have finished. In many cases, when it becomes clear that you have stopped talking, the audience members will be silent. They may not know what to do until someone else does something. Within seconds one will start clapping, then another, and then the entire audience will clap. You look at the first person who starts clapping and say “Thank you”, and let the round of applause come.

20. Cartoon or Animation Sometimes a single visual image that doesn’t change won’t be enough to illustrate your final point to the audience. Depending on what your speech is about, you will find the need to use a relevant cartoon or short animation to convey your message to the masses. For example, if you want to warn people not to fall into any holes that the business world has in store for them, you can play a short clip of a cartoon character walking down a road and then falling into a hole. Have your message relate to becoming more aware of the dangers that can come from unhealthy work environments.

21. Third-Party Close Leverage the use of a quotation in the context of your message. Use the premise of that quotation to frame your closing. This will serve as a launching pad to lift up your message for the audience to better appreciate. Here is how you can conclude a speech on the importance of embracing change:

“Change plays a significant role in life. Recall the insight of President Abraham Lincoln, staring at a Civil War and fighting the near 100-year long tradition of slavery in the United States, Lincoln addressed change by saying:

‘The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present and future. As our circumstances are new, we must think anew and act anew.’

We need to look at this old issue in a new way, not simply for today but to make our tomorrows more rewarding, more fulfilling, and more compelling because of the change we make today. With your help, we can think anew and act anew on the issue before us today.”

22. Callback Close If you started your speech with a story, but some activity in it wasn’t fully completed, it would be wise to finish your story and close it around your theme. Here is how to call back to your story:

“Remember that paintbrush that toddler held so gently in his hands? Well, now those same gentle hands are poised skillfully for designing graphics. Today he runs a graphic design company.”

23. Sing Song Close Ask the audience to repeat a phrase that you used several times in your speech. If your phrase happens to be “We finish the race together” , you repeat that phrase many times over, and just before you finish your speech, you say: “I know that all of you are talented and driven. I know that this race can be long and tiring, but we don’t quit on each other. We (pause) finish the race (pause until the audience responds) together.”

24. Surprise Introduction of a Person Making an emphatic final statement about your speech sometimes involves the element of surprise. Throughout your speech, you will mention a person you have known well to the audience, and they will start thinking about this person. They will wonder why this person is important to you. At the end of your speech provide a brilliant bridge to your conversations with the audience afterward by introducing that person on stage. Having that person attend your speech and confirm your message will make that person a success story in the eyes of the audience.

25. Rhetorical Question It is recommended to avoid asking the audience general questions where they expect more to come from your speech. However, asking a single rhetorical question, in a way that challenges the audience, can have an impact. Listeners are generally drawn into thinking about an answer, and they can engage when the question is provocative, or when it touches potentially sensitive areas in our lives. You could say “I’d like to end by asking you the future of grocery stores, will they be completely taken over by automation in the next 20 years?”

How you close your presentation will depend on the content and tone of what you have just presented. Regardless of which strategy you choose to use, closing your speech with one of these strategies will ensure that your presentation finishes strong and resonates with your audience.

Speech Writing

Presentation Speech

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Presentations are a common part of our personal and professional lives. Whether you're a student, an employee, or an entrepreneur, mastering the art of presentations is a valuable skill.

A well-crafted presentation speech can inspire, inform, and engage your audience, leaving a lasting impact. 

So how can you craft an engaging presentation speech?

In this guide, we will walk you through the process of creating and delivering a compelling presentation, step by step. From writing your speech to mastering public speaking techniques, we've got you covered. 

So, let's dive in! 

• 1. What is a Presentation Speech?
• 2. How to Write a Presentation Speech?
• 3. How to Start a Presentation Speech?
• 4. How to End a Presentation Speech? 
• 5. Presentation Speech Examples 
• 6. Tips for Making Your Presentations More Engaging
• 7. Presentation Speech Topics

What is a Presentation Speech?

A presentation speech is a type of speech that serves to convey information, share ideas, persuade, or inspire a specific audience. A presentation speech is carefully planned and typically delivered in a formal setting, such as a classroom, a boardroom, or a conference.

In other words, a presentation speech can be defined as: 

A public speech that attempts to inform or convey a particular message effectively to a specific audience. 

Main Components of a Presentation Speech

The key elements that set a presentation speech apart are its intentionality and structure. Here's a breakdown of these crucial aspects: 

• Purpose 

Every presentation speech has a clear purpose, which could be:

• To persuade
• To entertain
• To inspire and motivate 

Understanding your purpose is the foundation upon which you build your speech.

A presentation speech typically follows a structured format that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction lays out the context, the body conveys the main content, and the conclusion reinforces the key points. 

Effective presentation speeches are tailored to the needs and expectations of the audience. Knowing your audience helps you choose the right tone, style, and content.

• Visual Aids

Presentation speeches often make use of visual aids like slides, props, or multimedia elements to enhance the message and keep the audience engaged.

How to Write a Presentation Speech?

Creating an effective presentation speech requires careful planning and organization. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you write a presentation speech effectively:

Determine the Audience

The first step in crafting a presentation speech is to understand your audience. Consider their background, knowledge, interests, and expectations. Are they experts in the subject, or are they new to it? This information will shape the tone and depth of your speech.

Choose a Topic

Select a topic that aligns with both your expertise and the interests of your audience. Your topic should be engaging and relevant. It could be a current issue, a problem-solving solution, or a subject of general interest. Make sure your passion for the topic shines through.

Research and Gather Information

To build a strong speech, gather credible information from a variety of sources. Use books, articles, online resources, and expert interviews. Keep track of your sources and make note of key statistics, quotes, and examples that support your message.

Make an Outline

Creating a structured outline for your presentation speech is essential for keeping your message organized and ensuring that your audience can follow your points easily. 

Here's how to construct a well-organized presentation speech outline:

Review and Revise

After you've written your speech, review it for clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Here are the steps you should take for reviewing your speech:

• Ensure that each point supports your main message and is easy to understand. 
• Check for grammar and spelling errors.
• Practice your speech in front of a mirror or with a friend. Pay attention to your delivery, pacing, and timing. Make necessary revisions based on your practice sessions.

Remember that a well-written presentation speech not only conveys your knowledge but also connects with your audience on a personal level. Your goal is to inform, persuade, or inspire, and the steps outlined here will help you achieve just that.

How to Start a Presentation Speech?

Now that you’ve written your presentation and its content, the time has come to deliver your speech. So, how to open a presentation speech effectively? 

The beginning of your presentation speech is your chance to make a strong first impression and captivate your audience's attention. 

Here are key steps to help you start your presentation speech effectively:

Begin with a Hook

Grab your audience's attention with a compelling opening. This could be a surprising fact, a thought-provoking quote, a relevant anecdote, or even a rhetorical question. The goal is to pique their interest right from the start.

Here are some example phrases that you can use to catch your audience’s interest:

• "Did you know that..."
• "Imagine a world where..."
• "I'd like to start with a story..."
• "Have you ever wondered why..."
• "Let's begin with a surprising statistic..."
• "Picture this scenario..."
• "Today, I want to share a secret with you..."
• "What if I told you that..."
• "To get your attention, I'll start with a riddle..."
• "I have a question for you:"

Learn more about crafting better hook statements with our complete guide to writing engaging hooks with hook examples .

Introduce Yourself

After the hook, briefly introduce yourself. Share your name and a few words about your background or expertise that make you a credible source on the topic. 

These example phrases below demonstrate how you can get the audience to know you:

• "Hello, I'm [Your Name], and I've been working in [relevant field] for [number of years]."
• "I'm [Your Name], and I've had the privilege of [mention significant achievement or experience]."
• "Good [morning/afternoon/evening], my name is [Name], and I'm here as a [your role] at [your organization]."
• "For those of you who don't know me, I'm [Your Name], and I specialize in [relevant expertise]."
• "It's a pleasure to be here with you today; I'm [Your Name], and my journey in [relevant field] has been truly inspiring."

Make sure to keep your introduction short and direct. If you take 20 minutes to introduce yourself, you might lose the audience’s interest in your speech. So, keep it clear and short. 

Mention the Topic or Purpose

After hinting at the topic through the hook and introducing yourself, you should clearly state the purpose or topic of your presentation. 

Let your audience know what they can expect to learn or gain from your presentation. This sets the stage for your audience, giving them a sense of direction.

• "Today, I'm going to share with you the key strategies to..."
• "The purpose of this presentation is to shed light on..."
• "In the next [time duration], I will explore the critical aspects of..."
• "I aim to help you understand the importance of..."
• "By the end of this presentation, you'll have a clear grasp of..."
• "Our goal today is to uncover the secrets of..."
• "I want you to leave here with actionable insights into..."
• "My objective is to show you how to achieve [specific goal]."
• "We're going to dive deep into the world of [presentation topic], and you'll walk away with..."

How to End a Presentation Speech? 

The conclusion of your presentation speech is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impact on your audience. A strong conclusion should effectively summarize your key points, reinforce your message, and inspire action or reflection. 

Here's how to end a presentation speech on a high note:

Summarize Key Points

Begin by recapping the main takeaways of your speech. Summarize the key points in a concise and clear manner. This reinforces the core message and helps your audience remember what you've shared.

Here are some helpful phrases you can use:

• "To recap our journey today..."
• "In conclusion, let's revisit the key takeaways..."
• "In summary, we've explored..."
• "To sum it up..."
• "As a quick reminder..."
• "So, to put it all together..."
• "In a nutshell..."
• "To reiterate our main points..."
• "Let's briefly go over what we've learned..."
• "In brief..."

End with Impact

Craft a memorable closing statement that reinforces the significance of your topic. This statement can be a thought-provoking quote, a powerful anecdote, or a call to action It should be emotionally engaging and leave a strong impression.

If your presentation aims to inspire action or change, make a clear and persuasive call to action. Encourage your audience to take specific steps based on the information you've provided. Whether it's signing a petition, making a change in their personal lives, or joining a cause, specify what you want them to do next.

For instance, you can end with these impactful words:

• "As we conclude, consider this..."
• "To leave you with something to ponder..."
• "This statistic is a sobering reminder..."
• "Let's close with an inspiring story..."
• "As we finish, remember..."
• "I want you to carry this message with you..
• "Now, I encourage you to take the next step..."
• "Let's turn knowledge into action..."
• "I challenge each of you to..."
• "It's time to make a difference, starting with..."

Thank the Audience

Express gratitude to your audience for their time and attention. A simple "thank you" goes a long way in building rapport and goodwill. 

You can also take some ideas from these “thank you” phrases:

• "I want to express my sincere gratitude to each one of you for being here today."
• "Thank you all for your time and attention throughout this presentation."
• "I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to share this information with you."
• "Your presence here means a lot, and I appreciate your engagement."
• "I'd like to take a moment to thank you for joining me in this discussion."
• "A big thank you to our attentive audience for being a part of this conversation."
• "I appreciate your willingness to be here and participate in this presentation."
• "Your presence has made this presentation more meaningful."
• "Thank you for being such a wonderful and responsive audience."
• "Your interest in this topic is greatly appreciated."

Open the Floor for Questions (if applicable) 

If you plan to have a question-and-answer session, invite your audience to ask questions. Be prepared to provide thoughtful and informative responses. The conclusion of your presentation speech should leave your audience feeling informed, inspired, and motivated. 

Presentation Speech Examples 

Taking help from good and structured presentation speeches will allow you to write and deliver the address smoothly. Here are some examples of presentation speeches you can follow to write a well-structured presentation. 

Award Presentation Speech Example

Product Presentation Speech Example

Thesis Presentation Speech Example

Presentation Speech Script Sample

Presentation Speech Template

Tips for Making Your Presentations More Engaging

Delivering a presentation speech that captivates your audience and leaves a lasting impression requires more than just good content. It also involves effective communication and engaging delivery. 

Here are some essential tips for giving better presentations:

Master Your Body Language

Sometimes, your body language speaks more than your words – make it say 'confident and engaging.'

• Maintain good posture; stand or sit tall with confidence.
• Make eye contact with your audience to establish a connection.
• Use hand gestures purposefully to emphasize key points.
• Move around the stage or speaking area to engage with different audience members.
• Smile and convey enthusiasm; it's contagious.

Focus on Voice and Tone

Presentations depend on your ability to speak. Use your speech strategically to enhance your presentation.

• Speak clearly and at a moderate pace, ensuring everyone can understand you.
• Vary your tone and pitch to avoid a monotone delivery.
• Use pauses strategically to emphasize important points or allow your audience to digest information.
• Adjust your volume to ensure everyone in the room can hear you without straining.
• Practice vocal warm-up exercises to avoid vocal strain.

Prepare for Nervousness & Anxiety

Embrace the butterflies in your stomach as the energy that fuels a stellar presentation. Here’s how you can do that:

• Prepare thoroughly; knowledge and practice reduce anxiety.
• Deep breathing and relaxation techniques can help calm nerves before and during your presentation.
• Visualize a successful presentation and focus on your message rather than your anxiety.
• Embrace the natural adrenaline rush as a source of energy and enthusiasm.
• Start with a familiar or engaging point to build confidence.

Welcome Questions and Feedback

The question and answer session can be a great opportunity to engage with your audience. Make it successful with these tips:

• Encourage questions and feedback to engage your audience and clarify any doubts.
• Be polite and patient when responding to questions or criticism.
• Use feedback as an opportunity for conversation and engagement.
• Anticipate relevant and common questions and practice their answers beforehand.

Tailor to Your Audience

The best speeches are those that are loved by the audience. Tailor your speech according to their expectations.

• Customize your speech to the interests and needs of your specific audience.
• Use language and examples that resonate with your listeners.
• Address any potential concerns or objections your audience might have.
• Research your audience's background and preferences in advance.
• Make sure your content is relevant and relatable to your audience.

Engaging Visual Aids

Visual aids should enhance, not overpower, your speech. Here is how to use them effectively:

• Use slides or visual aids sparingly, and keep them simple and clear.
• Avoid overcrowding slides with text; use visuals to complement your spoken words.
• Ensure that visuals are easy to read and understand from a distance.
• Practice with your visual aids to smoothly incorporate them into your speech.
• Be prepared to present without visual aids in case of technical issues.

Presentation Speech Topics

Now that you know how to write and deliver an engaging presentation, you may be wondering about a topic to speak on. You need a strong and interesting topic to make your presentation speech impactful. 

Here are some compelling presentation speech ideas to help you out:

• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market
• Climate Change and Sustainable Practices
• The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
• The Art of Time Management
• The Future of Renewable Energy
• The Psychology of Decision-Making
• Mental Health Awareness and Reducing Stigma:
• Innovations in Space Exploration
• The Art of Negotiation
• The Role of Music in Society

Looking for compelling and thought-provoking topics for your presentation speech? Check out 100+ informative speech topics to inspire your next presentation.

To Conclude,

In the world of presentations, your ability to inform and persuade relies on the way you craft and deliver your speech. Mastering the art of a presentation speech requires careful planning, engaging delivery, and an accurate understanding of your audience.

So remember to make your outline, use engaging visual aids, and practice effective body language. With practice, patience, and passion, you can become a confident and impactful presenter. 

Need further help in making your presentation speech? No worries! 

MyPerfectWords.com is a professional paper writing service that provides high-quality service for all academic assignments. Whether you have a speech or a research paper to write, come to us. We have a team of experts to help you with all your writing needs. 

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Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

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Biden teaming up with Obama, Clinton in New York City for major campaign fundraiser

The campaign expects to raise $25 million from the fundraiser.

President Joe Biden is teaming up with two of his Democratic predecessors -- former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton -- to ramp up enthusiasm for his reelection campaign at a star-studded fundraiser Thursday night in New York City.

The evening is expected to rake in more than $25 million, a “historic” sum for a single event, according to the campaign. It will begin with a virtual pre-program featuring Biden, Obama and Clinton, and hosted by Biden’s campaign manager.

Afterward, actress Mindy Kaling will host the program inside Radio City Music Hall featuring musical guests Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele. They will make appearances in front of a sold-out audience of 5,000 people. The campaign sent fundraising emails to supporters offering a link to tune in virtually in exchange for a donation.

First lady Jill Biden is scheduled to kick off the evening of performances that culminate with the main event: an armchair conversation with Biden, Obama and Clinton moderated by late-night comedian Stephen Colbert.

Tickets for the event ranged from $225 to $500,000. It could shape up to be the most lucrative event for Democrats in history.

"Democrats are unified and energized behind President Biden's reelection campaign -- and that will be on full display this Thursday in New York City," Biden-Harris spokesperson Kevin Munoz said. Munoz, in the statement, attacked Donald Trump, on the other hand, as lacking money and energy and facing challenges like reluctance from some GOP primary voters and criticism from his former vice president, Mike Pence.

The fundraiser is part of a major push by the campaign to raise a large sum of money before the end-of-month Federal Election Commission deadline to continue to show the president's fundraising strength. The campaign said it and the Democratic National Committee, along with their joint fundraising committees, raised $53 million in February.

Biden and Obama were seen arriving together in New York City on Thursday afternoon, hours before the event, which also comes as Biden continues to see protests while campaigning over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war -- with a rally at a Virginia theater in January seeing at least 14 disruptions.

Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, helped to spearhead the Thursday event along with movie mogul and Biden campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, campaign finance chair Rufus Gifford and Biden Victory Fund finance chair Chris Korge, according to the campaign.

Select guests will have the opportunity to have their portrait taken with the three presidents by the famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. There will also be a virtual conversation with the three presidents and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, ahead of an after-party hosted by the first lady and featuring DJ D-Nice.

MORE: Biden-Harris raised over $53M in February for strongest month since launch: Campaign

The star-studded evening comes as Biden ramps up campaigning for the general election with seven months to go. Since his State of the Union address, Biden has crisscrossed the country to visit battleground states in what the campaign is calling a "month of action."

Last week, during a visit to the White House, Obama taped videos with Biden highlighting the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and for future fundraising. The former president has been featured in two of the campaign's digital ads so far this cycle, with more recorded and ready to roll out soon, according to the campaign.

The former president, who remains popular among Democrats’ base, has already proved to be a lucrative asset.

Grassroots fundraising content signed by or featuring Obama has generated more than $15.4 million for Biden's reelection this cycle, according to the campaign, with a "Meet the Presidents" event featuring Obama and Biden in December raising close to $3 million.

The Thursday fundraiser is the first joint public campaign event for Biden and Obama. The former president is expected to participate in major fundraising events and travel the country on behalf of Biden leading into November.

"Given the stakes of this election, President Obama will do all he can to support President Biden's reelection," Obama senior adviser Eric Schultz said. "In fact, he looks forward to helping Democrats up and down the ballot make the case to voters this fall. Our strategy will be based on driving impact, especially where and when his voice can help move the needle."

Trump, meanwhile, is also fundraising off of the event, sending several emails as the Biden event was being planned with the subject line, "Obama is back!"

"I have something better," he said in a pitch last month. "I HAVE YOU & MILLIONS OF PATRIOTIC AMERICANS WHO WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Katzenberg called Thursday's event a "testament to the unprecedented fundraising machine we’ve built."

“Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the President's historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election,” his statement continued. “The numbers don’t lie: today’s event is a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to reelect the Biden-Harris ticket.”

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