Your speech conclusion – leave your audience with something to remember

He is a beautiful human being;

damaged by the breaking he went through

now humbly rebuilding his life,

learning who he is now and what he is capable of,

slowly, slowly expanding his skills and confidence.

And knowing that, and being the humble human being he is,

he ends his speeches with “Thank you.”

And that’s OK

within our group where everything is set up to be safe to experiment, to grow and learn.

I am encouraging him to lose the “Thank you” when he is ready.

He’s not ready.

He’s keeping safe, keeping humble, not stressing outside his limits.

Because otherwise, he will end up back in the mess, back in hospital.

It is a wonderful process to watch.  Each speech inches closer to the goals we set.

Like Jared (not his real name), you have to end your speech in a way that fits with your brand, your personality, your message.  We all do.

But wherever you are, beginning tentatively like Jared, or further along the road, please, please aim NOT to end your presentation in “Thank you.”

It’s not, as far as I am concerned, that your audience needs to thank you, (though hopefully they will) – which is the normal explanation for this advice.  There’s too much ego in that for me.

But what is important, is that this is one of the most powerful parts of a speech and you waste it, with “Thank You”. 

What will you you do with the one sentence, the one paragraph that should stay in their minds, because it’s the last thing they heard?

What I encourage you to do, as I encourage Jared and as I endeavour to do in all my own presentations whether in advocacy, teaching or marketing

is to finish with a piece of rhetoric/speaking/presentation that embeds in the minds of your audience, whatever we have spent the whole speech encouraging the audience to do – and do might mean to think, to say, to action.

Our whole presentation has that one focus.  One.  And the conclusion leaves our audiences in no doubt about that focus, that message.

You can use any number of devices from quotes to stories to calls-to-action to simple body language and many more.

You can invite, challenge, confront, inspire, educate – whatever fits your own presentation style and message, but do it and do it with strength so that your audience is left in no doubt as to the importance of doing just what you recommended.

Enjoy the challenge, my friends.