how to end your presentation speech

30 Examples: How to Conclude a Presentation (Effective Closing Techniques)

By Status.net Editorial Team on March 4, 2024 — 9 minutes to read

Ending a presentation on a high note is a skill that can set you apart from the rest. It’s the final chance to leave an impact on your audience, ensuring they walk away with the key messages embedded in their minds. This moment is about driving your points home and making sure they resonate. Crafting a memorable closing isn’t just about summarizing key points, though that’s part of it, but also about providing value that sticks with your listeners long after they’ve left the room.

Crafting Your Core Message

To leave a lasting impression, your presentation’s conclusion should clearly reflect your core message. This is your chance to reinforce the takeaways and leave the audience thinking about your presentation long after it ends.

Identifying Key Points

Start by recognizing what you want your audience to remember. Think about the main ideas that shaped your talk. Make a list like this:

• The problem your presentation addresses.
• The evidence that supports your argument.
• The solution you propose or the action you want the audience to take.

These key points become the pillars of your core message.

Contextualizing the Presentation

Provide context by briefly relating back to the content of the whole presentation. For example:

• Reference a statistic you shared in the opening, and how it ties into the conclusion.
• Mention a case study that underlines the importance of your message.

Connecting these elements gives your message cohesion and makes your conclusion resonate with the framework of your presentation.

30 Example Phrases: How to Conclude a Presentation

• 1. “In summary, let’s revisit the key takeaways from today’s presentation.”
• 2. “Thank you for your attention. Let’s move forward together.”
• 3. “That brings us to the end. I’m open to any questions you may have.”
• 4. “I’ll leave you with this final thought to ponder as we conclude.”
• 5. “Let’s recap the main points before we wrap up.”
• 6. “I appreciate your engagement. Now, let’s turn these ideas into action.”
• 7. “We’ve covered a lot today. To conclude, remember these crucial points.”
• 8. “As we reach the end, I’d like to emphasize our call to action.”
• 9. “Before we close, let’s quickly review what we’ve learned.”
• 10. “Thank you for joining me on this journey. I look forward to our next steps.”
• 11. “In closing, I’d like to thank everyone for their participation.”
• 12. “Let’s conclude with a reminder of the impact we can make together.”
• 13. “To wrap up our session, here’s a brief summary of our discussion.”
• 14. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to present to you. Any final thoughts?”
• 15. “And that’s a wrap. I welcome any final questions or comments.”
• 16. “As we conclude, let’s remember the objectives we’ve set today.”
• 17. “Thank you for your time. Let’s apply these insights to achieve success.”
• 18. “In conclusion, your feedback is valuable, and I’m here to listen.”
• 19. “Before we part, let’s take a moment to reflect on our key messages.”
• 20. “I’ll end with an invitation for all of us to take the next step.”
• 21. “As we close, let’s commit to the goals we’ve outlined today.”
• 22. “Thank you for your attention. Let’s keep the conversation going.”
• 23. “In conclusion, let’s make a difference, starting now.”
• 24. “I’ll leave you with these final words to consider as we end our time together.”
• 25. “Before we conclude, remember that change starts with our actions today.”
• 26. “Thank you for the lively discussion. Let’s continue to build on these ideas.”
• 27. “As we wrap up, I encourage you to reach out with any further questions.”
• 28. “In closing, I’d like to express my gratitude for your valuable input.”
• 29. “Let’s conclude on a high note and take these learnings forward.”
• 30. “Thank you for your time today. Let’s end with a commitment to progress.”

Summarizing the Main Points

When you reach the end of your presentation, summarizing the main points helps your audience retain the important information you’ve shared. Crafting a memorable summary enables your listeners to walk away with a clear understanding of your message.

Effective Methods of Summarization

To effectively summarize your presentation, you need to distill complex information into concise, digestible pieces. Start by revisiting the overarching theme of your talk and then narrow down to the core messages. Use plain language and imagery to make the enduring ideas stick. Here are some examples of how to do this:

• Use analogies that relate to common experiences to recap complex concepts.
• Incorporate visuals or gestures that reinforce your main arguments.

The Rule of Three

The Rule of Three is a classic writing and communication principle. It means presenting ideas in a trio, which is a pattern that’s easy for people to understand and remember. For instance, you might say, “Our plan will save time, cut costs, and improve quality.” This structure has a pleasing rhythm and makes the content more memorable. Some examples include:

• “This software is fast, user-friendly, and secure.”
• Pointing out a product’s “durability, affordability, and eco-friendliness.”

Reiterating the Main Points

Finally, you want to circle back to the key takeaways of your presentation. Rephrase your main points without introducing new information. This reinforcement supports your audience’s memory and understanding of the material. You might summarize key takeaways like this:

• Mention the problem you addressed, the solution you propose, and the benefits of this solution.
• Highlighting the outcomes of adopting your strategy: higher efficiency, greater satisfaction, and increased revenue.

Creating a Strong Conclusion

The final moments of your presentation are your chance to leave your audience with a powerful lasting impression. A strong conclusion is more than just summarizing—it’s your opportunity to invoke thought, inspire action, and make your message memorable.

Incorporating a Call to Action

A call to action is your parting request to your audience. You want to inspire them to take a specific action or think differently as a result of what they’ve heard. To do this effectively:

• Be clear about what you’re asking.
• Explain why their action is needed.
• Make it as simple as possible for them to take the next steps.

Example Phrases:

• “Start making a difference today by…”
• “Join us in this effort by…”
• “Take the leap and commit to…”

Leaving a Lasting Impression

End your presentation with something memorable. This can be a powerful quote, an inspirational statement, or a compelling story that underscores your main points. The goal here is to resonate with your audience on an emotional level so that your message sticks with them long after they leave.

• “In the words of [Influential Person], ‘…'”
• “Imagine a world where…”
• “This is more than just [Topic]; it’s about…”

Enhancing Audience Engagement

To hold your audience’s attention and ensure they leave with a lasting impression of your presentation, fostering interaction is key.

Q&A Sessions

It’s important to integrate a Q&A session because it allows for direct communication between you and your audience. This interactive segment helps clarify any uncertainties and encourages active participation. Plan for this by designating a time slot towards the end of your presentation and invite questions that promote discussion.

• “I’d love to hear your thoughts; what questions do you have?”
• “Let’s dive into any questions you might have. Who would like to start?”
• “Feel free to ask any questions, whether they’re clarifications or deeper inquiries about the topic.”

Encouraging Audience Participation

Getting your audience involved can transform a good presentation into a great one. Use open-ended questions that provoke thought and allow audience members to reflect on how your content relates to them. Additionally, inviting volunteers to participate in a demonstration or share their experiences keeps everyone engaged and adds a personal touch to your talk.

• “Could someone give me an example of how you’ve encountered this in your work?”
• “I’d appreciate a volunteer to help demonstrate this concept. Who’s interested?”
• “How do you see this information impacting your daily tasks? Let’s discuss!”

Delivering a Persuasive Ending

At the end of your presentation, you have the power to leave a lasting impact on your audience. A persuasive ending can drive home your key message and encourage action.

Sales and Persuasion Tactics

When you’re concluding a presentation with the goal of selling a product or idea, employ carefully chosen sales and persuasion tactics. One method is to summarize the key benefits of your offering, reminding your audience why it’s important to act. For example, if you’ve just presented a new software tool, recap how it will save time and increase productivity. Another tactic is the ‘call to action’, which should be clear and direct, such as “Start your free trial today to experience the benefits first-hand!” Furthermore, using a touch of urgency, like “Offer expires soon!”, can nudge your audience to act promptly.

Final Impressions and Professionalism

Your closing statement is a chance to solidify your professional image and leave a positive impression. It’s important to display confidence and poise. Consider thanking your audience for their time and offering to answer any questions. Make sure to end on a high note by summarizing your message in a concise and memorable way. If your topic was on renewable energy, you might conclude by saying, “Let’s take a leap towards a greener future by adopting these solutions today.” This reinforces your main points and encourages your listeners to think or act differently when they leave.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some creative strategies for ending a presentation memorably.

To end your presentation in a memorable way, consider incorporating a call to action that engages your audience to take the next step. Another strategy is to finish with a thought-provoking question or a surprising fact that resonates with your listeners.

Can you suggest some powerful quotes suitable for concluding a presentation?

Yes, using a quote can be very effective. For example, Maya Angelou’s “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” can reinforce the emotional impact of your presentation.

What is an effective way to write a conclusion that summarizes a presentation?

An effective conclusion should recap the main points succinctly, highlighting what you want your audience to remember. A good way to conclude is by restating your thesis and then briefly summarizing the supporting points you made.

As a student, how can I leave a strong impression with my presentation’s closing remarks?

To leave a strong impression, consider sharing a personal anecdote related to your topic that demonstrates passion and conviction. This helps humanize your content and makes the message more relatable to your audience.

How can I appropriately thank my audience at the close of my presentation?

A simple and sincere expression of gratitude is always appropriate. You might say, “Thank you for your attention and engagement today,” to convey appreciation while also acknowledging their participation.

What are some examples of a compelling closing sentence in a presentation?

A compelling closing sentence could be something like, “Together, let’s take the leap towards a greener future,” if you’re presenting on sustainability. This sentence is impactful, calls for united action, and leaves your audience with a clear message.

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6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style (& Tools to Use)

Written by: Ashish Arora

Picture this: You've just delivered an amazing presentation that had your audience hooked from the start. The excitement in the room is glaring as you reach the final moments of your presentations.

Now, it's time to close with a bang and leave a lasting impression.

The way you conclude your presentation holds immense power. That’s the defining moment that cements your message in the minds of your audience.

So how do you wrap up your presentation in a memorable way and leave your audience feeling inspired? That’s why we created this article to teach you how to end a presentation.

In this article, we're going to explore six awesome ways to close your presentation with style. These techniques will help you leave a lasting impact and make your audience go "Wow!"

Get ready to level up your presentation skills and charm your audience with these proven closing techniques.

Table of Contents

6 ways to close your presentation with style, tools to help you create a presentation, key phrases to end a presentation.

• How to Start a Presentation
• Top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid
• How you end your presentation can make all the difference in solidifying your message and leaving your audience with a sense of purpose.
• Level up your presentation skills and charm your audience with these proven closing techniques: include a strong call-to-action (CTA), don't end with a question and answer slide; conclude with a memorable quote, tell a story, summarize your main points and thank the audience.
• Here are some ways you can start your presentation on a strong note: make a bold claim, give them the unexpected, pique curiosity, ask questions and tell a story.
• Avoid these top presentation mistakes: lack of adequate presentation, being robotic, avoiding eye contact, starting and ending weak.
• Visme, Prezi, Slidebean and Google Slides are four stand-out tools you can use to create stunning and effective presentations.
• Visme’s presentation software offers a wide range of templates and extensive features to help you create next-level presentations.

There’s no question that grabbing your audience’s attention at the very beginning of your presentation is important. But how you end it can make all the difference in your presentation’s overall impact.

Here are some ways to ensure you end powerfully:

• Way #1: Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)
• Way #2: Don't End With a Q&A
• Way #3: End With a Memorable Quote
• Way #4: Close With a Story
• Way #5: Drive Your Main Points Home
• Way #6: Thank and Acknowledge

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1. Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

If you’re a business owner, the primary purpose of your presentation is to inspire the audience to action. Don’t assume they will take it, move them to it.

Use powerful words that are definitive and instructional. Calls-to-action like “Begin the journey” or “Join the fight” are to-the-point and let the audience know what to do.

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2. Don’t End with a Q&A

You’ve just spent 20-30 minutes wowing your audience and now you’re going to let your presentation fizzle out with a Q&A? Beyond the fact that you are never in full control of what questions you will be asked, Q&As are just not memorable.

So how do you end a presentation with a bang? It is better to take questions throughout the presentation. This way the questions asked are relevant to the particular information being shared and you can ensure your audience is keeping up with you.

If you have been forced to structure your presentation so that questions are taken at the end, make sure to allow yourself a minute or two after the Q&A. Use this time to close the presentation with your final takeaways and messages of inspiration.

3. End with a Memorable Quote

Sometimes, if you can’t find the perfect words to end with, use someone else’s words.

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”  –Charles Swindoll

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” –John Lennon

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” –Steve Jobs

These are pretty powerful words, no? Use quotes like these when you wrap up your presentation, or add them in your final slide to leave a strong impression.

4. Close with a Story

If opening with a compelling story works, there’s a very good chance that closing with one will as well. While a story at the beginning was an effective lead-in to your message, a story at the end can creatively sum up the information you have shared.

A word of caution: don’t end with a case study. Many business owners do this. Case studies are great for the middle of your presentation. But for the conclusion, you want a meaningful story that affects your audience emotionally and causes them to remember your message for a long, long time.

5. Drive Your Main Points Home

Your audience will appreciate some form of summation at the end that will act as a linear representation of what they’ve just heard.  There is a simple summary formula that many professional speakers use in the ending slide:

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

You can simply say something like, “Before I leave you with my final thoughts about XYZ, let me briefly restate my main takeaways…” Don’t just list your key points but show the audience how each links to the other points.

Giving a successful presentation takes a lot of work and commitment. By creating a powerful opening and closing, you will ensure that your message is not only fully received but impactful as well.

6.  Thank and Acknowledge

If you're finding it hard to signal to your audience that your presentation has ended and it's time to applaud, thanking them can be a great way to do so. Including an end slide or thank you slide can make things easier.

At the end of your presentation, you can also acknowledge any companies or people who helped you put together your presentation, such as a website you used as a data source.

Now that you know how to end a presentation effectively, let's find out how you can create one that speaks for itself.

A well-designed slide deck can not only help you better convey your message, but it can also make you feel more confident about your presentation.

Here are four tools you can use to create stunning and effective presentations.

Visme is a robust visual content creation tool and presentation software that transforms how users create and deliver captivating presentations. With a wide range of customizable templates, an extensive asset library and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can level up your presentation and captivate your audience like never before.

Here are some of the standard features of Visme's presentation software.

• Generate a set of branded templates tailored to your brand using Visme's AI-powered brand design tool .
• Easily record projects and presentations for your audience to view on their own time and pace with Visme Presenter studio .
• Create beautiful data visualizations , charts , graphs , and infographics that will effectively communicate your information.
• Transform boring presentation slides into enriching experiences that keep your audience engaged with interactive features using pop ups, hover effects, slide transitions, interactive charts, maps, quizzes and videos.
•  Generate high-quality content,  proofread or create an outline for your presentation using Visme's AI text generator .
• Take your presentation to a whole new level with our comprehensive library of royalty-free images, icons, illustrations, graphics, and pre-designed content blocks.
• Unleash your creativity with the help of Visme’s AI image generator . All you need to do is input your prompt and you can generate unique photos, paintings, pencil drawings, 3D graphics, icons, abstract art, and more.
• Drive seamless collaboration with Visme's collaborative features make teamwork a breeze. You can collaborate with colleagues and clients in real-time, leave comments, and make edits together, ensuring a smooth and efficient workflow. Say goodbye to email attachments and enjoy seamless collaboration all in one place.
• When you’re sold on your final presentation design , you can download it in multiple formats, including PPTX, PDF, PDF or as a shareable link . You can present directly from Visme, embed your presentation on websites, or download it for offline use.

If you're racing against the clock, use Visme's AI presentation maker to create stunning presentations in seconds. Just explain what you want to create, provide more context, select your preferred designs and watch the tool unleash its magic.

Get started with our Starter plan and enjoy full access to templates and assets. Or upgrade to a Pro plan to access team collaboration and brand management features. Our Visme for Teams plans offer enterprise-level features like custom sub-domains, team collaboration, custom integrations and more.

The master of non-linear presentations, Prezi, lets you create slide decks that are bound to stand out from others.

While the learning curve of Prezi can be steep for some people, it's worth it if you're looking to get creative with your presentations.

3. Slidebean

If the most important thing to you when making a presentation is saving time, Slidebean might be a great fit.

The best thing about this tool is it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you create stunning layouts for your content.

Slidebean is ideal if you're not looking for extensive customizability, just ease of use and time-saving features like templates and content blocks.

4. Google Slides

Sometimes, the most basic tools are enough for creating a great presentation, especially if the industry you're operating in requires simplicity and seriousness.

The best part about Google Slides is that you can use it from anywhere and from any device. For example, you can create your entire presentation on your phone using the mobile application.

Presentations made in Google Slides can also be opened with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote, which makes it quite a versatile tool.

if you're wondering how to close your presentation, here are some key phrases you can use:

Appreciate your listeners

• Thank you for your time and attention.
• I appreciate your presence here today.
• Thank you for being such an engaged audience.

Express gratitude for the opportunity

• I'm grateful for the chance to share...
• I want to express my gratitude to...
• Thank you once again for the opportunity.

Summarize the main points

• In summary...
• To sum up...
• In conclusion...

Use a call to action

• I encourage each of you to...
• Let's work together to...
• Take the next step by...

Inspire or motivate your audience

• Remember that...
• As we move forward, let's keep in mind...
• Let this be a reminder that..."

Leave your closing thoughts

• In closing...
• As a final thought...
• To wrap things up...

Encourage your audience to ask questions or share their thoughts

• I'm now open to any questions you may have.
• I'd love to hear your thoughts on...
• Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

Reiterate the main points

• Just to recap...
• To reiterate the key points...
• In essence, we covered...

Use closing quotes

• To quote [relevant figure]...
• In the words of [author]...
• As [famous person] once said...

Express optimism about the future

• Looking ahead...
• The future holds great opportunities for...
• I'm excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Remember, these fun ways to end a presentation aren't one-size-fits-all. You need to tailor these phrases to fit the specific context and tone of your presentation.

Bonus 1: How to Start a Presentation

Now you know how to conclude a presentation. We’ve also discussed ​​what to say at the end of a presentation.

Let’s discuss how to begin a presentation.

According to bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell, in  Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking , "Snap judgments are ... enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience."

In other words: first impressions are real, and they happen really quickly. Think about those presentations you have sat in the audience for.

How quickly did you sum a presenter up when they took the stage? Did you judge them on their posture? What they were wearing? How they addressed the audience? What their voice sounded like?

Most likely, you took all of these factors into account and quickly decided whether you were going to give them your full attention or think about what you should make for dinner.

As a presenter, you must understand that your audience members will make a snap decision about you within the first few moments after taking that stage. Your job at the very beginning of your presentation is to grab their attention.

Here are some ways you can start your presentation strong.

1. Make a Bold Claim

Imagine being in the audience when a presenter opens his mouth and the first words out are, “When I’ve finished here today, you will have the knowledge to increase your revenue by 200% this year.” Um… would you sit forward in your chair and listen to every single word? You bet you would!

You have been asked to speak because you are an expert in your field and have valuable information to share. So why be shy about it? Start your presentation with a bold claim, and then overdeliver.

2. Give Them the Unexpected

Another powerful way to grab attention right up top is to contradict audience expectations. Some people refer to this as "applied unpredictability principle."

Giving people what they expect is not very exciting. Imagine a roller coaster that had no sudden drops or turns. It wouldn’t thrill you. Well the same can be said for presentations. The unexpected hooks the audience instantly.

Here’s an example. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting , starts off her presentation by scanning the audience and then saying, “Okay, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar! Also the person to your left is a liar.”

Well, the audience laughs, getting her intended joke, but you can tell that this unexpected statement has hooked them, and they are ready to give their full attention.

3. Pique Curiosity

Humans like to have their curiosity piqued. We love the feeling of being presented with information that makes us curious and wonder about something.  Research actually shows that curiosity prepares our brain to learn something new. How does it do this?

Well, when we are curious about something, we give that something our full attention. We look for clues and assess situations. This is how we operate and it’s how our ancestors stayed alive.

If you want to grab the audience’s attention right off the bat, ask a question or pose an idea that piques their curiosity. You’ll see many Ted Talk presenters do this by “confessing” they have to share a secret or an apology.

Speaker Dan Pink does this in his famous  T e d Talk  when he says:

“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 am not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wished no one would ever know, but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school.”

The minute someone says they have something to confess, we HAVE to know what it is, and so we are forced to pay attention.

RELATED: 29 Killer Presentation Tips to Wow Your Audience

4. Ask Questions

This technique is an oldie but a goodie. By posing a thoughtful question to your audience, their brain is forced to THINK about the answer. You have engaged them from second one. The key is to make the question one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but rather one that plants the seed of an idea.

“What scares you the most?”

“How do human beings constantly reach goals we all believe can never be reached?”

“When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel powerful?”

5. Tell a Story

“When I was nine, I met a homeless man who said he could see my entire future. He told me that when I turned 12, I would die. And I did.”

Okay, I am FULLY listening.

Stories are powerful. The human brain seems to have been wired to listen to stories. No matter how old we get, when someone starts to tell us a story, we instantly become 5-years-old, wide-eyed, ready to go on an adventure.

The story you tell can be personal or professional, just make sure it ties into your overall message.

Bonus 2: Top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

If we’re going to discuss a presentation success formula, we’ve got to first tackle some of the biggest public speaking mistakes that guarantee your presentation is unsuccessful. Are you guilty of any of these?

1. Not Being Prepared

We’ve all seen those presenters who make it look so effortless. Steve Jobs was like that. He seemed to glide onto the stage, open his mouth and instantly captivate everyone.

But the truth is, even Steve Jobs had to prepare.

Thoughtful preparation is essential for any level of public speaking. Doing the work ahead of time will not only help you feel and sound more confident, it will ensure you deliver the right message to the right audience.

2. Being Robotic

Beyond being comfortable with your material, you must be comfortable in your own body. Have you seen presenters who just stand in one spot and barely move at all? While they’re not very good at exciting their audience, they do have a keen knack for lulling listeners to sleep.

Granted, there may be those rare situations where, because of a lack of robust technology, you have no choice but to stand behind a podium. But even then, be sure to use gestures to punctuate your message. Gestures communicate on a level that words don’t. Don’t be flamboyant but try and use natural gestures as much as you can – you’ll seem human instead of machine-like.

And, when technology does allow you free movement, by all means, move around that stage. Steve Jobs was great at using movement purposefully during his presentations.

If you have a presentation coming up and want to avoid sounding robotic, this video explains 8 ways to memorize your presentation.

3. Avoiding Eye Contact

We can’t talk about body language and not mention one of the biggest mistakes that many speakers make, and that is avoiding eye contact. How many presentations have you seen where the speaker spent the entire time staring at her notes or PowerPoint presentation? How did you feel? Perhaps invisible?

Meeting a person’s gaze establishes a real connection and keeps listeners engaged. If your audience is small enough, try to make eye contact with everyone at least once. If the audience is too large, do your best to scan each section of the audience, landing on a few people. This will give everyone a general impression that you are doing your best to connect.

4. Starting and Ending Weak

If there is one no-no a presenter can make, this is it.

You should think of your presentation as a delicious meal you have painstakingly prepared for your guests. What do you remember most about a great meal? If you’re like most people, you remember the appetizers and the dessert – everything in between is kind of a good-tasting blur.

When you begin and end your presentation strong, you gain the audience’s attention quickly and leave a positive and lasting impression. These are two skills that cannot be emphasized enough.

Let’s look at some of the ways you can ensure you start your presentation strong:

Ready to Level-Up Your Presentation?

Whether it's a business presentation or a motivational speech, knowing how to give a closing statement and ending your talk on a high note is important.

The last thing you say in front of a crowd can help you leave a memorable impression, whether it's a recap of your presentation content or a rhetorical question.

If you're ready to take your presentations to the next level, use Visme's presentation software  to put together engaging and interactive slides.

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About the Author

Ashish Arora is the Co-Founder of SketchBubble.com , a leading provider of result-driven, professionally built presentation templates. Travelling the world to gather new creative ideas, he has been working in the digital marketing space since 2007 and has a passion for designing presentations. You can also find him on  Twitter or  LinkedIn .

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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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’.

• Student Login:

How to Close Your Presentation in English Powerfully [+ FREE Presentation Checklist]

May 9, 2018 | Business Professional English , Free Resource , Public Speaking & Presentations

This lesson has been updated from its original posting in 2016.

You’re giving your presentation in English. You have just two minutes left. And it’s time for the conclusion …

Did you know most people only remember the first and last things you tell them? It’s true.

If you are giving a presentation in English, then you definitely want people to remember what you say at the end. And this means your closing must be powerful!

You’ve worked hard on your presentation. You searched for information online. You couldn’t sleep at night. You felt nervous about making mistakes. You spent hours preparing. You reviewed the grammar and vocabulary. You worried about someone asking a question. You practiced and practiced and practiced.

And now it’s the last two minutes. This is the last opportunity for your audience to hear your key points. It is the last chance you have to help your audience remember your comments.

A closing in a presentation should be short and clear. It should summarize your key points. And, most importantly, it should be powerful.

In today’s lesson, you’re going to learn about 3 ways to make your closing more powerful. Plus you’ll learn useful key expressions you can use in your presentation.

3 steps to a powerful closing in your presentation.

Lesson by Annemarie

3 Strategies to Close Your Presentation Powerfully

Use these 3 strategies in your conclusion to:

• recapture your audience’s attention
• get your audience to focus and remember your key points
• help your audience connect with you and your topic
• end your presentation powerfully

One: Include a Call to Action (CTA)

Is there something you want your audience to do or think after your presentation. Do you want them to take action? Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do with a Call to Action.

Here’s my example:

“ After you finish today’s lesson, please take 2 minutes to  leave a comment about your experience with presentations. You can share your thoughts or ask questions in the comments section at the bottom of this lesson – it’s the perfect place to join a discussion on this topic.”

A couple useful expressions to help you introduce your CTA is:

• To close, I’d like to ask you to do this one thing…
• And finally, before you leave the conference today, please take two minutes to…

Two: End with a Powerful/Inspirational Quote

Is there one thing you really want your audience to remember? Or is there a specific feeling you want your audience to have after your presentation?

Using a powerful quote can help you do that. You could introduce a great quote or interesting statistic with:

• I’d like to finish with this powerful/interesting/wonderful/inspiring/ quote from …
• And finally, let’s finish up today’s discussion with this surprising/useful/shocking/hopeful statistic …

Here are some example quotes that might help people be prepared to take action or to think differently. But remember! Always match the quote or statistic to your topic:

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”  – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.”  – Alexander Graham Bell

Three: Add a Surprising Fact or Statistic

Is there something you’d love for your audience to think about after your presentation? Is there a statistic or fact that will help someone remember your key points?

A surprising fact can also help re-engage your audience, it will snap their attention back to you.

For example:

Did you know that the human brain’s capacity is limitless – that’s great new right? BUT … did you also know that a person is likely to remember only 25% of a presentation after 24 hours?

Uh oh. That is why it’s SO important to have a powerful ending! Remember: the key is to find a statistic or fact that connects directly to your topic.

Useful Language to Close Your Presentation

Summarize Your Key Points & Close Your Presentation

• That brings us to the end of the presentation. I’d like to summarize by saying …
• That concludes my presentation. However, I’d like to quickly summarize the main points or takeaways.
• And on that final note, that concludes my presentation.
• To quickly recap, I’d like you to remember these key points …
• To summarize …
• In conclusion …
• I’d like to bring this presentation to a close with …
• I’d like to close this talk with …
• So, this concludes the focus of discussion today. To end, I’d like to highlight …
• This concludes [name/title of the section] so let’s move on to the final comments.

Thank Your Audience

• I sincerely appreciate your attention today/this evening/this morning.
• And that brings us to the end. I’d like to thank you for your time and attention today.
• Thank you so much for your interest and attention.
• At this time, I’d like to have my colleague speak so I’ll finish up by saying thank you for your attention.
• I can see that our time is just about up so to finish I’d like to say thank you.
• I sincerely appreciate that I’ve had this opportunity to present to you.
• If there is one thing I would like you to remember from today’s presentation it’s …

Take Questions

• If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to open up the discussion.
• If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask now and I’ll do my best to answer.
• Would anyone like to ask any questions?
• I would now be interested to hear from you with your thoughts or questions.
• Now let’s move on to some Q&A. (Q&A = Questions and Answers)

Provide Next Steps or Contact Information

• If you would like more information, here is a list of useful resources/websites.
• If anyone who like more information or has questions, please feel free to contact me at: [include contact info]
• Here is a list for further reading on this topic. (Include the list of books or websites.)

Get the complete Presentations in English Series:

Part 1: How to Prepare for Your Presentation in English

Part 2:  How to Start with a Great Introduction in Your Presentation

Part 3:  How to Organize Your Presentation in English

Part 4: How to End Your Presentation Powerfully

After you’ve watched the video and reviewed the lesson, I’d love to hear from you!

Tell me about the best presentation you ever heard. Who gave the presentation? And why do you remember it? Share what you remember in the comments section below.

And for the bonus question!! Have you given a presentation in English? What tips or advice would you like to share with others? You can add your advice in the comments section.

Thank you so much for joining me!

~ Annemarie

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great video series. thank you so much. you mentioned that you had a downloadable checklist in the final video. where could I find this thanks?

Hi Ellie, I’m glad the series was helpful.

When you visit the lesson, there should be an image that pops up with an opportunity to get the download. If you don’t see it, please let me know so I can fix it.

Helped a lot! Thank you very much <33

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Thanks for your help 🙂

Great website. I found a typo in on the presentation closings page “Useful Langauge to Close Your Presentation”.

Good eyes! Thanks so much for the note. We’ve fixed the typo.

Dear Annemarie, thank you so much for sharing. 

Dear Annemarie, thank you so much for sharing. I learned so much from your 4 videos and I will work on improving my presentation skills. Love your spirit of excellence. For me as a presenter, its important i am passionate about the topic i share and audience will be able to apply some of the learnings in their life. Thank you Annemarie. I love your voice too. Stay blessed.

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Thanks, Jasmin! I’m so glad to know my lessons are helpful to you.

hey Annemarie could you help me in ending my presentation on mental health. it is a school presentation for MUN

If you’d like editing help, please see our options for 1:1 classes .

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Hi Hammad, I don’t at this time but it’s definitely something I’m thinking about.

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• By Illiya Vjestica
• - January 23, 2023

10 Powerful Examples of How to End a Presentation

Here are 10 powerful examples of how to end a presentation that does not end with a thank you slide.

How many presentations have you seen that end with “Thank you for listening” or “Any questions?” I bet it’s a lot…

“Thank you for listening.” is the most common example. Unfortunately, when it comes to closing out your slides ending with “thank you” is the norm. We can create a better presentation ending by following these simple examples.

The two most essential slides of your deck are the ending and intro. An excellent presentation ending is critical to helping the audience to the next step or following a specific call to action.

There are many ways you can increase your presentation retention rate . The most critical steps are having a solid call to action at the end of your presentation and a powerful hook that draws your audience in.

What Action do You Want Your Audience to Take?

Before designing your presentation, start with this question – what message or action will you leave your audience with?

Are you looking to persuade, inspire, entertain or inform your audience? You can choose one or multiple words to describe the intent of your presentation.

Think about the action words that best describe your presentation ending – what do you want them to do? Inspire, book, learn, understand, engage, donate, buy, book or schedule. These are a few examples.

If the goal of your presentation is to inspire, why not end with a powerful and inspiring quote ? Let words of wisdom be the spark that ignites an action within your audience.

Here are three ways to end your presentation:

• Call to Action – getting the audience to take a specific action or next step, for example, booking a call, signing up for an event or donating to your cause.
• Persuade – persuading your audience to think differently, try something new, undertake a challenge or join your movement or community.
• Summarise – A summary of the key points and information you want the audience to remember. If you decide to summarise your talk at the end, keep it to no more than three main points.

10 Examples of How to End a Presentation

1. Asking your audience to take action or make a pledge.

Here were asking the audience to take action by using the wording “take action” in our copy. This call to action is a pledge to donate. A clear message like this can be helpful for charities and non-profits looking to raise funding for their campaign or cause.

2. Encourage your audience to take a specific action, e.g. joining your cause or community

Here was are asking the audience to join our community and help solve a problem by becoming part of the solution. It’s a simple call to action. You can pass the touch to your audience and ask them to take the next lead.

3. Highlight the critical points for your audience to remember.

Rember, to summarise your presentation into no more than three key points. This is important because the human brain struggles to remember more than three pieces of information simultaneously. We call this the “Rule of Three”.

4. If you are trying to get more leads or sales end with a call to action to book a demo or schedule a call.

Can you inspire your audience to sign up for a demo or trial of your product? Structure your talk to lead your prospect through a journey of the results you generate for other clients. At the end of your deck, finish with a specific call to action, such as “Want similar results to X?”

Make sure you design a button, or graphic your prospect can click on when you send them the PDF version of the slides.

5. Challenge your audience to think differently or take action, e.g. what impact could they make?

6. Give your audience actions to help share your message.

7. Promote your upcoming events or workshops

8. Asking your audience to become a volunteer.

9. Direct your audience to learn more about your website.

10. If you are a book author, encourage your audience to engage with your book.

6 Questions to Generate an Ending for Your Presentation

You’ve told an engaging story, but why end your presentation without leaving your audience a clear message or call to action?

Here are six great questions you can ask yourself to generate an ending for your presentation or keynote talk.

• What impression would you want to leave your audience with?
• What is the big idea you want to leave them with?
• What action should they take next?
• What key point should you remember 72 hours after your presentation?
• What do you want them to feel?
• What is the key takeaway for them to understand?

What to Say After Ending a Presentation?

When you get to the end of a book, you don’t see the author say, “thank you for reading my last chapter.” Of course, there is no harm in thanking the audience after your presentation ends, but don’t make that the last words you speak.

Think of the ending of the presentation as the final chapter of an epic novel. It’s your chance to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Close with an impactful ending and leave them feeling empowered, invigorated and engaged.

• Leave a lasting impression.
• Think of it as the last chapter of a book.
• Conclude with a thought or question.
• Leave the audience with a specific action or next step.

How to End a Presentation with Style?

There are many great ways you can end your presentation with style. Are you ready to drop the mic?

Ensure your closing slide is punchy, has a clear headline, or uses a thought-provoking image.

Think about colours. You want to capture the audience’s attention before closing the presentation. Make sure the fonts you choose are clear and easy to read.

Do you need to consider adding a link? If you add links to your social media accounts, use icons and buttons to make them easy to see. Add a link to each button or icon. By doing this, if you send the PDF slides to people, they can follow the links to your various accounts.

What Should you Remember?

💡 If you take one thing away from this post, it’s to lose the traditional ending slides. Let’s move on from the “Thank you for your attention.” or “Any questions.” slides.

These don’t help you or the audience. Respect them and think about what they should do next. You may be interested to learn 3 Tactics to Free Your Presentation Style to help you connect to your audience.

Illiya Vjestica

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SpeakUp resources

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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Phone: +1 (510) 560-7571

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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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How to End Your Presentation with a Bang

So you’ve spent days (maybe weeks) putting together a killer presentation. Now, you stand up with confidence, present every bullet point with poise, and then you get all the way to the end… and the presentation just fizzles.

It’s like a marathon runner who trains for months (maybe years), then just a half mile before the finish line, starts to cramps and can’t finish the race.

The last thing that you tell your audience will most likely be what they remember. So, you want to end your presentation with a bang!

In this post, we will cover three things that you should absolutely avoid when you close your presentation. In addition, we will also cover 6 killer ways to end on a positive note.

By the way, for more details about how to organize a good speech, see the following. 7 Foolproof Ways to Start a Presentation . | How to Design a Presentation Quickly .

Eliminate these “Show Stoppers” from Your Presentation Conclusion

Avoid Ending Your Presentation with a Question & Answer Period.

One of the things that drives me up the wall is ending a fantastic presentation with a Q & A session that has a high propensity to just flop.

It reminds me of some sage advice from my jr high school football coach. He was an old-school running game type of coach. He’d say,

“In football, when you pass the ball, only three things can happen and two of them are bad.”

I kind of feel the same way about Question & Answer periods. There are only three ways that Q & A sessions can end, and two of them are bad .

Yes, If your audience asks you great questions, you can end your presentation on a high note. However, if your audience asks you odd questions or uninteresting questions, you can end on a low note. Even worse than getting crappy questions, though is getting no questions. Now, the ending will just seem odd.

When I present, I encourage people to ask questions DURING my presentation . That way, I can use a more dynamic way to end my presentation with a bang.

Don’t End by Thanking the Audience for Their Time.

When you stand up to speak, you should have the attitude that your audience is there to hear from you because you have important information that they need. When you thank your audience for their time, you are conceding that their time is more important than your time.

Also Avoid an Abrupt Ending with No Conclusion.

This happened to me early in my career. The first time that I really bombed a speech, I made two really big mistakes. The first was that I sped through the information so quickly that I finished in less than half of the allotted time. Then, I just ran out of things to say, so I sat down. The people in the audience were confused. I had more time and the ending was so abrupt, that they weren’t sure if I was finished.

So, spend time preparing your conclusion. Practice it a few times, and you will end on a high note.

Bonus Tip: Warn Your Audience Ahead of Time that Your Speech is Coming to a Close.

Our brains are wired to look for structure in things. That’s why people get frustrated with cliffhangers in movies. Only in movies, there’s a sequel. In speeches and presentations, the end is the end.

Give a hint that you are nearing a close a couple of slides or paragraphs before you actually do. Saying something like, “So let’s review what we’ve discussed so far”, “As I wrap up this presentation” or “In conclusion”.

Signaling the close prepares your audience for the ending. Ironically, it also makes the ending more memorable.

Secrets to a Powerful Presentation Ending – 6 Ways to End Your Presentation with a Bang

Not that we have covered what NOT to do, let’s focus on a few, turnkey ways to end your presentation with a bang.

(1) End Your Presentation with a Brief Summary You Key Points.

This technique works really well because it allows you to repeat your key points a few times. This repetition helps your audience remember the content better.

An Example of Using a Summary to End Your Presentation with a Bang!

A couple of months ago, I had a class member that used this technique really well. She worked for a local TV station that was trying to attract new viewers. Here is the presentation outline that she created:

We Can Increase the Number of Young Viewers by Focusing More on Our Social Media Platforms Teens get most news from social media. Increase coverage w/ teens increases interest in station. Making social media selective will make us stand out against competition.

[Introduction] “My topic today is about how we can increase the number of young viewers by focusing more on social media. The things that we are going to cover are, how teens get most of their news from social media, that if we increase our coverage with teens there will also be a corresponding increase in interest in our TV station, and how making our social media selective will allow us to stand out from the competition.”

After the introduction, the speaker would then cover the “meat” of the presentation by going through each point with specific examples and evidence about how each of those points is true.

At the conclusion, the speaker could just recap by saying, “So in conclusion, since teens get most of their news via social media, if we increase our coverage with teens, we will also increase interest in our station, and if we make our social media selective we will stand out from the crowd, I believe that we can increase the number of young viewers by focusing more on social media.”

The summary technique is a very easy way to conclude your speech, and it will also increase the retention of your audience.

For additional examples, see How to Write a Speech in Just a few Steps .

(2) End with an Example, Story, or Anecdote.

I spoke for another 45 minutes, and then I finished the presentation by describing the success story of one of my class members. He had implemented the very content that I had just delivered to that breakout session group. However, he was delivering a very data-intense presentation for the Center for Disease Control. (So his content was even more boring than the type of content the audience had to deliver.) The story showed the group how a speaker can take even boring, data-filled material and deliver it well.

Those contrasting stories — the one at the start of my presentation, and the one at the end, work really well together. They bookend the entire presentation.

An Easy Way to Find a Funny Anecdote to End Your Presentation.

Sometimes a good anecdote or funny story can be a good way to end on a positive as well. A good place to get funny anecdotes is from Reader’s Digest . (RD has a great book published that has just funny work-related stories. You can purchase it here: Laughter the Best Medicine @ Work: America’s Funniest Jokes, Quotes, and Cartoons )

This is kind of an embarrassing incident, but it shows that if you get a little creative, any type of story can be a great ending.

I was training an instructor years ago, and I had her just pick a random funny anecdote from Reader’s Digest. I told her that, no matter what the story was about, I’d find some way to insert the funny story into our class. Here is the story that she picked…

A woman went to her boss saying that she was going to go home early because she was feeling sick. The boss, having just gotten over a cold said that he hoped it wasn’t something that he had given to her. A coworker overhearing the conversation said, ‘I hope not. She has morning sickness.'”

(Obviously, this instructor-in-training also had a sense of humor, as well.) I thought about it a while, and I just ended the session with, “So, in summary, one of the most important parts of the presentation design process is knowing your audience. In fact, that reminds me of a story…” I then just added the anecdote word-for-word, and I got a big laugh.

I created a whole series of posts on storytelling starting with Storytelling in Public Speaking .

(3) Finish Your Speech by Telling the End of an Earlier Story.

Then, I finished the presentation by telling how, just a year later, after a little outside training, I had to stand in front of over 400 people to give an acceptance speech for an award. This time, I was calm, and I used my humor to win over the audience, and I killed it. By continuing the story and providing a positive result at the end, it makes for a pretty nice presentation ending.

So start with a story where you had a challenge and end with a success story about how you overcame that challenge.

(4) End Your Presentation with an Open-Ended Question.

That’s why people are drawn to thought-provoking questions. So a great way to end your speech is with a well-designed, thought-provoking question.

When I teach a class, I use this technique before almost every break. For instance, if I teach an hour-long session, it will be easy for the audience to forget a lot of the content if it isn’t reinforced right away. So, by asking a thought-provoking question about the content, it stimulates the content in the minds of the audience.

When you ask questions, though, avoid easy questions where the answer is an obvious “yes” or “no.” Instead, ask open-ended questions. The easiest way to do this is to ask for the audience members’ opinions.

For instance, if my title is “Starting with a 3-Point Outline Will Help You Save Time When You Design Presentations,” I could end the speech with a question like, “Based on what we’ve talked about today, how can you see starting with a three-point outline helping you save time?”

Any answers that the audience provides will help me prove my point. The more the better.

(5) Give the Audience a Call-to-Action at the End of Your Speech.

Just as an FYI, here, though, if you ask them to do a single thing, they are more likely to do it. If you ask them to do a second thing, they are more likely to do neither. Sp, to prevent that and to inspire your audience, challenge them to do one specific thing from your speech.

If your presentation is about why your company should invest in advertising, make your call to action very specific. “So, my suggestion is that we increase our advertising budget by 10% and use that budget for additional re-targeting ads.”

The thing to keep in mind here is that the more calls to action that you have, the less likely they will do anything. So, make your call to action just a single item. And make the item easy to implement.

(6) The Echo Close Is an Inspirational Way to End Your Speech with a Bang.

A wise man once said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” So, when you present, kindle the fire of knowledge. Kindle the fire of enthusiasm. Kindle the fire of humor. Kindle the fire of empathy. And you will kindle the fire of learning from your audience.

Another example might be.

So, in conclusion, brevity in public speaking is pretty important. In fact, George Orwell once said, “If it is possible to cut a word out of your speech, always cut it out.” So, when you create a presentation, cut the fluff. Cut the repetitive bullets. Cut the platitudes. And when you do, you will cut the confusion from your audience.

It is an easy technique if you prepare the ending and practice it a few times.

So that concludes the six ways that you can end your presentation with a bang. However… There is…

“One More Thing”

Steve Jobs was famous for concluding his keynotes with “One more thing…” then following it up with a surprising fact, feature, or innovation.

Why is this effective? Because it leaves people talking.

Regardless of how you choose to end your presentation, spend a little time on the ending. Make it flawless, and you will leave your audience wanting more! If you do, you will end your presentation with a bang!

Choose the Best Presentation Ending for Your Presentation Purpose

With all of the great choices, how do we know which presentation ending to use? Luckily, we have created a free handout to help you pick the best presentation ending. Although many of the tips above will work in many different types of speeches, the handout will help you identify which ending will accomplish specific purposes for your specific presentation.

For instance, if your goal is to help your audience retain the content, then summarizing your key points is a great choice. If your purpose is to inspire the audience, you might try the Call to Action or Echo technique instead. Just complete the form below for instant access!

Download the Free “How to End Your Presentation” Handout!

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How to End a Speech: The Best Tips and Examples

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Published Date : February 16, 2024

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As the introduction sets the stage, your conclusion seals the deal. The question, “How do you end a speech ?” is an essential query that each presenter or speaker must ask, given the final words’ impact and weight on your audience. 

Since your final words eventually have a lasting effect, you must make a striking thought to the people. Your speech ’s ending is your last opportunity to reiterate the fundamental idea, inspire the listeners , motivate a group to take action, change an individual’s perspective, or make a final impression on them. 

If you are still wondering how to end a speech that can appease your audience, then be worry-free because this guide can help you. Read this article to learn how to end a maid of honor speech , a graduation speech , and more because it contains the best tips and examples. 

Why is a Conclusion Important?

The audience is more likely not to forget the latest thing a speaker said due to the “Recency Effect” in learning. Hence, the conclusion of a speech serves as a signal to the audience that it is nearing the end, helping them recall the entire topic’s essential points. 

You can’t just suddenly stop speaking in front of your listeners because that will disappoint and confuse them. It is best to ensure they are left satisfied and knowledgeable about your speeches by closing them smoothly. 

Additionally, it is vital always to link your conclusion back to your introduction. The most effective way to do this method is through going back to your attention grabber or “hook.”

At the end of your speech , it is where most of your audience’s lasting impression of everything you have said will form. Thus, if you ask how to end a speech , use its conclusion to secure the necessary components in your listeners’ minds. 

You might confuse, disappoint, or even leave the audience unconvinced without a satisfactory conclusion. With these thoughts, we can tell that it has a two-fold purpose: to signal the speech ’s end and reinforce the speaker’s message to the people. 

The Key Elements of a Good Conclusion

When contemplating how to end a speech , remember that your introduction is the appetizer, while your conclusion is its dessert. Conclusions must round off the topic and make a strong impression on people’s minds. 

To create a conclusion that will satisfy and sum up all the vital information from your speech , consider these three key elements:

1. Reiterate the main idea

What is the central idea of your message? That is a secure place to start your conclusion. 

Above all, you have directed each part of your speech to support your topic, subject, or information. To start your conclusion, by all means, reiterate your speech ’s main idea. 

Of course, making it different and fresh to the listeners would be best. You do not want to repeat it verbatim, making the audience feel like you are just redoing things. 

Somewhat loosen it up as you prepare to remind your audience why they would be well-provided to adopt your viewpoint or follow your suggestion. 

2. Summarize three primary points

Another vital element to answer your question on how to end a speech is summarizing. For your overall summary, getting three main points is a good benchmark.

You do not have to restate each argument or claim because you can eventually pick three that you think are the most remarkable. In regards to your main idea, do not be dry and monotonous.

Avoid merely repeating three points; show your audience how those points strengthened your claim or speech . Draw them together into a single special force, supplementing weight to your primary idea. 

3. Close on a high note

Leave your audience pleased and satisfied but also wanting more. When you are closing your conclusion, consider ending it with a capturing, thought-provoking concept. 

You may want to raise a rhetorical question or state a notable quote from your research. From time to time, good quotations serve as illustrations, stating what we want to mention with a bit of confidence and style. 

Another method to add some “food for thought” to your speech ’s conclusion is to connect your primary idea to a more in-depth scenario. Also, note that your speech ’s closing line needs extra effort . 

The portion acts as your last opportunity to make it stick, so never introduce new information in your ending. Additional information can confuse your listeners and take them away from the essential features of a conclusion, which are:

• Restatement of your primary idea
• Summary of three main points
• Remarkable closing line

What are the Considerations on How to End a Speech?

When you imagine how to end a speech or presentation, there are several things to consider when it comes to their close, which include:

• Is your ending engaging?
• Does your conclusion restate your message?
• Have you identified the next step you want your listeners to take clearly?

Too often, speakers or presenters believe that people will infer what they should act next. The reality or truth is that even the most talented speaker can benefit from setting off a clear call to action to their audience. 

When it is particular, uncomplicated to perform, and aligns with the audience’s concerns, needs, and wants, they are more likely to take upon your persuasion , especially if you are making a persuasive speech. 

Always consider that an impactful ending encourages, empowers, and motivates people. See the best tips in the next part to learn how to end a speech . 

What are some Good Ways to End a Speech?

A study shows that when they need to recall information, they best remember the beginning and the end. Therefore, impacting your speech ’s closing is essential because people will mostly think of that part. 

Here are seven different ways to choose and make an unforgettable ending for your audience if you still doubt how to end a speech most appealingly. 

1. The Summary Close

This method on how to end a speech is about the most direct, specific, and straightforward one on the list. The history of how to end a speech or presentation also refers to this as a “recap” close.

If you end your speech with a summary, clarify your most significant idea and convey to the listeners that it is what you want them to take. However, that does not imply that your summary close is not engaging. 

2. The Surprise Close 

Several of the best movie endings of all time were surprising conclusions, outright shockers, and wicked twists. Why do you think they are so memorable?

It is because the viewers or the audience did not expect that ending. When we experience something we did not anticipate, it turns out that our brains are more active. 

In other cases, we might have also expected a different or another scenario for the conclusion. Hence, we become notably accustomed to what occurs when a pattern breaks.

Closing a speech with a hint of surprise at its ending is like signaling your audience to listen to you. 

3. The Illustrative Close

Another method to close your speech is to do it in this way. The artistry in an illustrative close comes from your skill to correct the following:

• first or third-person anecdote

It can also refer to another storytelling device representing your illustration of the primary points you created during your speech . Many speakers use this manner at the start and end of their talks.

4. The Forward-looking Close

This method of closing a speech is a better option if you discuss suggestions for future trends that could bear your topic. To help your audience visualize what you desire to accomplish, make a vibrant and vivid picture of it because it is essential.

For example, you are a financial consultant talking to a crowd 15 years away from retirement. During your speech , share your company’s approach to investment or a portfolio of your products. 

5. The Backward-looking Close

Besides the forward-looking close, there is also a backward-looking close. This way, you move away from the future and go into the past instead.

Let’s say you are wondering how to end a maid of honor speech as the bride’s sister and has spent so many years and memories with her. During your message, you can recall those moments. Then, from those past happenings, close your speech by wishing her a happy future with her husband. 

6. The Metaphor Close 

You might feel like you are drowning in options regarding how to end a speech . However, if you carefully look at your topic or subject and what you must convey, you will eventually find it easy as pie.

Welcome to the metaphor close. Yes, I just used some metaphors in the earlier part. Perhaps you had noticed them already before I pointed it out.

Metaphors are figures of speech that indirectly compare two figuratively similar things but are distinct. You do not take it in a literal sense that you are drowning in options, but you can feel that way. 

If you still don’t know how to end a graduation speech , this method may be one of your best options.

7. The Provocative Close

Provocative refers to the tendency to provoke, stimulate, or excite. Of course, as the speaker or presenter, you hope to encourage your audience, but using a provocative close snaps them to attention.

Check the table for some examples of how to end a speech provocatively. 

How to End a PowerPoint Presentation?

When you provide cluttered visual presentations , instead of an illustration that draws the people in, you can use PowerPoint to make a memorable close.

You can encourage and bring out their curiosity through powerful visualization. To help you with this matter, we have provided options for ending a speech with a PowerPoint slide. 

Here are a couple of samples of what you can project:

• A humorous image but has a profound significance.
• A photo that is supposedly unrelated to your speech subject or topic needs your explanation.
• A line graph shows two possible outcomes in which the audience may get involved.

How Should You End a Presentation Slideshow?

Since you have learned what you can project in your PowerPoint presentation and how useful it is to end your talk, let us get into several essential tips on finishing a formal presentation slideshow.

Here are ways you can do to make it memorable and impactful to your audience:

• Have a clear and concise message

To close your formal presentation slideshow, bring your fundamental message to the forefront and align it with your objectives. You must give your final message down to a notable point so that your audience can walk away remembering what you have said.

• Utilize the best final PowerPoint slide.

Your final slide will differ according to the type of presentation you are delivering. 

For example, if you are still having second thoughts regarding how to end a maid of honor speech uniquely, maybe you can opt to make a slideshow presentation for your sister’s wedding. There are creative ways to give your speech , especially when you are too nervous about public speaking . 

You only have to ensure that you are using a powerful final PowerPoint graphic slide to showcase your concluding information. Of course, you should fit its theme at the event. 

• Use animation to highlight something.

Adding a hint of animation in your presentation or slideshow is one of the best ways to bring the significant element onto your slide at the perfect period. A program like PowerPoint has features, such as built-in animations, that you can efficiently utilize. 

How to End a Speech Dos and Don’ts

After discussing the key elements of ending a speech and ways to close your presentation, we should tackle how to end a speech ’s dos and don’ts.

We have compiled a few things that you must consider. See them in this table:

How to End Your Speech Examples (video examples)

We have made your work easier if you seek the best examples of closing a speech . Be worry-free about how to end a maid of honor speech , graduation address, and other presentations. 

How to End a Graduation Speech

Here are four tips on how to end a graduation speech that would give you big applause from the crowd:

• Plan every word of your closing remarks.
• Close it with a story.
• Insert a little humor and make the audience laugh.
• Close your graduation speech with inspiration. 

How to End a Maid of Honor Speech

Are you worried about how to end a maid of honor speech ? The following are the typical phrases used for the maid of honor speech ending:

• Let us all toast for the happiness of the newly married couple!
• Best wishes to the happy and lovely couple!
• Please raise your glasses in honor of the bride and groom.
• Cheers to the newlyweds!
• Wishing years of bliss to the bride and groom!
• What a beautiful wedding day, so let us toast wherever their lives may lead.

How to Close a Sales Presentation

Another example of how to end a speech we have is closing a sales pitch . An outstanding presentation turns off if you do not try to create a great closing. To make your customers eager to purchase, try the tips we recommend.

• Go back to your opening idea.
• Close it with a challenge to your audience.
• Indulge your listeners into a metaphorical mission.
• Share a story.
• End your speech with a quote.

To get additional sales presentation tips, you can check this video:

How can you effectively call your audience to action?

To ignite action, be crystal clear with your desired action, use persuasive language to spark urgency, and highlight the benefits they’ll reap. Back it up with evidence, repeat it for impact, and remove any hurdles that stand in their way. Finally, it tugs at their heartstrings to connect and motivate them to follow through. This winning formula fuels effective calls to action!

What are some creative ways to end a presentation?

Spice up your presentation ending! Ditch the boring summary and opt for storytelling, metaphors, inspiring quotes, actionable steps, thought-provoking questions, surprising elements, laughter, or genuine gratitude. Choose what fits your style and leave your audience with a bang, not a whimper!

What should you not do when ending a presentation?

When concluding a presentation, it is important to avoid certain practices. One thing you should not do is end your presentation with a slide that simply asks “Questions?” This approach is commonplace and lacks originality, making it forgettable for your audience. Instead, it is crucial to consider alternative techniques for concluding your presentation on a strong and memorable note.

How can something from the opening be repeated to close a presentation?

Start strong, end strong! Bookend your presentation by repeating a thought-provoking question, concluding a captivating story, or tying back to your title. This creates a unified message, satisfying closure, and a lasting impression on your audience. They’ll leave remembering “the answer,” “the ending,” or “the meaning,” solidifying your impact.

What can be used instead of a “thank you” slide?

Ditch the “thank you” slide! Show gratitude verbally and utilize a summary slide with key points, a call to action, and your contact details. More text is okay here; use bullet points for clarity . It helps during Q&A; attendees might even snap a picture for a handy takeaway.

How can a running clock be used to emphasize the urgency of a message?

Tick-tock! Adding a running clock to your time-sensitive message visually screams urgency. It shows limited time, fuels action, grabs attention, and boosts your message’s credibility. Don’t let your audience miss out – let the clock do the talking!

How can a surprising fact re-engage the audience’s attention?

Attention fading? Drop a surprising fact with stats! It jolts your audience awake, adds credibility, and keeps them hooked. Find it online, but cite your source to be extra legitimate. Facts rock; use them to rule your presentation!

How can the rule of three be used in communication?

Group in threes! This communication rule makes your message stick. Break down ideas, stories, or anything you say into triplets. It’s easy to remember, catchy and keeps your audience engaged with your message long after you’re done. So go forth and conquer with the power of three!

How can the main points be linked to the key message in the conclusion?

Ditch the swim, find the gem! Your conclusion reflects your whole speech . Summarize key points, deliver a lasting impact, and tie it all together. Don’t leave it as an afterthought – make it resonate, leaving your audience nodding, satisfied, and remembering your message long after you’re done.

How can a visual image be used to end a presentation?

Don’t bore your audience with text! Ditch the cluttered slides and use a powerful image to end your presentation. Funny, thought-provoking, or a line graph with a choice – pick one to intrigue and make them think. Leave it on the screen for impact, let them ponder; your message will stick long after you’re done. Just remember, image and message go hand in hand!

How can a compelling story be used to conclude a presentation?

Forget jokes and platitudes. Close with a powerful story! Not just any story, one that makes them laugh, feel your message and remember it all. Your article mentions this, but their article goes deeper. They say to make it personal, relatable, and tied to your key points. This creates empathy, connection, and an unforgettable ending that leaves your audience wanting more. Go beyond the basics and tell a story they’ll remember long after the presentation.

What are the different ways to end a presentation or speech?

Ditch the panic. Pick your closing! Consider metaphors to leave a deep impression, challenge your audience with a “what if” scenario, or use visuals to stimulate their minds. Summarize key points, deliver a powerful message, and practice your ending for polish. Do avoid rambling, awkward gestures, or rushing out. Remember, a strong closing leaves a lasting mark. Now go captivate them!

In making your speech ’s ending, do not make your conclusion only an afterthought. It should support everything you have said in your talk and remind the audience why your topic matters. 

Leave the people nodding in agreement or satisfied by ending your speech remarkably. Yes, you can’t win everybody over your talk, but you can significantly make them pause and think.

We hope this article has imparted enough knowledge and answered your question about ending a speech .  Download the Orai speech app for an AI-powered speech coach for interactive and fun lessons!

Good luck with your presentation!

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7 Powerful Ways To End a Presentation

by Janice Tomich

• Presentation Planning & Public Speaking Skills

Have you ever attended a presentation or speech and didn’t know when it was over? Maybe you were even unsure if it was time to clap or get up and leave?

Your audience not knowing when a presentation has finished is a clear sign that you need to work on your conclusion. If you ending isn’t clear the closing statements sputter. Don’t let your words fizzle out.

People attend your presentation or speech to learn from you. Your passion for what you’ll be sharing started long ago. Keep that passion clear from your personal introduction right through your conclusion if you want the impact of your words to continue well past the time you step off the stage.

It’s crucial you get both the open and close of your speech right.

The conclusion is especially pivotal, because if you’ve thoughtfully structured your presentation at the end you will influence your audience to be inspired to do what you had planned with the information you’ve shared.

There are many different ways to close a presentation effectively.

If you’re lost and unsure about how to make your presentation compelling, I can help.

I’ll start with explaining 7 powerful ways I’ve seen my public speaking coaching clients end their speeches, and then give you my advice about two common ways to close a presentation which you should avoid.

Table of Contents

7 Techniques for Ending Your Presentation Powerfully

1. end with a overt call to action.

The most overt type of close is the Call To Action or CTA. A call to action is a clear, direct statement to your audience of what you want them to do next. Use this type of presentation conclusion when you want to be perfectly clear about your message.

This closing technique transparently encourages your audience to do something as concrete as “buy my book” or “sign my petition” or “take on a challenge.”

I once had the privilege of seeing Dr Hans Rosling deliver a TED Talk . He is an excellent presenter and a master of the close. Based on his research, he clearly challenges his audience to take his data to make decisions about resources needed for population growth. The talk is worth watching if you’re planning out a closing statement, because it’s a brilliant example of a strong close.

2. End with a a Soft and Subtle Call To Action

Have you ever left a presentation inspired to do something differently, even if you were not specifically directed to take action? The closing technique you witnessed was probably a subtler version of a CTA.

For a masterful example of this closing technique, watch the end of Tim Urban’s TED Talk on procrastination. Notice that he never specifically tells you to take action – to stop procrastinating. Instead, he gets you onboard in a soft way, slowly building up his argument via a number of examples of his own experience with procrastination.

Then, close to the end, he shows a visual which leaves you reassessing your life and what you will do with the remainder of it.

Tim’s masterful presentation conclusion has prompted many people to take action and change their habits, but it’s subtle and leaves you thinking as if the conclusions you come to are you own idea, not his.

3. Use a Quote to End Your Presentation

Using a quote for your final words can be an effective way to end your presentation. Choose your quote carefully, however—the quote needs to align with your message and clearly communicate your key point. Never use an obscure or confusing quotation. Don’t make your audience work too hard to understand the relationship between the quote on your final slide and your overall message.

One of the most touching quotes I heard used to conclude an inspirational speech was the last lines of the Mary Oliver poem “Summer’s Day”: “Tell me, what is it you will do – With your one wild and precious life?”

It kept me thinking about the preciousness of the days, how I had permission to push limits, and what those limits might be.

4. Finish Your Presentation By Closing The Loop

Create intrigue with a story which takes your audience on a journey. Using storytelling in business presentations or in a speech, threading it throughout, is not only a good way to grab the audience’s attention and enhance engagement. It’s also a powerful way to come to a conclusion when you finish your story.

Dr. Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk uses the “close the loop” technique brilliantly. She begins her presentation telling us about an accident she had that impacted her ability to thrive in university. She worked hard to make progress. Under the mentorship of a professor she thrived.

Dr. Cuddy goes on to talk about her research into how we can build confidence through body language techniques. She winds her talk up by speaking about a student of hers that she mentored through a lack of confidence…and very craftily closes the loop.

5. End Your Speech Using the Rule of Three

A communication technique called the Rule of Three is a powerful way to end your speech. Using this technique to end your presentation will make your key message stick.

An example of the Rule of Three is this Winston Churchill quote, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”.

Using three concepts triggers your brain to recognize a pattern, which humans are wired to do. Pattern recognition is how we make sense of things, it’s how we connect the dots and make meaning from the message.

Use the Rule of Three if you want your closing remarks to be remembered long after your audience leaves their seats.

​​​​Sucheta Misra Associate VP Inclusion & Diversity and Social Impact Leader

6. Finish with a Thought Provoking Question

There is value in having your audience walk away thinking about the questions you asked in your conclusion—and their personal responses to them. We humans are natural problem solvers. A question is a sticky way to create a memorable ending.

In his TED Talk, What Baby Boomers Can Learn From Millennials & Vice-Versa , Chip Conley provides food for thought about how we can all be contributors in the workplace by creating generational bridges. He asks, “Personally, who can you reach out to to create a mutual mentorship relationship? And organizationally, how can you create the conditions to foster an intergenerational flow of wisdom?” It’s not a rhetorical question, it’s a call to action. Chip finishes his presentation by telling us that bridges are the true sharing economy.

7. Deliver a Summary to Close Your Presentation

Delivering a summary of your core message can be an effective way to conclude, but be careful. Using a summary to finish your presentation sometimes risks losing your audience’s attention. If you name the main message(s) by rote, as if you’re rattling off a series of bullet points, the conclusion is likely to flop. Instead, use your summary slide to close your speech inspirationally, reviewing the key message and critically “the why.” Without the why, your summary will be forgotten in minutes.

2 Things to Avoid in Your Conclusion

Preparing, writing, and delivering a powerful speech is difficult, and some speakers are unprepared when they approach their closing remarks. Here are two things to avoid:

1. Running Out of Time

A poorly thought out and only minimally practiced presentation usually results in you having to cram your final remarks into the last few minutes of your allotted time. Your audience won’t be able to digest your final concepts if your words come at double-speed.

When you rush to the finish line not only will you feel stressed, your audience will too. This can seriously mar your reputation as a polished and professional public speaker.

2. Finish with a Question and Answer Session

You’re the speaker. You’ve been invited to take the stage and the audience is there to hear your ideas. The impact of too many otherwise excellent presentations are dulled in the last minutes, when a presenter opens the floor to questions, which are sometimes commandeered by someone in the room whose motivations might not align with your own. Your audience will remember your response to the last question. End with a question and answer session and you’ve essentially let someone else write your conclusion for you.

Question and answer sections aren’t a bad thing, but don’t end with them. Finish up your presentation by having all eyes on you. Close on your own terms.

The final (and best) tip I can give you is no matter the closing technique you choose to end your presentation or keynote address , is to practice it until it is firmly embedded into your memory. You want to know it inside out (and upside down) with absolute full confidence so you won’t have to scramble to come to a full stop.

You don’t have to prepare a presentation alone. If you’re feeling stuck or uninspired by your presentation’s conclusion, I invite you to book a 1-hour presentation strategy session . I’ll help you create a powerful ending that will have your audience leaving inspired.

If you’d like help with the entire presentation, I do that too. We can work together, one on one, to develop and create your next presentation or speech so you can deliver it with confidence and ease -> Prepare For Your Upcoming Presentation, Speech, or Talk .

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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 5,908 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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Moxie Institute

How to End a Presentation: Vital Tips to be Unforgettable

You’ve probably read plenty about  how to hook your audience in the first 60 seconds  of your presentation. Let’s talk about how to end a speech with just as much power.

Closings are key–they’re your last chance to leave a lasting impression. Last chance, that is, unless there’s a Q&A. And if so,  your closing matters  even more!

A weak ending can sabotage everything that came before. Imagine a guide who takes you on a safari–showing you some of the most beautiful sites on the planet–and then forces everyone to end the tour with a Slurpee-chugging contest at his uncle’s 7-11.

Bad endings have a way of ruining good journeys. Let’s look closely at how and why closings move.

Table of Contents

HOW TO END A PRESENTATION WITH IMPACT

In a 20th century packed with important oratory, Douglas MacArthur’s 1951 farewell address stands with the most memorable… and stands there almost entirely for its closing lines.

MacArthur–one of America’s greatest generals, the man who accepted Japanese surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri in 1945–stood humbled before that joint session of Congress, after having been publicly and shockingly removed from command by President Truman.

MacArthur knew his legacy was on the line. This one speech would set the tone for how history would remember his accomplishments and his downfall. Knowing how to end a speech is what saved him.

The bulk of the talk itself is only of historical interest now–a justification and defense of his actions–and it’s the magic in the closing lines that made the speech whatever counted  as the midcentury version of viral content :

“I am closing my fifty-two years of military service. When I joined the army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all my boyish hopes and dreams.

“The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barracks ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that old soldiers never die; they just fade away.

“And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.”

Moving stuff. Let’s unpack what makes it work.

MOVING THE AUDIENCE

MacArthur knows that the last words of the speech are vital for one reason: that’s when the audience decides what to do with the message it’s just been given.

The opening can’t do that, because the audience doesn’t know message yet. The middle of the speech can’t do it, because that’s where the message is being built. Only the ending can thrust the audience forward to a place that’s better than where they started.

After a fairly technical discussion of foreign policy, MacArthur sets aside the persuasion for pure emotion. He wants to set the terms by which he’s remembered: an old soldier, a man who gave his life for his country.

Every talk needs to engage the audience’s emotions. As you prepare yours, ask yourself: how should your audience be moved? To a new way of thinking? A new outlook? Toward specific acts like protesting, or buying, or winning a war?

You’ll know you’ve perfected your ending when that call to action–or that feeling–is both compelling and clear.

BRING IT HOME

MacArthur also uses his final lines to reinforce and revisit the speech’s theme: his complete commitment to the cause.

Let’s call that thematic wholeness.

MacArthur doesn’t close with boring summary. Instead, he pulls on the thread that he’s woven throughout the talk–his patriotism, and response to duty–and ties it together in a new and moving, and memorable way. He’s simply an old soldier, he implies, and his good work has secured some small measure of immortality.

Thematic wholeness isn’t just for speeches before Congress. Now that you know how to end a presentation, your next business pitch should have a unified theme as well.

Did you start the talk with a story about the company’s founder? Reintroduce that person at the end in a new, slightly different way, and in a way that mirrors the journey on which you’ve led the audience in your talk.

Has there been a recurring joke throughout the presentation? Rather than overusing it, turn it on its head at the end–it’ll be unexpected, and it’ll make the audience rethink what’s come before.

The closing is where the entire talk comes together for a final statement of the reason for your talk. Use that statement well, and you’re sure to leave them with something unforgettable.

The irony of MacArthur’s closing? It was so good that it couldn’t fade away. Instead, it became one of the greatest rhetorical triumphs of the century.

All because MacArthur knew how to move an audience.

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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.

This example “thank you” slide above features a QR code (you can create one using a QR code generator ) leading to more resources — it prompts the audience to find the speaker on various social media platforms.

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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30 Powerful Ways to End a Speech or Presentation

April 15, 2023 by smartmovesonly

Public speaking is a powerful tool that can be used to inspire, educate, and motivate people. Whether you’re giving a speech to a large audience or a presentation to a small group, ending on a high note is essential to leave a lasting impression on your listeners. However, finding the perfect way to end your speech or presentation can be a challenge, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of using clichéd phrases or simply running out of steam.

In this article, we’ll explore 30 powerful ways to end your speech or presentation that will leave a lasting impression on your audience. We’ll cover a range of techniques that will help you to engage your listeners, inspire them to take action and leave a lasting impression. From using humour to making a bold statement, inviting your audience to connect with you on social media, or challenging them to think differently, this article is packed with practical tips and strategies that you can use to end your speech or presentation with impact.

Whether you’re a seasoned public speaker or just starting out, this article is for you. By the end of this article, you’ll have a wide range of techniques to choose from, allowing you to tailor your closing to your specific audience and topic. So, let’s dive in and explore 30 powerful ways to end your speech or presentation.

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• 1 1. Thank your audience for their attention
• 2 2. Summarize your main points
• 3 3. Provide a call-to-action
• 4 4. Ask for questions or comments
• 5 5. Encourage feedback
• 6 6. Offer resources for further learning
• 7 7. Highlight the impact of your message
• 8 8. Provide a memorable quote or anecdote
• 9 9. Share personal experiences related to your topic
• 10 10. Discuss the importance of your message
• 11 11. Express gratitude to your audience or team
• 12 12. Challenge your audience to think differently
• 13 13. Offer a solution to a problem
• 14 14. Discuss potential next steps
• 15 15. Offer a memorable takeaway for your audience
• 16 16. Provide a summary of key takeaways
• 17 17. Discuss the implications of your message
• 18 18. Highlight the benefits of your message
• 19 19. Offer a word of caution or warning
• 20 20. Provide a list of action items for your audience
• 21 21. Invite your audience to connect with you on social media or via email
• 22 22. Share relevant statistics or data
• 23 23. Discuss the significance of your message in a broader context
• 24 24. Use humour to end on a light note
• 25 25. Make a bold statement or prediction
• 26 26. Highlight the success of past initiatives or projects
• 27 27. Provide an inspiring story or example
• 28 28. Discuss the importance of collaboration or teamwork
• 29 29. Challenge your audience to take action
• 30 30. End with a powerful closing statement or question
• 31 Conclusion

1. Thank your audience for their attention

When you’re giving a speech or presentation, your audience is taking time out of their day to listen to what you have to say. It’s important to acknowledge this by thanking them for their attention. This simple gesture can make a big difference in how your audience perceives you and your message. You can express your gratitude by saying something like, “Thank you all for being here today. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to what I have to say.”

2. Summarize your main points

One of the keys to making your message stick is to summarize your main points at the end of your speech or presentation. This helps reinforce what you’ve said and gives your audience a clear understanding of what you want them to remember. To do this effectively, you should condense your main points into a few key takeaways that are easy to remember. For example, you might say, “In summary, my main points today were X, Y, and Z.”

3. Provide a call-to-action

If you want your audience to take action after hearing your message, then ending with a call-to-action is a great way to do so. This can be anything from encouraging them to sign a petition or make a donation, to asking them to take a specific action related to your topic. To be effective, your call-to-action should be clear, concise, and easy to follow. You might say something like, “I urge you all to take action by doing X. Together, we can make a difference.”

4. Ask for questions or comments

Ending your speech or presentation with a question-and-answer session is a great way to engage your audience and encourage them to participate in the discussion. This gives them an opportunity to clarify any points you made earlier, address any concerns or objections, and provide additional information. To do this effectively, you should be prepared to answer any questions that come up, and encourage your audience to share their thoughts and opinions.

5. Encourage feedback

Asking for feedback from your audience is a good way to gauge how well you did and what areas you could improve upon. This can be done in person or online, and can help you improve your future speeches or presentations. To encourage feedback, you might say something like, “I would love to hear your thoughts on my presentation. Please feel free to share your feedback with me after the session.”

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6. Offer resources for further learning

If your audience is interested in learning more about your topic, then providing additional resources such as books, articles, or websites is a great way to help them continue their education. This shows that you are knowledgeable and committed to your topic, and can help your audience feel more engaged with your message. To provide resources, you might say something like, “For those of you who are interested in learning more about this topic, I recommend checking out X, Y, and Z.”

7. Highlight the impact of your message

If your speech or presentation is focused on making a difference in the world, then it’s important to highlight the impact that your message can have. You can do this by sharing stories of individuals or communities who have been affected by your topic, or by providing examples of how your message has already made a positive impact. To highlight impact, you might say something like, “By taking action on this issue, we can make a real difference in the lives of X, Y, and Z.”

8. Provide a memorable quote or anecdote

Ending your speech or presentation with a memorable quote or anecdote can help leave a lasting impression on your audience. This can be anything from a famous quote related to your topic, to a personal anecdote that illustrates the importance of your message. The key is to choose something that is relevant to your topic and resonates with your audience. To use a memorable quote or anecdote, you might say something like, “As the great philosopher once said, ‘X’. This quote has always resonated with me, and I believe it speaks to the importance of our topic today.”

9. Share personal experiences related to your topic

Sharing personal experiences related to your topic can be a powerful way to connect with your audience and help them relate to your message. By sharing your own struggles, successes, and lessons learned, you can inspire and motivate your audience to take action. To end by sharing personal experiences, you might say something like, “I hope my personal experiences have shown you that we all have the power to overcome adversity and achieve our goals, no matter how daunting they may seem.”

10. Discuss the importance of your message

Ending your speech or presentation by discussing the importance of your message can be a great way to leave your audience with a sense of purpose and urgency. This can be a reminder of why your topic is important and why it matters. To end by discussing the importance of your message, you might say something like, “I hope that my message has highlighted the importance of taking action and making a difference. It’s up to all of us to create the world we want to live in.”

11. Express gratitude to your audience or team

Ending your speech or presentation by expressing gratitude to your audience or team can be a great way to show appreciation for their support and hard work. This can be a thank you for their time, their attention, or their contributions to your message. To end by expressing gratitude, you might say something like, “I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your support and for being a part of this journey with me. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

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12. Challenge your audience to think differently

Ending your speech or presentation by challenging your audience to think differently can be a great way to encourage them to take action and make a change. This can be a challenge to their beliefs, their actions, or their mindset. To end by challenging your audience, you might say something like, “I challenge each of you to think differently about how you can make a difference in your own life and in the world around you. It’s time to take action and create the change we want to see.”

13. Offer a solution to a problem

Ending your speech or presentation by offering a solution to a problem can be a great way to leave your audience feeling empowered and inspired. This can be a solution related to your topic or a more general solution to a common problem. To end by offering a solution, you might say something like, “I hope that my message has offered you a solution to a problem you may be facing, and has given you the tools and motivation to take action and make a change.”

14. Discuss potential next steps

Ending your speech or presentation by discussing potential next steps can be a great way to help your audience take action and make a difference. This can be a list of actionable steps they can take, resources they can use, or people they can connect with. To end by discussing potential next steps, you might say something like, “I encourage you to take the next step in your own journey, whether it’s volunteering, connecting with others, or simply taking a small action. Together, we can make a difference.”

15. Offer a memorable takeaway for your audience

Ending your speech or presentation by offering a memorable takeaway can be a great way to leave a lasting impression on your audience. This can be a quote, a story, a statistic, or a simple phrase that encapsulates your message. To end by offering a memorable takeaway, you might say something like, “I hope that you will remember this one thing: that you have the power to make a difference in your own life and in the world around you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

16. Provide a summary of key takeaways

Ending your speech or presentation by providing a summary of key takeaways can be a great way to reinforce your message and help your audience remember the most important points. This can be a brief recap of the main ideas you’ve covered or a list of key takeaways. To end by providing a summary of key takeaways, you might say something like, “Before I conclude, I want to recap the key takeaways from today’s presentation. First, we discussed… Second, we talked about… And finally, we learned… Remember these key points as you move forward and take action on what you’ve learned today.”

17. Discuss the implications of your message

Ending your speech or presentation by discussing the implications of your message can be a great way to help your audience understand the broader context of your topic and the potential impact it can have. This can be a discussion of the social, economic, or political implications of your message. To end by discussing the implications of your message, you might say something like, “I hope that my message has shed light on the broader implications of this issue and the impact it can have on our communities, our society, and our world.”

18. Highlight the benefits of your message

Ending your speech or presentation by highlighting the benefits of your message can be a great way to motivate your audience to take action and make a change. This can be a discussion of the personal, social, or environmental benefits of your message. To end by highlighting the benefits of your message, you might say something like, “I hope that my message has shown you the benefits of taking action and making a difference in your own life and in the world around you. Together, we can create a brighter future for all.”

19. Offer a word of caution or warning

Ending your speech or presentation by offering a word of caution or warning can be a great way to leave your audience with a sense of urgency and encourage them to take action to avoid negative consequences. This can be a warning related to your topic or a more general caution about the potential consequences of inaction. To end by offering a word of caution or warning, you might say something like, “I urge you to take action and make a change before it’s too late. The consequences of inaction can be dire, but together, we can create a better future.”

20. Provide a list of action items for your audience

Ending your speech or presentation by providing a list of action items for your audience can be a great way to help them take concrete steps to make a difference. This can be a list of specific actions they can take or resources they can use. To end by providing a list of action items, you might say something like, “I encourage each of you to take action by doing one or more of the following… Remember, even small actions can make a big difference.”

21. Invite your audience to connect with you on social media or via email

Ending your speech or presentation by inviting your audience to connect with you on social media or via email can be a great way to continue the conversation and build relationships with your audience. This can be a call to action to follow you on social media, sign up for your newsletter, or reach out to you with questions or feedback. To end by inviting your audience to connect with you, you might say something like, “I would love to continue this conversation with you on social media. Please feel free to connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.”

22. Share relevant statistics or data

Ending your speech or presentation by sharing relevant statistics or data can be a great way to reinforce your message and make a compelling case for action. This can be a discussion of the latest research or data related to your topic. To end by sharing relevant statistics or data, you might say something like, “As you can see from these statistics, the need for action on this issue is urgent. Let’s work together to create a brighter future for all.”

23. Discuss the significance of your message in a broader context

Ending your speech or presentation by discussing the significance of your message in a broader context can be a great way to help your audience understand the bigger picture and the potential impact of your message. This can be a discussion of how your message relates to larger social, economic, or political issues. To end by discussing the significance of your message, you might say something like, “My hope is that by taking action on this issue, we can create positive change not just for ourselves, but for future generations as well.”

24. Use humour to end on a light note

Ending your speech or presentation with a joke or humorous anecdote can be a great way to leave your audience with a positive impression and end on a light note. This can be a joke related to your topic or a more general funny story. To end with humour, you might say something like, “And on that note, I’ll leave you with a joke… Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything!”

25. Make a bold statement or prediction

Ending your speech or presentation by making a bold statement or prediction can be a great way to leave your audience with a sense of excitement and inspire them to take action. This can be a bold statement related to your topic or a more general prediction about the future. To end by making a bold statement or prediction, you might say something like, “I believe that if we work together and take action on this issue, we can create a world where everyone has access to the resources they need to thrive.”

26. Highlight the success of past initiatives or projects

Ending your speech or presentation by highlighting the success of past initiatives or projects can be a great way to inspire your audience and show them that positive change is possible. This can be a discussion of successful initiatives related to your topic or a more general discussion of inspiring success stories. To end by highlighting the success of past initiatives, you might say something like, “Let’s take inspiration from the success stories we’ve seen in the past and use that energy to create positive change today.”

27. Provide an inspiring story or example

Ending your speech or presentation by providing an inspiring story or example can be a great way to motivate your audience and show them the potential impact of your message. This can be a personal story or an example of someone who has made a positive difference in the world. To end by providing an inspiring story or example, you might say something like, “Let me share a story with you that has inspired me to take action on this issue. It’s the story of…”

28. Discuss the importance of collaboration or teamwork

Ending your speech or presentation by discussing the importance of collaboration or teamwork can be a great way to encourage your audience to work together towards a common goal. This can be a discussion of the power of collective action or a personal reflection on the value of teamwork. To end by discussing the importance of collaboration or teamwork, you might say something like, “We all have a role to play in creating positive change. Let’s work together, collaborate, and build a brighter future for everyone.”

29. Challenge your audience to take action

Ending your speech or presentation by challenging your audience to take action can be a great way to inspire them to make a difference. This can be a call to action to get involved, sign a petition, or make a donation. To end by challenging your audience to take action, you might say something like, “I challenge each of you to take action on this issue. Whether it’s volunteering your time, donating to a cause, or speaking out, we all have the power to make a difference.”

30. End with a powerful closing statement or question

Ending your speech or presentation with a powerful closing statement or question can be a great way to leave a lasting impression on your audience. This can be a powerful statement that summarizes your message or a thought-provoking question that encourages your audience to reflect. To end with a powerful closing statement or question, you might say something like, “Let us not forget that we are all connected and that our actions have the power to shape the world around us. So let me ask you, what kind of world do you want to create?”

Ending a speech or presentation on a high note is crucial for leaving a lasting impression on your audience. By using one or more of the 30 techniques outlined in this article, you can ensure that your audience will remember your message long after you’ve finished speaking. From sharing personal experiences to providing a memorable takeaway or challenging your audience to take action, there are many ways to end your speech or presentation with impact.

However, it’s important to remember that the key to a successful closing is to tailor it to your specific audience and topic. By taking the time to think about what will resonate with your listeners, you can choose a closing that will inspire and motivate them to take action. With these powerful techniques at your disposal, you can deliver a speech or presentation that will leave a lasting impression and help you achieve your goals.

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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.

8 Tips On How to End a Speech or Presentation Like A Pro

by Andres Valdes | Communication

Image Credit: Teemu Paananen

To end a speech or presentation like a pro you have to plan for it. This doesn’t happen by accident for most of us. Why conclude an awesome presentation with a whimper when you can end with a bang?

Okay, so let’s say you read my post on the 5 most boring ways to start a presentation. Now you need a little help with the conclusion.

The things people will remember the most from a speech or presentation are the beginning and especially the end.

When I first started speaking, I spent nearly all of my time on the body of the message. I didn’t plan for a real conclusion.

I tried to wing it without anything memorable. HUGE MISTAKE.

If you’re a speaking pro you can get away with not planning your conclusion but for the rest of us mere mortals, we have to plan it.

Not giving some thought to the conclusion is a lost opportunity. The conclusion needs to reinforce the meat of your message so that your audience has something specific to walk away with.

Here are 8 ways to conclude your speech or presentation like a pro:

Call To Action

Leave the audience with something to do. As a presenter or speaker, you have the opportunity to inspire people to take positive action. That’s an awesome responsibility you shouldn’t take for granted. A call to action is simply a push for an action you want the audience to take. For example, go set goals, find a new job, work smarter, find their “why”, etc.

QUESTION: What action would you want the audience to take after listening to your talk?

Challenge the audience

Similar to the Call To Action, a challenge is an attempt to push the audience past their comfort zones. Most people will not challenge themselves so we need an outside force, problem or circumstance to do it for us. According to Newton’s 1 st law of motion: “ An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction  unless acted upon by an unbalanced force .”

This force applies to people too.

QUESTION: How can you challenge your audience to push past their comfort zones?

Close with a story

My favorite way to end a speech or presentation is with a story. It could be funny, serious or inspirational. The strongest conclusions are the ones that tie in a story used in the opening.

People will remember little about your presentation no matter how good it is, but stories stick with us. Stories are in our DNA. Stories can stay with us forever.

QUESTION:  Is there share a short story that captures the theme of your message?

Use A memorable quote

It’s safe to say we love quotes especially from well-known people who back up our message. A memorable quote can capture the essence of your message and give the audience something to take with them.

But the key is to not use the super obvious quotes.  Do some research and find special and unique quotes on sites like AtoZ Quotes or Good Reads. Find as many as possible and then choose the best one.

QUESTION: What quote can inspire the audience and remind them of what they learned?

Repeat your most Tweetable line

Make your own quotes. I’m serious. I once went through my first book “ Leader By Choice ” and took out my favorite quotes. I was surprised to find around 40 really good quotes or sentences some of which are Tweetable.

For your speech make a note of your strongest sentences or Tweetables and leave one for the end. If there’s one that captures your message you use it throughout your talk and then drive it home again it in your conclusion.

QUESTION: If you could summarize your key point in one sentence what would it be?

Share something personal

When presenters share a personal experience, it takes the speech to a whole new level. I once heard a Ted talk where the speaker was talking about someone who was going through some difficult emotional experiences. At the end, he revealed that it was him all along. We were shocked, but at the same time inspired. We connected.

There’s no more authentic way of connecting with an audience than with sharing something personal that ties into the talk. But don’t share something personal just to manipulate people.

QUESTION: What have you personally seen or experienced that can reinforce your message?

Be Intentional about the conclusion

Being intentional about your conclusion is absolutely the most important thing you can do. Don’t just wing it.  Plan it, write it down, memorize it word for word.

I’ve given many speeches where the body was loose but I had memorized the conclusion. As you prepare your speech or presentation you can even “Start with the end in mind” by writing your conclusion first.

QUESTION: What do you want your audience to do, think or feel after listening to you?

Don’t end with a Q&A

It depends on your speech but try not to end with a Q&A. Can you answer questions during your presentation? And if you do have a Q&A have a closing statement after that. The reason for this is because you have no control over what types of questions you’ll receive. Those questions might take you off your game with not-so-relevant discussions or they’ll end on a low note.

QUESTION: How can you incorporate Q&As during your talk?

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• How to Start a Speech: The Best Ways to Capture Your Audience

You’ve heard the saying,  “First impressions are lasting; you never get a second chance to create a good first impression” —  right?

The same is true when talking about how to start a speech…

The truth is, when you start your speech, you must focus everything on making a positive first impression on your audience members (especially if you are doing the presentation virtually ). Capturing the audience’s attention from the very beginning is crucial to prevent them from being distracted, losing interest, or forming negative opinions.

The introduction is the formal greeting for speeches, so let’s be sure to get this right to hook the audience. Understanding the importance of speech openings can significantly impact making a strong first impression. Planning and delivering the first words with confidence and relevance is essential, as they set the tone for the entire presentation and ensure you deliver a professional start, free from hesitation or irrelevance.

Here are 15 different ways to start a speech as well as 2 extra BONUS tips at the end.

1) Thank the Organizers and Audience

You can start by thanking the audience for coming and thanking the organization for inviting you to speak.

Refer to the person who introduced you or to one or more of the senior people in the organization in the audience.

This compliments them, makes them feel proud and happy about your presence, and connects you to the audience like an electrical plug in a socket.

2) Start With a Positive Statement

A presentation tip at the start is to tell the audience members how much they will like and enjoy what you have to say.

For example, you might say:

“You’re really going to enjoy the time we spend together this evening. I’m going to share with you some of the most important ideas that have ever been discovered in this area.”

Remember that  speaking is an art,  so be an artist and take complete control of your performance,

3) Compliment the Audience

You can begin by complimenting the audience members sincerely and with great respect.

Smile as if you are really glad to see them as if they are all old friends of yours that you have not seen for quite a while.

You can tell them that it is a great honor for you to be here, that they are some of the most important people in this business or industry, and that you are looking forward to sharing some key ideas with them.

You could say something like:

“It is an honor to be here with you today. You are the elite, the top 10 percent of people in this industry. Only the very best people in any field will take the time and make the sacrifice to come so far for a conference like this.”

4) Start Your Speech With the First Sentence Referring to Current Events

Use a current event front-page news story to transition into your subject and to illustrate or prove your point. You can bring a copy of the newspaper and hold it up as you refer to it in your introduction.

This visual image of you holding the paper and reciting or reading a key point rivets the audience’s attention and causes more people to lean forward to hear what you have to say.

5) Refer to a Historical Event

For many years, I studied military history…

Especially the lives and campaigns of the great generals and the decisive battles they won. One of my favorites was Alexander the Great. Standing in the symbolic shadow of such historical figures can provide a powerful and engaging start to any speech, especially when drawing parallels to contemporary challenges.

One day, I was asked to give a talk on leadership principles to a roomful of managers for a Fortune 500 company.

I decided that the campaign of Alexander the Great against Darius of Persia would make an excellent story that would illustrate the leadership qualities of one of the great commanders in history.

I opened my talk with these words:

“Once upon a time there was a young man named Alex who grew up in a poor country. But Alex was a little bit ambitious. From an early age, he decided that he wanted to conquer the entire known world. But there was a small problem.

Most of the known world was under the control of a huge multinational called the Persian Empire, headed by King Darius II. To fulfill his ambition, Alex was going to have to take the market share away from the market leader, who was very determined to hold on to it.

This is the same situation that exists between you and your major competitors in the market today. You are going to have to use all your leadership skills to win the great marketing battles of the future.”

6) Refer to a Well Known Person

You can start by quoting a well-known person or publication that recently made an interesting or important statement.

One of the subjects I touch upon regularly is the importance of continual personal development.

I will say something like:

“In the twenty-first century, knowledge and know-how are the keys to success. As basketball coach Pat Riley said, ‘If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.’”

7) Refer to a Recent Conversation

Start by telling a story about a recent conversation with someone in attendance.

For instance, I might say:

“A few minutes ago, I was talking with Tom Robinson in the lobby. He told me that this is one of the very best times to be working in this industry, and I agree.”

8) Make a Shocking Statement With a Startling Fact

You can start your talk by making a shocking statement of some kind.

For example, you might say something like:

“Here’s a startling fact: According to a recent study, there will be more change, more competition, and more opportunities in this industry in the next year than ever before. And 72 percent of the people in this room will be doing something different within two years if they do not rapidly adapt to these changes.”

Click here If you want to learn more techniques to wow your audience.

9) Quote From Recent Research

You can start by quoting a relevant, recent research report.

One example is:

“According to a story in a recent issue of Businessweek, there were almost 11 million millionaires in America in 2018, most of them self-made.”

10) Start Your Speech With a Strong Opening By Giving Them Hope

The French philosopher Gustav Le Bon once wrote, “The only religion of mankind is, and always has been hope.”

When you speak effectively, you give people hope of some kind.

Remember, the ultimate purpose of public speaking, is to inspire people to do things that they would not have done in the absence of your comments.

Everything you say should relate to the actions you want people to take and the reasons that they should take those actions.

11) Be Entertaining

Bill Gove used to walk onto the stage after his introduction if he had just finished talking to someone on the side and was breaking off to give his talk to the group.

The audience got the feeling that his entire talk was one continuous conversation, devoid of meaningless filler words .

Bill would often go to the edge of the stage and then drop his voice in a conspiratorial way, open his arms, and beckon the audience members to come a little closer.

He would say, “Come here, let me tell you something,” and then he would wave them forward as though he was about to tell a secret to the entire room.

The amazing thing was that everyone in the room would lean forward to hear this “secret” that he was about to share. People would all suddenly realize what they were doing and break out in laughter. It was a wonderful device to get the audience into the palm of his hands.

12) Ask a Question

You can open by making a positive statement and then pose a rhetorical question to engage your audience and set the stage for your presentation.

Try something like this:

“This is a great time to be alive and in business in America. But let me ask you, what does it truly mean to be self-employed in today’s economy?”

Raise your hand to indicate what you want people to do. I have used this line, and after a moment of thought, I then say to someone who looks intrigued in the front, “How many people here feel truly self-employed?”

Invariably, someone will say, “We all do!”

I then compliment and affirm the answer: “You’re right! We are all self-employed, from the time we take our first jobs to the day that we retire; we all work for ourselves, no matter who signs our paychecks.”

Similarly, a 17-year-old science fair winner effectively engaged their audience with a question at the beginning of their TED Talk, showcasing the power of this technique.

13) Open With a Problem

You can start with a problem that must be solved. If it is a problem that almost everyone has in common, you will immediately have the audience’s complete and undivided attention.

For example, you could say:

“Fully 63 percent of baby boomers are moving toward retirement without enough money put aside to provide for themselves for as long as they are going to live. We must address this problem and take action immediately to ensure that each person who retires will be able to live comfortably for the rest of his or her natural life.”

Introducing a new idea at this point can be a powerful way to engage your audience further, by promising a solution that is both innovative and beneficial.

14) Make a Strong Statement, Then Ask a Question

You can start by making a strong and powerful statement and then ask a question. You then follow with an answer and ask another question. This gets people immediately involved and listening to your every word.

Here’s an example:

“Twenty percent of the people in our society make 80 percent of the money. Are you a member of the top 20 percent? If not, would you like to join the top 20 percent or even the top 10 percent? Well, in the next few minutes, I am going to give you some ideas to help you become some of the highest-paid people in our society. Would that be a good goal for our time together today?”

15) Tell a Personal Story

You can start your talk with a personal story. Some of the most powerful words to capture the complete attention of the audience and make a personal connection are, “Once upon a time…”

From infancy and early childhood, people love stories of any kind. When you start off a presentation with a personal anecdote using the words, “Once upon a time…” you tell the audience that a relatable story is coming. People immediately settle down, become quiet, and lean forward, eager to hear how your experience might mirror their own or offer them new insights.

When I conduct full-day seminars and I want to bring people back to their seats after a break, I will say loudly, “Once upon a time there was a man, right here in this city…”

As soon as I say these words, people hurry back to their seats and begin to listen attentively, connecting with the story on a personal level.

Incorporating a personal story is very effective.

In fact, it’s probably one of the best public speaking tips I’ve learned to this day.

Bonus Tip: Tell Them About Yourself

Very often, I will start a serious speech or presentation to a business, sales, or entrepreneurial group by saying:

“I started off without graduating from high school. My family had no money. Everything I accomplished in life I had to do on my own with very little help from anyone else.”

It is amazing how many people come up to me after a talk that began with those words and tells me that was their experience as well.

They tell me that they could immediately identify with me because they too had started with poor grades and limited funds, as most people do. As a result, they were open to the rest of my talk, even a full-day seminar, and felt that everything I said was more valid and authentic than if I had been a person who started off with a successful background.

Building a bridge like this is very helpful in bringing the audience onto your side.

Bonus Tip: Get Them Talking to One Another

You can ask people to turn to the person next to them to discuss a particular point.

For instance, you could say:

“Tell the person next to you what you would like to learn from this seminar.”

Whatever you ask your audience members to do, within reason, they will do it for you. Your commands and your thought leadership will easily influence them, as long as you ask them with confidence.

By following any one of these tips for starting your speech, you are sure to grab your audience’s attention every time. How do you start a speech? Let me know in the comments.

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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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Fact-checking viral claims about joe biden at d-day anniversary event.

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U.S. President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte Macron, walk onstage June 6, 2024, during ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. (AP)

President Joe Biden commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, with a warning that democracy worldwide is at risk. Not long after his June 6 speech, social media users circulated edited video clips of Biden, claiming the president sat in an "imaginary chair," had a bowel movement and left the event prematurely.

The event’s full video does not support these claims; neither do news reports or posts from people who attended. But the claims spread rapidly online, racking up tens of millions of views.

Here’s how the baseless narratives emerged and spread, and how the D-Day anniversary event unfolded, based on journalists’ pool reports and longer videos of the event.

PolitiFact contacted the White House for comment on the viral claims but received no response.

How an ‘awkward’ squat led to baseless explanations

Social media users across X , Instagram and Facebook shared a 13-second clip of Biden at the event in which Biden shakes hands with Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, then turns away and bends slightly, as if to sit. When no one else moves to sit, Biden pauses, shifting halfway between standing and sitting. At the end of the clip, an announcer welcomes U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to the stage.

@RNCResearch, an X account run by the Republican National Committee and former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, appeared to be one of the first social media accounts to share the clip on X at 7:55 a.m. Eastern Time. It was captioned: "Awkward."

Many other users’ posts credited @RNCResearch as their source when resharing the video clip. The RNC Research account has shared misleadingly edited videos of Biden before.

By the afternoon of June 6, the words "pooping" and "invisible chair" were trending on X.

Jeanine Pirro, who co-hosts "The Five" on Fox News, shared on X the same clip of Biden half sitting and said, "Our commander-and-chief trying to sit in an imaginary chair on stage in front of the entire world. Lights on, but Biden’s not home. Embarrassing is an understatement. ... THERE IS NO CHAIR." 

The post was later removed.

Commentator Dave Rubin echoed the claim on X in a post that drew more than 2 million views, saying, "Pooping or sitting in an invisible chair?" 

In the clip, black chairs can be seen behind the Bidens and Macrons as Joe Biden begins to sit. Seconds later, in the full video, everyone onstage takes a seat, including Joe Biden; everyone has a chair.

Other X users with blue-check-mark accounts claimed the clip showed the president " pooped his pants ." 

Tim Pool, a podcast host and conservative commentator,  shared the clip twice in five minutes and said Biden soiled himself. Pool’s posts collectively received almost 4 million views just four hours after they were shared.

In the full video of the event, at about the 4-hour and 16-minute mark , Joe and Jill Biden and Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron sit down seconds after the abbreviated clip ends. About 10 minutes later, Austin’s speech ends and Biden’s speech starts.

Claims that Biden left the event prematurely

Another misleading video stems from a different moment from the same event. In the 33-second clip being shared online, Joe and Jill Biden walk offstage, and the camera pivots to show Emmanuel Macron talking and shaking hands with veterans.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative group advocating for limited government, shared this clip on X and wrote, "Yikes! At an Omaha Beach event honoring the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion, Dr. Jill Biden quickly escorts Joe Biden away leaving a seemingly perplexed French President Emmanuel Macron to honor WW2 veterans alone."

Another X user shared the clip and wrote, "Joe Biden is whisked away mid ceremony by his wife/handler, while French President Macron was left to greet Veterans by himself." This post was viewed more than 2 million times.

In the full video of the event, just before the 4 hour and 53-minute mark , Joe Biden is seen shaking hands with five veterans onstage and greeting several veterans at the beginning and during the ceremony. Afterward, he and Jill Biden exit the stage. 

When the camera turns to Emmanuel Macron, he walks over to a veteran in the crowd to shake his hand. Macron talks and shakes hands with another veteran before joining his wife and exiting the stage, about two minutes after the Bidens exited.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird and Audience Engagement Producer Ellen Hine  contributed to this report.

RELATED: How misinformers manufacture and embellish embarrassing presidential moments

Our Sources

RNC Research, X post ( archived link ), June 6, 2024

CBS News, Biden lauds WWII veterans on D-Day 80th anniversary, vows NATO solidarity in face of new threat to democracy , June 6, 2024

Rumble, " I think Biden Pooped Himself this Morning ," June 6, 2024

YouTube, " The Times and Sunday Times - LIVE: Biden and Macron mark 80th D-Day anniversary in Normandy ," June 6, 2024

Forth News, White House Pool , accessed June 6, 2024

The White House, " Remarks by President Biden Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of D-Day | Collevile-sur-Mer, France ," June 6, 2024

Charlie Kirk, X post ( archived link ), June 6, 2024

X post , June 6, 2024

Jeanine Pirro, X post, June 6, 2024

Tim Pool, X post , June 6, 2024

X post ( archived link ), June 6, 2024

Instagram post ( archived link ), June 6, 2024

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