Closing a Speech

00:00 How do you close a speech? The worst thing you can do with a speech is just sort of finish abruptly.

00:12 That's it. Any questions? Act like you're nervous and scurry off the stage or away from the front of the room.

00:19 Now, you don't have to have some big, overly dramatic ending.

00:23 You don't have to get down on bended knee.

00:25 You don't have to bring a tear to people's eyes.

00:27 But you do need to conclude with some finality.

00:32 Simply restate your main point or your main couple of points, or maybe even have a story that fleshes out your main point.

00:39 Let people know exactly what you want them to do and to remember and finish on purpose.

00:49 Finish as though you planned it.

00:51 You don't want to be like a car that's going down the highway 70 miles an hour and simply runs out of gas. Clunk, clunk.

00:57 That's what many speeches seem like.

01:00 You want to sum up a big main point.

01:03 Stop. Pause.

01:06 Step back.

01:08 Wait a second or two and then say I'll be happy to take questions if there's time for that.

01:15 That way you'll come across as polished, like you've put thought into it.

01:20 It leaves a good final taste in the mouth of your audience.

01:25 You'll be a much stronger closing.