Imagine a scenario – You have been assigned a presentation that you are supposed to deliver the next week. You are working hard and making all efforts to make it a success. You have prepared the unique slide designs and included well-researched content. You are also done with rehearsal and practice.
On the big day, you start your presentation with a bang. And succeeded well in engaging the audience with a compelling story. As you reach the conclusion of the presentation, you wrap up just by saying ‘thank you.’ Won’t it undermine the effectiveness of your entire presentation?
Remember, the closing statement/remark of your presentation is equally important as the opening one. If it is not done the right way, there is no sense in keeping people engaged for this long.
In a presentation, most people mostly remember the first and last thing you say to them. So, the conclusion is the last opportunity to make them remember the core message and key points.
In this article, we’ll discuss several ways in which you can conclude the presentation on a high note.
1. A Strong Call to Action
There is always a purpose/goal behind every speech. You engage the audience with your content and establish a connection to achieve that goal. A call to action is a prompt that motivates the target group to take the desired action at the end of your presentation. Some examples of CTA are-
- Subscribing for a course, company, or personal email updates
- Sharing your content/profile
- Buying a product
- Signing up for an event or webinar
A well-concluded presentation with a clear call to action (CTA) inspires your audience to take action and helps you achieve the desired outcome. Therefore, you must tell the audience what you expect from them with a simple, specific, and concise CTA.
Example- Suppose you want attendees to join a training program; you can use this CTA- “Are you ready to upgrade your skills? Reserve your seat today!”
You must use strong command verbs to write a CTA. Here are some more examples to help you understand better.
To promote a newsletter or white paper, you can start the CTA with words like “subscribe” or “download.”
If you want people to request more information, you can use “Find out how…” or “Fill out a form for…”
A poorly constructed CTA can undermine the effectiveness of even the most fantastic presentation. Hence, craft a more informative and direct CTA that can also improve the CTR (Click-through rate).
Pro Tip: Lower barriers to action help the audience act quickly.
2. Inspiring Quote
Whether you choose a killer quote from a famous personality or frame a strong statement in your own words, closing a presentation with a thought-provoking line can hook your target audience and inspire them to think bigger.
This is the reason why wrapping up your presentation with motivational words proves to be highly effective. If you want to ignite emotions or make your audience feel in a certain way, you can share an inspiring quote.
For example, you can say, “I would like to finish with this Inspiring/powerful/interesting/inspiring/ quote from …”
Take a few moments to discuss how the quote aligns with the presentation theme. It will connect the audience on a deeper level.
Look at this video in which Ken Robinson, a British writer, concluded his TED Talk with Benjamin Franklin’s quote.
3. Summarize the Key Points/Core Message
Repetition is the critical factor in memorizing things for a longer time. It works best for presentations, too!
Summarizing/highlighting the key point or core message at the end of the presentation makes it memorable to the audience even after they leave the room. You don’t need to give a detailed description at this time. Just share the main content and explain to the audience how the summarized points support your main argument.
Closing a presentation this way does two things for you. Firstly, it helps provide a quick round-up of the topic and, secondly, brings everyone on the same page.
You can even use certain phrases to indicate the closure. For example, “This brings me to the end of my presentation.” Or “Before I share my final thoughts.”
You can also summarize by saying something like this, “Before I share my final thoughts about ABC, let me briefly restate the key points…”
4. End with a Funny Joke
Can closing statements be funny? Yes, it can be.
Cracking a joke is a fantastic way to get all eyes and ears. As a presenter, if you want to fill the room with humor, you must practice more to get it done correctly. If it is not done appropriately or used excessively, it can push you apart or backfire. Try to incorporate creative, unexpected humor, something original that sounds naturally funny rather than cliché or forced. Additionally, avoid humor that is too complex to understand or controversial for your audience. You can use a funny meme or image to capture the audience’s attention.
Using humor in presentations is tricky, so you must consider the following points-
- The joke/humor must not vanish the essence of your message.
- It must not hurt the audience’s sentiments anyway.
- It must be tailored to the backgrounds, expectations, and interests of the audience.
ProTip: Make your audience laugh and win their hearts by balancing humor with sincerity.
5. Acknowledgment is Essential
Isn’t it a great idea to acknowledge those who contributed to the presentation? However, many presenters overlook expressing gratitude.
Being thankful and appreciative to those who have helped you prepare a fantastic presentation is a key skill one must learn. It enhances the worthiness of contributors and makes them feel valued. They can be members of the project, your organization, or the website from where you gathered data. You should follow a 3 “S” rule while you write acknowledgments. Try to keep it Simple, Short, and Specific.
Here is an example:
“I sincerely thank my advisor/mentor [NAME] for their invaluable guidance throughout my research. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their support.”
6. Captivating Visuals
A picture is worth a thousand words. This saying is pretty old, but it will never cease to be true. Facts also say that our mind processes images 60,000 times faster than text. We, humans, can grasp even the most complicated information with one picture or illustration in a split second.
So, why not leverage the power of visuals to end your presentation in a memorable way? Since you are left with limited time, the right visual at this time can support your statements and arguments, help reiterate essential points, and lead to stronger connections before you leave the stage.
You can show your audience an inspirational or humorous image, a captivating graphic, a short clip, or any other visual that sums up the core message of your presentation and leaves the audience with a lasting impression.
Quick Tips
a). Don’t End with a Question
Most people make the mistake of asking questions at the end.
Leaving the room with queries/doubts in the audience’s mind is not an ideal way to conclude the presentation. Remember, this is your presentation, so try to close it with your thoughts.
b). Don’t End with Thank You
Though it is a polite way to end your speech, it adds no new information. Therefore, ending the presentation using these two words only shows a lack of preparation for a strong closing statement.
c). Indicate with Body Language
You can convey a sense of closure to the audience using your body language. Giving verbal cues like a pause or changing the tone of voice shows that it’s time to say goodbye and indicates that you are preparing to leave the room.
d). Don’t Miss Out Important Points
If you’ve committed to discussing a specific number of points, cover all of them before you start concluding the presentation.
Final Thoughts
A strong beginning of a presentation keeps the audience engaged, while a memorable closing leaves a lasting impact. It can motivate, inspire, and persuade people to take action. If you nail these two sections of your speech, the rest of the presentation will fall into place.
You should craft an ending in such a way that connects the beginning and main message of your presentation because it is essential to remind your audience of the key points one last time. You can use a combination of two or three strategies shared in this article to make significant endings.
