How To Finish A Presentation

Hi, I'm Simon Bucknall and in 2008 I won the European Championship of Public Speaking. At the Art of Connection we help ambitious professionals to connect with their audience. And we do it by bringing world class communication's expertise into the training room.

To enable our clients to persuade, influence and inspire others. Many people believe that finishing a presentation is all about summarizing clearly what you've said. Rubbish, it's not true.

It's true in part, but what's really important about the conclusion to any speech or presentation is the call to action. Now what do I mean by that? I mean, the words, the message, the idea that you want to plant in the minds of your audience. Think of it this way, when you give a speech or presentation your purpose is to change the way your audience thinks, feels or acts because if you don't create change in some way, it's a waste of everybody's time.

That change could be large or small, but it has to be a change of some kind. And your conclusion gives you that opportunity to hammer home on that message. Many presenters also make the mistake of assuming that they should finish with a Q and A.

And again, that's wrong. You want to leave that audience on your terms. The problem with Q and A's is that you may find yourself with a question at the end which is a real awkward question, the energy may well dip, or you may struggle to answer the question.

And that means that the last impression your audience has of you is the energy that was in the room for that final question. Far better to have your Q and A shortly before the end, so that you can deliver your call to action, your key message, whatever that might be after the Q and A, and that way, you leave the audience on your terms. So, you can ensure that you do change the way that audience thinks, feels or acts.

Two words that you should never end a presentation with are the words Thank You. Because the audience is about to thank you when they applaud. And if you're wondering therefore what might I say instead, well, what if you were to lay down a challenge to the audience? Or to put it another way, what if the next time you finish your presentation, you leave the audience with a question. .