Presentations: Types of Closings

The closing to your presentation is even more important than your opening.
What do you want the listener to do, think, feel, as a result of hearing your presentation?

Your closing may be any type of Opener (see blog post), or any of these ideas:

• Call for Action
Tell the audience exactly what you want them to do
• “Circle-Back”
Return to the Opening theme
• Offer a Future Challenge
• Reference to whatever follows your presentation
• Restate your claim
• Statement of Personal Intent
A credibility-building technique, where you demonstrate to your audience that you too will be taking action
• Visualize the effects of your solution

Or any of these:
Anecdotes
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Case Study
Challenge/Concern
Current Event(s)
Declarative Statement(s)
Fact or Statistic
Humor
Metaphor
Parable
Parallel
Quotation(s)
Real-world Situation
Rhetorical Question(s)
Scenario(s)
Short Story
Simile
Startling Statement(s)
Visual Aid(s)

Avoid the 5 Deadly Sins of Closers:
1. Changing your delivery style, by becoming fast-paced and energetic at the end
2. Admitting you had forgotten a previous point
3. Stopping without summarizing the key points
4. Apologizing for not being prepared or for running out of time; going over-time
5. Rambling on when you have nothing else to say

-Sheryl Roush, Speaker, Speaking Coach
Sparkle Presentations, Inc.

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