Wednesday, October 11, 2023

This Month's Public Speaking Tip: ENDS on the Close

"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."
-Frank Herbert

Remember back in the audience when you were in a presentation and someone said "That's it!"? It can feel like a huge sigh of relief to the speaker, and yet it seems so abrupt to those watching/listening.

That is no way to end a presentation, and yet many do simply dismiss everything they did with those two words, which are sometimes followed by "any questions?", (which we already know the questions are to be addressed in the summary).

The parts for which to prepare your talk, training, or pitch include the following:

1. Open-getting attention with facts/story

2. Preview-time, agenda, purpose

3. Body-sharing the information through agenda items

4. Interaction-eye contact & audience engagement

5. Summary-check purpose, agenda & do Q&A

6. Close

The last months covered the OPEN, the PREVIEW, the BODY, the INTERACTION, the SUMMARY, and now the CLOSE is where/how you explore what best ENDS the presentation through:

E - Extend interest in the topic by revisiting the open

N - Nearing the end without being rushed

D - Doing the service of completing the cycle from start to finish with a refer-back and/or a new take on the OPEN in order to "tie the bow" on the experience

S - Say "Thank you" and leave the space/stage

Having a powerful and purposeful close means you end on a high, and importantly, the audience gets the full experience from the way you begin to the way you end, and has a true Return On Investment from the time spent with you!

#publicspeaking #ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #KIND


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