After you’ve skillfully elicited and responded to questions from your audience, how do you conclude your presentation with impact?
A strong conclusion actually starts before the Q&A with a review of the key points in your presentation. This review may even help the audience remember questions they had, or think of new ones. It gives them a chance to consider the big picture as well. Now they are primed for the Q&A!
When the questions have stopped, or time is up, it’s time to conclude.
Don’t make the mistake of giving a simple “thank you” and walking away. Instead, have a well-planned closing statement. Your closing should not be lengthy, but it should wrap things up neatly, and end on a positive note.
You may have heard of the Primacy Effect and the Recency Effect; in other words, people will remember best the first and last things you said during your presentation. What is the single message that you want your audience to think about when they leave the room? This is your concluding statement.
To sum up, a memorable conclusion will have:
- Review
- Q&A
- Closing Statement
Have you experienced presentations that had a memorable conclusion? What did the speaker do/say?