by The Open University
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In Activity 6, we asked you to think about a presentation you attended. This time we'd like you to think about how it ended. Did it just fizzle out, did it end with a bang or simply a re-capitulation of the main points? Try to write down some ideas about why the conclusion was memorable and what method the speaker was using to make it so.
Here is a list of possible strategies for a conclusion:
Summary ? a fairly standard way to finish but nevertheless effective. A brief review of the important points leaves no doubts in the minds of your audience.
Questions ? send the audience away with a question. ?This then is what we have to do. The question now is, how can we best achieve it??
Story or anecdote ? should be brief and to the point. A story can illustrate how your ideas have worked out in practice.
Quotations ? as with the opening, a quotation can indicate wide knowledge, and can therefore lend credibility to your performance. The quotation must be relevant and not just tacked on for its own sake.
Alternative ? offer a choice of alternatives, or different solutions. The one you want accepted should be obvious from the way you have constructed your presentation and you can give this one more weight than the others in your summary.
Dramatic ? if you carry it off by dramatic use of your voice, or dramatic content, this method can certainly end things on a high note.
Action ? you want action now, not later. So ask for it. Many of your audience will respond.
Incentive ? if you can suggest ways in which the audience can benefit, or offer some sort of reward or incentive, they are even more likely to respond. An audience is less likely to forget your message if you offer a reason for taking action.
Fear ? use of fear to gain reaction is risky because it can alienate the audience. But since it is often difficult to provoke the audience to action, you may be justified in introducing an element of fear if the end result is worthwhile. ?You must act ? now! Before it is too late!?
Conscience-pricking ? this can have the same effect as fear, but it is less risky. By appealing to their honesty, you may make your audience realise that they have been lazy, apathetic, too busy, or ostrich-like in the past, to do what they know they should do.
The conclusion is the thing that most of your audience will take away with them so it needs to be as well organised as the other parts. It isn't just a winding down of the presentation. Quite a lot of thought is needed to encapsulate the points you have raised during your presentation. However, if you have organised the introduction and main body of the presentation then there won't be too much work to sort out the basic contents of the conclusion.
Here are some pitfalls to avoid:
End on a high note: don't wander towards the end. Make sure that what you say is relevant to all that has gone before.
Don't make a second speech. Even if you suddenly think of something else which is relevant, don't be tempted. It is very easy, as the tension relaxes, to start developing a new line of thought which was not developed in the body of the talk.
Avoid repetition. In summing up the main points you have made, don't repeat details or labour over points again. If you have finished before your allotted finishing time ? sit down. Don't pad it out.
It's best not to give too many closing signals, e.g. ?And finally?, ?In conclusion, then?, ?One other thing before I finish?. In fact, it may be best to avoid a closing signal altogether. Your closing remarks should round off your talk; by implication your audience will know that your talk is complete.
