Ending to my story quotes7/23/2023 Give your speech a provocative title that encapsulates your message memorably. Only you can orchestrate it.” #5 – Title Close Now is the time to do it, and, together, we can do it.” #4 – Repetitive Closeįind a phrase and structure it in a repetitive format that strikes the cadence of a drummer, building to a crescendo ending of a motivational speech: “More than 450 years before the birth of Christ, Confucius said: ‘What I hear, I forget what I see, I remember what I do, I understand.’ We need you to step out of the gray twilight into the bright sunshine so that we can all see the dawn of a new day.” #3 – Echo Closeįocus on one word in a quotation and emphasize that word to echo your final point.įor example, consider the five echoes of the word “do” in this ending to a speech on the importance of getting involved in the education process: We have too much to do to sit on the sidelines. ‘Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to remain with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.’ “Let’s turn from spectators into participants. If you were concluding a speech on the importance of taking action, you could say: This will achieve symmetry in the classic 3-part speech outline: Tell ‘em what you are going to tell ‘em tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.’ #2 – Challenge CloseĬhallenge your audience to a pply what you have told them in the speech. Then reiterate the message you want your audience to remember. Study the following 10 templates and adapt your speech to end your speech with a bang:įor a bookend speech closing, refer back to your opening anecdote or quote and say, “We have arrived, now, where we began.” Last words crystallize your thoughts, galvanize your message, and mobilize your audience. Just as the comedian should leave ‘em laughing, the speaker should leave ‘em thinking. Leading speakers end their speeches like the opera star-on a high note, vocally and intellectually. “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for thousands of years, men will say: ‘This was their finest hour.’” End Your Speech on a High Note He concluded his speech with the words that have become the title of the speech: In the face of a German threat of an invasion upon England in World War II, Winston Churchill on Jcalled upon all of the British to brace themselves. “Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns: you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me give me liberty or give me death.”Īt the Democratic National Convention in 1896, William Jennings Bryan concluded his stirring speech against the gold standard in national currency with the words that have become the title of his speech: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. Patrick Henry concluded a stirring speech on Mawith this: On the brink of the American Revolution, the colonists were debating the war. You can learn from these to spark your creative energy and capture the spirit of ending with a bang. No wonder that only seven of the 217 speeches listed in William Safire’s anthology Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History conclude with “thank you.” Examples of How to End a SpeechĬonsider these examples of resounding speech conclusions from Patrick Henry, William Jennings Bryant and Winston Churchill. It takes creative thinking and a compelling delivery to end your speech with a mighty climax that relegates the perfunctory “thank you” as superfluous. This article shows you how to close your speech with a bang.Ĭall Attention to the Close of Your SpeechĬontrary to the prevailing practice of too many politicians and business and community leaders, the most influential speakers don’t end their speeches with a perfunctory and mundane “Thank you.” That’s too easy. With the flair of a fireworks finale, you’ll trigger spontaneous applause to a well-rehearsed, well-timed, and well-executed performance - a performance that reflects all the anticipation of a logger’s cry: Timbeerrrrrrrrrrr! Instead of firing off a perfunctory “thank you,” consider launching fireworks of final passionate thoughts from the podium. End your speech with an attitude, not a platitude.
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