Craig Valentine's "Edge of Their Seats" Public Speaking Blog!

3 Keys to Closing your Speech with Impact

In speaking we have to understand that audiences remember best what they hear first and what they hear last. Therefore, the way we open a speech is critical and the way we close it is just as important. There are 3 tools you can use to make sure your closing makes an impact.

3 Keys to a Powerful Closing

1. The Signal

Signal that you are closing. Like I say in my speeches, “Always tell your audience when you’re closing so they’ll listen again.” It’s true. Audiences won’t always listen to every single thing you say. Sometimes their minds might wander. However, when you tell them you’re closing, they perk up and peak up and they think, “He’ll probably be summing up the message now.”

How do you do this? I like to paint a picture by saying, “Let’s wrap up this message...” or “As we wrap up this message...” or “as we bring this event to a close...” What you want to guard against is the old, “In conclusion” or “In summary.” Be more creative than that. Your speech deserves it.

2. The Call Backs

As we close we should also call back to our main points and anything else that might be worth revisiting. For example, with my 4 Rs to Remarkable Results, it goes something like this:

“So you  face reality with whatever measurement scale you’re using, because you master what you measure. Once you face reality you have to relinquish what’s in the way, because you’re either on the way or in the way. Then you rely on the process of change by creating a vision that keeps people fired up rather than fed up. And finally, you reform to a better way. Is it by changing everything at once? No, it’s by changing small and changing often. So you have the message, but what about the motivation?”

As you can see I called back to my main points (i.e. the 4 Rs) and revisited some of the memorable lines of the speech. In fact, because I do call backs throughout my speech, by the time I reach the end, my audience usually says the phrases along with me. That’s powerful because, if they say it, they buy into it.

3. The Closing Bang

Once you signal that you are closing and you call back to your main points, you must finish with a bang. In my experience, the very best way to finish a speech is the same as the very best way to open one and that’s with a powerful story. What should this closing story do? It should give hope. Hope for what? Hope that your process or formula or main points of advice will work for them. For example, I often end with a story about how I went from being a kid with a speech impediment that had others refer to me as Daffy Duck to me changing and growing into the World Champion of Public Speaking. The 4Rs were my process. When my audience realizes the 4Rs worked for me, they gain hope that the 4 Rs will work for them too. Close with a story that gives hope. That’s a great way to leave your audience.

For more on how to master openings, closings, and everything in-between, visit http://www.createyourkeynote.com/

3 Keys To Hook Your Audience Into Your Story

Tap, Tease, and Transport

Most speakers start their stories and hope their audiences will come along on those journeys. That's average. World Class Speakers don't do that. Instead, they make their audiences curious so that they want to come along. So here is the secret: it's what you do before your story that really matters.

 

Example

For example, before one of my stories, I say the following:

"What do you think is the number one thing that stands between most people living their dreams?" The audience yells out various responses. Then, in a friendly/humorous way I say, "Those are all great answers and if you listen closely they all have the same thing in common. They're all wrong." The audience laughs. Then I say, "No, they're not wrong. They're just not the number one thing in my opinion that gets in the way. The number one thing is not what you think."

What do you think the audience is thinking at that point? Right, they are thinking, "Okay, what is the number one thing?" And that is the key to curiosity. You have to get them to ask themselves a question and let them know the answer is coming up in the story.

 

Tap, Tease, and Transport

This is what I call the Tap, Tease, and Transport method. It is a three step process which includes:

1.   Tapping into your audiences' mind with a question

2.   Teasing them to want to know more

3.   Transporting them into your story

 

The Method in Action

Tap: I tapped into their mind by asking, "What do you think is the number one thing that stands between most people living their dreams?" That was the tap. I got them thinking about themselves!

Tease: Then, I told them, "Your answers are wrong. The number one thing is not what you think." That’s the tease. Now they know they'll find the number one thing inside my story so they are amped up to come along. Why? It is because they know they are going to be given a point that will help them reach their goals.

Transport: Finally, I transport them into my story in stealth fashion. What I mean by that is you should never say, "Well, listen to my story" or "Now I'm going to tell you a story" or anything like that. Instead, sneak into your story. Get them into your story before they realize you're going to tell a story. Once you say something like, "I'm going to tell you a story," many audience members put down their pens and let their minds wander elsewhere. Instead, sneak them into it.

For your next story, try this 3-step method out. When you use the tap, tease, and transport method, you'll look up and see you have everyone's undivided attention as they join you on your journey. Tap, Tease, and Transport.