How To Close A Speech That Brings Your Audience To Their Feet

culled from:.princetonpublicspeaking.com

1. A Direct Call to Action. A speech or presentation without a call to action is a speech or presentation probably not worth giving. The close of your speech should clearly spell out what you want your audience to do next. Here are some examples:

“In order to guarantee that we save __________ tomorrow, we need to __________ today! Let’s get to work.”

“If every person in this room leaves and immediately __________, I guarantee you’ll enjoy __________ next year!”

“We can have __________ or we can have __________. The choice is ours, and is based entirely on the decision we each individually make today. __________ or __________. I know I’m choosing __________.”

2. A Call to Vision. You can also motivate your audience by sharing your vision. Create a mental picture for your listeners of what could happen as a result of your call to action . Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. illustrated this beautifully with the final words of his epic “I Have a Dream” speech:

“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

3. A Call to Question. Finally, end with a rhetorical question that captures your message and leaves the audience thinking. One that directly ties into your call to action can be very effective. Here are two examples:

“What choice will you make when you leave here today? Will go about your normal routine or will you __________?”

“Ultimately, the future of __________ lies in your hands. When will you be ready to do something about it?”