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30 Examples: How to Conclude a Presentation (Effective Closing Techniques)

By Status.net Editorial Team on March 4, 2024 — 9 minutes to read

Ending a presentation on a high note is a skill that can set you apart from the rest. It’s the final chance to leave an impact on your audience, ensuring they walk away with the key messages embedded in their minds. This moment is about driving your points home and making sure they resonate. Crafting a memorable closing isn’t just about summarizing key points, though that’s part of it, but also about providing value that sticks with your listeners long after they’ve left the room.

Crafting Your Core Message

To leave a lasting impression, your presentation’s conclusion should clearly reflect your core message. This is your chance to reinforce the takeaways and leave the audience thinking about your presentation long after it ends.

Identifying Key Points

Start by recognizing what you want your audience to remember. Think about the main ideas that shaped your talk. Make a list like this:

  • The problem your presentation addresses.
  • The evidence that supports your argument.
  • The solution you propose or the action you want the audience to take.

These key points become the pillars of your core message.

Contextualizing the Presentation

Provide context by briefly relating back to the content of the whole presentation. For example:

  • Reference a statistic you shared in the opening, and how it ties into the conclusion.
  • Mention a case study that underlines the importance of your message.

Connecting these elements gives your message cohesion and makes your conclusion resonate with the framework of your presentation.

30 Example Phrases: How to Conclude a Presentation

  • 1. “In summary, let’s revisit the key takeaways from today’s presentation.”
  • 2. “Thank you for your attention. Let’s move forward together.”
  • 3. “That brings us to the end. I’m open to any questions you may have.”
  • 4. “I’ll leave you with this final thought to ponder as we conclude.”
  • 5. “Let’s recap the main points before we wrap up.”
  • 6. “I appreciate your engagement. Now, let’s turn these ideas into action.”
  • 7. “We’ve covered a lot today. To conclude, remember these crucial points.”
  • 8. “As we reach the end, I’d like to emphasize our call to action.”
  • 9. “Before we close, let’s quickly review what we’ve learned.”
  • 10. “Thank you for joining me on this journey. I look forward to our next steps.”
  • 11. “In closing, I’d like to thank everyone for their participation.”
  • 12. “Let’s conclude with a reminder of the impact we can make together.”
  • 13. “To wrap up our session, here’s a brief summary of our discussion.”
  • 14. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to present to you. Any final thoughts?”
  • 15. “And that’s a wrap. I welcome any final questions or comments.”
  • 16. “As we conclude, let’s remember the objectives we’ve set today.”
  • 17. “Thank you for your time. Let’s apply these insights to achieve success.”
  • 18. “In conclusion, your feedback is valuable, and I’m here to listen.”
  • 19. “Before we part, let’s take a moment to reflect on our key messages.”
  • 20. “I’ll end with an invitation for all of us to take the next step.”
  • 21. “As we close, let’s commit to the goals we’ve outlined today.”
  • 22. “Thank you for your attention. Let’s keep the conversation going.”
  • 23. “In conclusion, let’s make a difference, starting now.”
  • 24. “I’ll leave you with these final words to consider as we end our time together.”
  • 25. “Before we conclude, remember that change starts with our actions today.”
  • 26. “Thank you for the lively discussion. Let’s continue to build on these ideas.”
  • 27. “As we wrap up, I encourage you to reach out with any further questions.”
  • 28. “In closing, I’d like to express my gratitude for your valuable input.”
  • 29. “Let’s conclude on a high note and take these learnings forward.”
  • 30. “Thank you for your time today. Let’s end with a commitment to progress.”

Summarizing the Main Points

When you reach the end of your presentation, summarizing the main points helps your audience retain the important information you’ve shared. Crafting a memorable summary enables your listeners to walk away with a clear understanding of your message.

Effective Methods of Summarization

To effectively summarize your presentation, you need to distill complex information into concise, digestible pieces. Start by revisiting the overarching theme of your talk and then narrow down to the core messages. Use plain language and imagery to make the enduring ideas stick. Here are some examples of how to do this:

  • Use analogies that relate to common experiences to recap complex concepts.
  • Incorporate visuals or gestures that reinforce your main arguments.

The Rule of Three

The Rule of Three is a classic writing and communication principle. It means presenting ideas in a trio, which is a pattern that’s easy for people to understand and remember. For instance, you might say, “Our plan will save time, cut costs, and improve quality.” This structure has a pleasing rhythm and makes the content more memorable. Some examples include:

  • “This software is fast, user-friendly, and secure.”
  • Pointing out a product’s “durability, affordability, and eco-friendliness.”

Reiterating the Main Points

Finally, you want to circle back to the key takeaways of your presentation. Rephrase your main points without introducing new information. This reinforcement supports your audience’s memory and understanding of the material. You might summarize key takeaways like this:

  • Mention the problem you addressed, the solution you propose, and the benefits of this solution.
  • Highlighting the outcomes of adopting your strategy: higher efficiency, greater satisfaction, and increased revenue.

Creating a Strong Conclusion

The final moments of your presentation are your chance to leave your audience with a powerful lasting impression. A strong conclusion is more than just summarizing—it’s your opportunity to invoke thought, inspire action, and make your message memorable.

Incorporating a Call to Action

A call to action is your parting request to your audience. You want to inspire them to take a specific action or think differently as a result of what they’ve heard. To do this effectively:

  • Be clear about what you’re asking.
  • Explain why their action is needed.
  • Make it as simple as possible for them to take the next steps.

Example Phrases:

  • “Start making a difference today by…”
  • “Join us in this effort by…”
  • “Take the leap and commit to…”

Leaving a Lasting Impression

End your presentation with something memorable. This can be a powerful quote, an inspirational statement, or a compelling story that underscores your main points. The goal here is to resonate with your audience on an emotional level so that your message sticks with them long after they leave.

  • “In the words of [Influential Person], ‘…'”
  • “Imagine a world where…”
  • “This is more than just [Topic]; it’s about…”

Enhancing Audience Engagement

To hold your audience’s attention and ensure they leave with a lasting impression of your presentation, fostering interaction is key.

Q&A Sessions

It’s important to integrate a Q&A session because it allows for direct communication between you and your audience. This interactive segment helps clarify any uncertainties and encourages active participation. Plan for this by designating a time slot towards the end of your presentation and invite questions that promote discussion.

  • “I’d love to hear your thoughts; what questions do you have?”
  • “Let’s dive into any questions you might have. Who would like to start?”
  • “Feel free to ask any questions, whether they’re clarifications or deeper inquiries about the topic.”

Encouraging Audience Participation

Getting your audience involved can transform a good presentation into a great one. Use open-ended questions that provoke thought and allow audience members to reflect on how your content relates to them. Additionally, inviting volunteers to participate in a demonstration or share their experiences keeps everyone engaged and adds a personal touch to your talk.

  • “Could someone give me an example of how you’ve encountered this in your work?”
  • “I’d appreciate a volunteer to help demonstrate this concept. Who’s interested?”
  • “How do you see this information impacting your daily tasks? Let’s discuss!”

Delivering a Persuasive Ending

At the end of your presentation, you have the power to leave a lasting impact on your audience. A persuasive ending can drive home your key message and encourage action.

Sales and Persuasion Tactics

When you’re concluding a presentation with the goal of selling a product or idea, employ carefully chosen sales and persuasion tactics. One method is to summarize the key benefits of your offering, reminding your audience why it’s important to act. For example, if you’ve just presented a new software tool, recap how it will save time and increase productivity. Another tactic is the ‘call to action’, which should be clear and direct, such as “Start your free trial today to experience the benefits first-hand!” Furthermore, using a touch of urgency, like “Offer expires soon!”, can nudge your audience to act promptly.

Final Impressions and Professionalism

Your closing statement is a chance to solidify your professional image and leave a positive impression. It’s important to display confidence and poise. Consider thanking your audience for their time and offering to answer any questions. Make sure to end on a high note by summarizing your message in a concise and memorable way. If your topic was on renewable energy, you might conclude by saying, “Let’s take a leap towards a greener future by adopting these solutions today.” This reinforces your main points and encourages your listeners to think or act differently when they leave.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some creative strategies for ending a presentation memorably.

To end your presentation in a memorable way, consider incorporating a call to action that engages your audience to take the next step. Another strategy is to finish with a thought-provoking question or a surprising fact that resonates with your listeners.

Can you suggest some powerful quotes suitable for concluding a presentation?

Yes, using a quote can be very effective. For example, Maya Angelou’s “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” can reinforce the emotional impact of your presentation.

What is an effective way to write a conclusion that summarizes a presentation?

An effective conclusion should recap the main points succinctly, highlighting what you want your audience to remember. A good way to conclude is by restating your thesis and then briefly summarizing the supporting points you made.

As a student, how can I leave a strong impression with my presentation’s closing remarks?

To leave a strong impression, consider sharing a personal anecdote related to your topic that demonstrates passion and conviction. This helps humanize your content and makes the message more relatable to your audience.

How can I appropriately thank my audience at the close of my presentation?

A simple and sincere expression of gratitude is always appropriate. You might say, “Thank you for your attention and engagement today,” to convey appreciation while also acknowledging their participation.

What are some examples of a compelling closing sentence in a presentation?

A compelling closing sentence could be something like, “Together, let’s take the leap towards a greener future,” if you’re presenting on sustainability. This sentence is impactful, calls for united action, and leaves your audience with a clear message.

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conclusion of effective presentation strategies

How to End a Presentation? [Top 8 Strategies with Examples]

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Guru - May 9, 2023 - Leave your thoughts. 9 min read

animaker deck , presentation , presentation ideas , Presentation Software , presentation tips

How you end a presentation is just as crucial as its opening. It can make or break the impression that you leave on your audience.

A strong conclusion can reinforce your key message and ensure that your audience remembers it even after the presentation is over.

A well-concluded presentation can leave your audience impressed, energized, and motivated to take action.

So now, are you wondering what’s the best way to conclude your presentation? Don’t worry! You have come to the right place!

To help you make a powerful ending to your presentation, we have compiled a list of 8 different strategies in this blog post.

Each of these strategies is designed to help you create a memorable and impactful conclusion to your presentation.

By choosing the most appropriate one for your presentation, you can ensure that your audience remembers your key message and feels motivated to take action.

Let’s jump right in,

1. Emphasize the core message 2. Mirror your opening statement 3. Pose an open-ended question 4. End with a Call to action 5. Thank the audience 6. End with a powerful quote 7. Acknowledge your contributors 8. Ask for feedback

1. Emphasize the core message:

One of the most important aspects of any presentation is ensuring your audience understands your core message.

Reiterating your main points and summarizing your message at the end of your presentation can reinforce this and leave a lasting impression.

It helps to ensure that your audience understands the purpose of your presentation and has a clear takeaway from the information you have provided.

In this video, the speaker restates her topic to conclude her speech firmly and gives a pause, resulting in tremendous applause from the audience.

Similarly, by restating your core message, you can also create a sense of cohesion and give your presentation a firm closure.

This can be particularly important if you want to motivate your audience to take action or influence their behavior in some way.

However, it's important not to repeat EVERYTHING you have said. Instead, focus on the most crucial elements and highlight them in a concise and clear manner.

2. Mirror your opening statement:

A great way to end your presentation is by mirroring your opening statement in your conclusion.

Highlighting your presentation's key message at the end and emphasizing the central idea you aimed to communicate will help your audience to retain it in their memory.

During the conclusion of the presentation, the speaker effectively utilized the technique of mirroring the opening example she had presented - ordering a pizza on the phone by herself.

The speaker demonstrated the remarkable transformation she had undergone in terms of personal growth and confidence, which strongly reinforced her message to the audience.

By mirroring her opening example, she created a sense of familiarity and connection with her audience while simultaneously driving home the key message of her presentation.

This technique allowed the audience to understand better and relate to the speaker's personal journey and the message she was conveying.

Similarly, you can also use this strategy to conclude your presentation. This can be particularly effective if you are trying to reinforce a specific theme or idea throughout your presentation.

3. Pose an open-ended question:

One of the best ways to conclude your presentation is to elicit a response from your audience using an open-ended question that can effectively engage them and make your presentation more memorable.

Look at how the speaker concludes her speech with an open-ended question in this video.

Similarly, you can also raise open-ended questions to help your audience look from a different perspective and encourage them to investigate more thoroughly on the information presented.

Most importantly, ensuring that your question is relevant to your presentation and doesn't detract from your overall message is essential when eliciting a response.

So make sure that you kindle your audiences’ thoughts and ideas with the open-ended question at the end. This helps create a good long-lasting impression of your presentation.

4. End with a Call to action:

One of the best ways to end your presentation is by concluding with a call to action slide.

Incorporating a call to action into your presentation can be a powerful way to encourage your audience to take the next step.

Whether it's signing up for a program, making a purchase, or supporting a cause, a clear call to action is essential to achieving your desired outcome.

Similarly, according to your type of presentation, you can include a relevant call to action.

For example, this might involve providing specific instructions or offering an incentive for taking action, such as a discount or free trial.

It's essential that you understand their pain points and make your call to action compelling. Ensure that your core message and the needs of your audience are aligned so that they are motivated enough to act.

5. Thank the audience:

At the end of your presentation, it's essential to recognize that your audience has taken time out of their busy schedules to attend and listen to your message.

Thanking your audience for their time and attention can create a positive impression and make them feel appreciated.

It's essential to make your gratitude genuine and sincere rather than a superficial gesture. For example, consider expressing your gratitude with a personal anecdote or acknowledging specific individuals in the audience.

This simple act of gratitude can also create a sense of personal connection and signal to your audience that the presentation has reached its conclusion, paving the way for future interactions with them.

6. End with a powerful quote:

One effective strategy to end your presentation on a high note is by leaving the audience with a powerful quote.

However, it's crucial to choose a quote that is not only impactful but also unique and relevant to your topic.

Using a commonly known quote may come across as unoriginal and irrelevant, losing the attention and interest of your audience in most cases.

In this presentation, Steve Jobs concludes his speech with an inspiring and powerful message, “Stay Hungry! Stay Foolish”. Thereby emphasizing that you should never stop learning, pursue more goals, and never stop being satisfied.

Similarly, in your conclusion, consider using a relevant quote to make an impact.

7. Acknowledge your contributors:

Another best way to conclude your presentation is by showing gratitude to your contributors.

For example, if you deliver a business presentation on behalf of a team or a department, it's essential to recognize the collective effort that went into creating the presentation.

The concluding moments of your speech are the perfect opportunity to acknowledge your team members' hard work and dedication.

You can express gratitude to your team as a whole, thanking them for their contribution to the presentation.

However, if you want to ensure that the individual efforts of team members are recognized, highlighting specific contributions may be a better approach.

Some examples include:

"Join me in giving a round of applause to my incredible team, who played a significant role in arranging this pitch deck."

"Finally, I would like to mention that my tech team experts provided me with insight into the technical nuances, and without their contribution, this presentation would not have been as informative as it is now."

"As I conclude, I want to express my gratitude to Mark and Serene from the Marketing team, whose assistance in gathering the data and designing the slides was invaluable."

By acknowledging individual team members, you are demonstrating your appreciation for their work and giving them the recognition they deserve.

This will not only make them feel valued but also motivate them to continue contributing to the success of future presentations.

So be sure to end your presentation with the required acknowledgment for all the contributions.

8. Ask for feedback:

You can conclude your presentation seamlessly by thanking the audience and asking for feedback from them.

Encouraging feedback from your audience can greatly benefit your future presentations. It allows you to understand how your message was received and how you can improve for the next time.

So, how can you gather feedback effectively?

Firstly, ask attendees to share their thoughts on your presentation after you finish speaking. This can be done by initiating a Q&A session or by approaching individuals directly.

Another option is to set up a QR code near the exit and ask people to scan and jot down their thoughts on the online form as they leave. This allows attendees to provide their feedback in a confidential and hassle-free manner.

Also, consider having a suggestion box for handwritten feedback notes or creating an anonymous online survey that links to your presentation slides. This method is beneficial if you want to gather feedback from a large audience or if you prefer to have quantitative data.

By actively seeking feedback, you show your audience that you value their input and are committed to improving your presentation skills.

However, this strategy does not apply to all the general presentations. So use this way of concluding your presentation where it makes more sense to you and the audience.

In summary, an impactful conclusion is vital to wrap up your presentation successfully.

Each of these strategies serves a unique purpose, and by combining them, you can create a conclusion that is both engaging and impactful.

By incorporating the 8 critical strategies mentioned in this guide, you can leave a lasting impression on your audience, ensuring that your message stays with them even after the presentation has ended.

Now that you have learned the pro strategies of how to end a presentation, take a look at this guide on “How to start a presentation” as well and nail your presentation from start to end!

If you are still uncertain about how to make a presentation from the ground up, we suggest checking out Animaker Deck - the world's first avatar-driven presentation software.

With over 40 distinct and creatively designed templates at your disposal, we are confident you will find it worth trying!

We hope this article was helpful. Do let us know your thoughts on which strategy worked best for you, and also suggest your own ways of ending a presentation.

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Blog Marketing How To End A Presentation & Leave A Lasting Impression

How To End A Presentation & Leave A Lasting Impression

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 09, 2023

How To End A Presentation

So you’ve got an exciting presentation ready to wow your audience and you’re left with the final brushstroke — how to end your presentation with a bang. 

Just as a captivating opening draws your audience in, creating a well-crafted presentation closing has the power to leave a profound and lasting impression that resonates long after the lights dim and the audience disperses.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the art of crafting an impactful conclusion that resonates with 10 effective techniques and ideas along with real-life examples to inspire your next presentation. Alternatively, you could always jump right into creating your slides by customizing our professionally designed presentation templates . They’re fully customizable and require no design experience at all! 

Click to jump ahead:

Why is it important to have an impactful ending for your presentation?

10 effective presentation closing techniques to leave a lasting impression, 7 things to put on a conclusion slide.

  • 5 real-life exceptional examples of how to end a presentation

6 mistakes to avoid in concluding a presentation

Faqs on how to end a presentation, how to create a memorable presentation with venngage.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

People tend to remember the beginning and end of a presentation more vividly than the middle, making the final moments your last chance to make a lasting impression. 

An ending that leaves a lasting impact doesn’t merely mark the end of a presentation; it opens doors to further exploration. A strong conclusion is vital because it:

  • Leaves a lasting impression on the audience.
  • Reinforces key points and takeaways.
  • Motivates action and implementation of ideas.
  • Creates an emotional connection with the audience.
  • Fosters engagement, curiosity and reflection.

Just like the final scene of a movie, your presentation’s ending has the potential to linger in your audience’s minds long after they’ve left the room. From summarizing key points to engaging the audience in unexpected ways, make a lasting impression with these 10 ways to end a presentation:

1. The summary

Wrap up your entire presentation with a concise and impactful summary, recapping the key points and main takeaways. By doing so, you reinforce the essential aspects and ensure the audience leaves with a crystal-clear understanding of your core message.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

2. The reverse story

Here’s a cool one: start with the end result and then surprise the audience with the journey that led you to where you are. Share the challenges you conquered and the lessons you learned, making it a memorable and unique conclusion that drives home your key takeaways.

Alternatively, customize one of our cool presentation templates to capture the attention of your audience and deliver your message in an engaging and memorable way

3. The metaphorical prop

For an added visual touch, bring a symbolic prop that represents your message. Explain its significance in relation to your content, leaving the audience with a tangible and unforgettable visual representation that reinforces your key concepts.

4. The audience engagement challenge

Get the audience involved by throwing them a challenge related to your informational presentation. Encourage active participation and promise to share the results later, fostering their involvement and motivating them to take action.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

5. The memorable statistic showcase

Spice things up with a series of surprising or intriguing statistics, presented with attention-grabbing visual aids. Summarize your main points using these impactful stats to ensure the audience remembers and grasps the significance of your data, especially when delivering a business presentation or pitch deck presentation .

Transform your data-heavy presentations into engaging presentations using data visualization tools. Venngage’s chart and graph tools help you present information in a digestible and visually appealing manner. Infographics and diagrams can simplify complex concepts while images add a relatable dimension to your presentation. 

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

6. The interactive story creation

How about a collaborative story? Work with the audience to create an impromptu tale together. Let them contribute elements and build the story with you. Then, cleverly tie it back to your core message with a creative presentation conclusion.

7. The unexpected guest speaker

Introduce an unexpected guest who shares a unique perspective related to your presentation’s theme. If their story aligns with your message, it’ll surely amp up the audience’s interest and engagement.

8. The thought-provoking prompt

Leave your audience pondering with a thought-provoking question or prompt related to your topic. Encourage reflection and curiosity, sparking a desire to explore the subject further and dig deeper into your message.

9. The empowering call-to-action

Time to inspire action! Craft a powerful call to action that motivates the audience to make a difference. Provide practical steps and resources to support their involvement, empowering them to take part in something meaningful.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

10. The heartfelt expression

End on a warm note by expressing genuine gratitude and appreciation for the audience’s time and attention. Acknowledge their presence and thank them sincerely, leaving a lasting impression of professionalism and warmth.

Not sure where to start? These 12 presentation software might come in handy for creating a good presentation that stands out. 

Remember, your closing slides for the presentation is your final opportunity to make a strong impact on your audience. However, the question remains — what exactly should be on the last slide of your presentation? Here are 7 conclusion slide examples to conclude with a high note:

1. Key takeaways

Highlight the main points or key takeaways from your presentation. This reinforces the essential information you want the audience to remember, ensuring they leave with a clear understanding of your message with a well summarized and simple presentation .

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

2. Closing statement

Craft a strong closing statement that summarizes the overall message of your presentation and leaves a positive final impression. This concluding remark should be impactful and memorable.

3. Call-to-action

Don’t forget to include a compelling call to action in your final message that motivates the audience to take specific steps after the presentation. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, trying a product or conducting further research, a clear call to action can encourage engagement.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

4. Contact information

Provide your contact details, such as email address or social media handles. That way, the audience can easily reach out for further inquiries or discussions. Building connections with your audience enhances engagement and opens doors for future opportunities.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Use impactful visuals or graphics to deliver your presentation effectively and make the conclusion slide visually appealing. Engaging visuals can captivate the audience and help solidify your key points.

Visuals are powerful tools for retention. Use Venngage’s library of icons, images and charts to complement your text. You can easily upload and incorporate your own images or choose from Venngage’s library of stock photos to add depth and relevance to your visuals.

6. Next steps

Outline the recommended next steps for the audience to take after the presentation, guiding them on what actions to pursue. This can be a practical roadmap for implementing your ideas and recommendations.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

7. Inspirational quote

To leave a lasting impression, consider including a powerful and relevant quote that resonates with the main message of your presentation. Thoughtful quotes can inspire and reinforce the significance of your key points.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Whether you’re giving an in-person or virtual presentation , a strong wrap-up can boost persuasiveness and ensure that your message resonates and motivates action effectively. Check out our gallery of professional presentation templates to get started.

5 real-life exceptional examples of how to end a presentation 

When we talk about crafting an exceptional closing for a presentation, I’m sure you’ll have a million questions — like how do you end a presentation, what do you say at the end of a presentation or even how to say thank you after a presentation. 

To get a better idea of how to end a presentation with style — let’s delve into five remarkable real-life examples that offer valuable insights into crafting a conclusion that truly seals the deal: 

1. Sheryl Sandberg 

In her TED Talk titled “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders,” Sheryl Sandberg concluded with an impactful call to action, urging men and women to lean in and support gender equality in the workplace. This motivational ending inspired the audience to take action toward a more inclusive world.

2. Elon Musk

Elon Musk often concludes with his vision for the future and how his companies are working towards groundbreaking advancements. His passion and enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of technology leave the audience inspired and eager to witness the future unfold.

3. Barack Obama

President Obama’s farewell address concluded with an emotional and heartfelt expression of gratitude to the American people. He thanked the audience for their support and encouraged them to stay engaged and uphold the values that define the nation.

4. Brené Brown 

In her TED Talk on vulnerability, Brené Brown ended with a powerful quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” This quote reinforced her message about the importance of embracing vulnerability and taking risks in life.

5. Malala Yousafzai

In her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Malala Yousafzai ended with a moving call to action for education and girls’ rights. She inspired the audience to stand up against injustice and to work towards a world where every child has access to education.

For more innovative presentation ideas , turn ordinary slides into captivating experiences with these 15 interactive presentation ideas that will leave your audience begging for more.

So, we talked about how a good presentation usually ends. As you approach the conclusion of your presentation, let’s go through some of the common pitfalls you should avoid that will undermine the impact of your closing:

1. Abrupt endings

To deliver persuasive presentations, don’t leave your audience hanging with an abrupt conclusion. Instead, ensure a smooth transition by providing a clear closing statement or summarizing the key points to leave a lasting impression.

2. New information

You may be wondering — can I introduce new information or ideas in the closing? The answer is no. Resist the urge to introduce new data or facts in the conclusion and stick to reinforcing the main content presented earlier. By introducing new content at the end, you risk overshadowing your main message.

3. Ending with a Q&A session

While Q&A sessions are valuable , don’t conclude your presentation with them. Opt for a strong closing statement or call-to-action instead, leaving the audience with a clear takeaway.

4. Overloading your final slide

Avoid cluttering your final slide with too much information or excessive visuals. Keep it clean, concise and impactful to reinforce your key messages effectively.

5. Forgetting the call-to-action

Most presentations fail to include a compelling call-to-action which can diminish the overall impact of your presentation. To deliver a persuasive presentation, encourage your audience to take specific steps after the talk, driving engagement and follow-through.

6. Ignoring the audience

Make your conclusion audience-centric by connecting with their needs and interests. Avoid making it solely about yourself or your achievements. Instead, focus on how your message benefits the audience.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

What should be the last slide of a presentation?

The last slide of a presentation should be a conclusion slide, summarizing key takeaways, delivering a strong closing statement and possibly including a call to action.

How do I begin a presentation?

Grabbing the audience’s attention at the very beginning with a compelling opening such as a relevant story, surprising statistic or thought-provoking question. You can even create a game presentation to boost interactivity with your audience. Check out this blog for more ideas on how to start a presentation . 

How can I ensure a smooth transition from the body of the presentation to the closing? 

To ensure a smooth transition, summarize key points from the body, use transition phrases like “In conclusion,” and revisit the main message introduced at the beginning. Bridge the content discussed to the themes of the closing and consider adjusting tone and pace to signal the transition.

How long should the conclusion of a presentation be?

The conclusion of a presentation should typically be around 5-10% of the total presentation time, keeping it concise and impactful.

Should you say thank you at the end of a presentation?

Yes, saying thank you at the end of a PowerPoint presentation is a courteous way to show appreciation for the audience’s time and attention.

Should I use presentation slides in the concluding part of my talk? 

Yes, using presentation slides in the concluding part of your talk can be effective. Use concise slides to summarize key takeaways, reinforce your main points and deliver a strong closing statement. A final presentation slide can enhance the impact of your conclusion and help the audience remember your message.

Should I include a Q&A session at the end of the presentation?

Avoid Q&A sessions in certain situations to ensure a well-structured and impactful conclusion. It helps prevent potential time constraints and disruptions to your carefully crafted ending, ensuring your core message remains the focus without the risk of unanswered or off-topic questions diluting the presentation’s impact.

Is it appropriate to use humor in the closing of a presentation?

Using humor in the closing of a presentation can be appropriate if it aligns with your content and audience as it can leave a positive and memorable impression. However, it’s essential to use humor carefully and avoid inappropriate or offensive jokes.

How do I manage nervousness during the closing of a presentation?

To manage nervousness during the closing, focus on your key points and the main message you want to convey. Take deep breaths to calm your nerves, maintain eye contact and remind yourself that you’re sharing valuable insights to enhance your presentation skills.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Creating a memorable presentation is a blend of engaging content and visually captivating design. With Venngage, you can transform your ideas into a dynamic and unforgettable presentation in just 5 easy steps: 

  • Choose a template from Venngage’s library: Pick a visually appealing template that fits your presentation’s theme and audience, making it easy to get started with a professional look.
  • Craft a compelling story or outline: Organize your content into a clear and coherent narrative or outline the key points to engage your audience and make the information easy to follow.
  • Customize design and visuals: Tailor the template with your brand colors, fonts and captivating visuals like images and icons, enhancing your presentation’s visual appeal and uniqueness. You can also use an eye-catching presentation background to elevate your visual content. 
  • Incorporate impactful quotes or inspiring elements: Include powerful quotes or elements that resonate with your message, evoking emotions and leaving a lasting impression on your audience members
  • Utilize data visualization for clarity: Present data and statistics effectively with Venngage’s charts, graphs and infographics, simplifying complex information for better comprehension.

Additionally, Venngage’s real-time collaboration tools allow you to seamlessly collaborate with team members to elevate your presentation creation process to a whole new level. Use comments and annotations to provide feedback on each other’s work and refine ideas as a group, ensuring a comprehensive and well-rounded presentation.

Well, there you have it—the secrets of how to conclude a presentation. From summarizing your key message to delivering a compelling call to action, you’re now armed with a toolkit of techniques that’ll leave your audience in awe.

Now go ahead, wrap it up like a pro and leave that lasting impression that sets you apart as a presenter who knows how to captivate, inspire and truly make a mark.

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6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style (& Tools to Use)

6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style (& Tools to Use)

Written by: Ashish Arora

how to start a presentation wide header

Picture this: You've just delivered an amazing presentation that had your audience hooked from the start. The excitement in the room is glaring as you reach the final moments of your presentations.

Now, it's time to close with a bang and leave a lasting impression.

The way you conclude your presentation holds immense power. That’s the defining moment that cements your message in the minds of your audience.

So how do you wrap up your presentation in a memorable way and leave your audience feeling inspired? That’s why we created this article to teach you how to end a presentation.

In this article, we're going to explore six awesome ways to close your presentation with style. These techniques will help you leave a lasting impact and make your audience go "Wow!"

Get ready to level up your presentation skills and charm your audience with these proven closing techniques.

We've covered the best closing tactics for your next presentation in this video.

Table of Contents

6 ways to close your presentation with style, tools to help you create a presentation, key phrases to end a presentation.

  • How to Start a Presentation
  • Top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid
  • How you end your presentation can make all the difference in solidifying your message and leaving your audience with a sense of purpose.
  • Level up your presentation skills and charm your audience with these proven closing techniques: include a strong call-to-action (CTA), don't end with a question and answer slide, conclude with a memorable quote, tell a story, summarize your main points and thank the audience.
  • Here are some ways you can start your presentation on a strong note: make a bold claim, give them the unexpected, pique curiosity, ask questions and tell a story.
  • Avoid these top presentation mistakes: lack of adequate presentation, being robotic, avoiding eye contact, starting and ending weak.
  • Visme, Prezi, Slidebean and Google Slides are four stand-out tools you can use to create stunning and effective presentations.
  • Visme’s presentation software offers a wide range of templates and extensive features to help you create next-level presentations.

There’s no question that grabbing your audience’s attention at the very beginning of your presentation is important. But how you end it can make all the difference in your presentation’s overall impact.

Here are some ways to ensure you end powerfully:

  • Way #1: Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)
  • Way #2: Don't End With a Q&A
  • Way #3: End With a Memorable Quote
  • Way #4: Close With a Story
  • Way #5: Drive Your Main Points Home
  • Way #6: Thank and Acknowledge

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1. Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

If you’re a business owner, the primary purpose of your presentation is to inspire the audience to action. Don’t assume they will take it, move them to it.

Use powerful words that are definitive and instructional. Calls-to-action like “Begin the journey” or “Join the fight” are to-the-point and let the audience know what to do.

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2. Don’t End with a Q&A

You’ve just spent 20-30 minutes wowing your audience and now you’re going to let your presentation fizzle out with a Q&A? Beyond the fact that you are never in full control of what questions you will be asked, Q&As are just not memorable.

So how do you end a presentation with a bang? It is better to take questions throughout the presentation. This way the questions asked are relevant to the particular information being shared and you can ensure your audience is keeping up with you.

If you have been forced to structure your presentation so that questions are taken at the end, make sure to allow yourself a minute or two after the Q&A. Use this time to close the presentation with your final takeaways and messages of inspiration.

3. End with a Memorable Quote

Sometimes, if you can’t find the perfect words to end with, use someone else’s words.

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”  –Charles Swindoll

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” –John Lennon

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” –Steve Jobs

These are pretty powerful words, no? Use quotes like these when you wrap up your presentation, or add them in your final slide to leave a strong impression.

4. Close with a Story

If opening with a compelling story works, there’s a very good chance that closing with one will as well. While a story at the beginning was an effective lead-in to your message, a story at the end can creatively sum up the information you have shared.

A word of caution: don’t end with a case study . Many business owners do this. Case studies are great for the middle of your presentation. But for the conclusion, you want a meaningful story that affects your audience emotionally and causes them to remember your message for a long, long time.

5. Drive Your Main Points Home

Your audience will appreciate some form of summation at the end that will act as a linear representation of what they’ve just heard.  There is a simple summary formula that many professional speakers use in the ending slide:

  • Tell them what you are going to tell them.
  • Then, tell them what you told them.

You can simply say something like, “Before I leave you with my final thoughts about XYZ, let me briefly restate my main takeaways…” Don’t just list your key points but show the audience how each links to the other points.

Giving a successful presentation takes a lot of work and commitment. By creating a powerful opening and closing, you will ensure that your message is not only fully received but impactful as well.

6.  Thank and Acknowledge

If you're finding it hard to signal to your audience that your presentation has ended and it's time to applaud, thanking them can be a great way to do so. Including an end slide or thank you slide can make things easier.

At the end of your presentation, you can also acknowledge any companies or people who helped you put together your presentation, such as a website you used as a data source.

Now that you know how to end a presentation effectively, let's find out how you can create one that speaks for itself.

A well-designed slide deck can not only help you better convey your message, but it can also make you feel more confident about your presentation.

Here are four tools you can use to create stunning and effective presentations.

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Visme is a robust visual content creation tool and presentation software that transforms how users create and deliver captivating presentations. With a wide range of customizable templates, an extensive asset library and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can level up your presentation and captivate your audience like never before.

Here are some of the standard features of Visme's presentation software.

  • Generate a set of branded templates tailored to your brand using Visme's AI-powered brand design tool .
  • Easily record projects and presentations for your audience to view on their own time and pace with Visme Presenter studio .
  • Create beautiful data visualizations , charts , graphs , and infographics that will effectively communicate your information.
  • Transform boring presentation slides into enriching experiences that keep your audience engaged with interactive features using pop ups, hover effects, slide transitions, interactive charts, maps, quizzes and videos.
  •  Generate high-quality content,  proofread or create an outline for your presentation using Visme's AI text generator .
  • Take your presentation to a whole new level with our comprehensive library of royalty-free images, icons, illustrations, graphics, and pre-designed content blocks.
  • Unleash your creativity with the help of Visme’s AI image generator . All you need to do is input your prompt and you can generate unique photos, paintings, pencil drawings, 3D graphics, icons, abstract art, and more.
  • Drive seamless collaboration with Visme's collaborative features make teamwork a breeze. You can collaborate with colleagues and clients in real-time, leave comments, and make edits together, ensuring a smooth and efficient workflow. Say goodbye to email attachments and enjoy seamless collaboration all in one place.
  • When you’re sold on your final presentation design , you can download it in multiple formats, including PPTX, PDF, PDF or as a shareable link . You can present directly from Visme, embed your presentation on websites, or download it for offline use.

If you're racing against the clock, use Visme's AI presentation maker to create stunning presentations in seconds. Just explain what you want to create, provide more context, select your preferred designs and watch the tool unleash its magic.

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Get started with our Starter plan and enjoy full access to templates and assets. Or upgrade to a Pro plan to access team collaboration and brand management features. Our Visme for Teams plans offer enterprise-level features like custom sub-domains, team collaboration, custom integrations and more.

powerpoint alternatives presentation software prezi logo

The master of non-linear presentations, Prezi, lets you create slide decks that are bound to stand out from others.

While the learning curve of Prezi can be steep for some people, it's worth it if you're looking to get creative with your presentations.

3. Slidebean

presentation apps - slidebean

If the most important thing to you when making a presentation is saving time, Slidebean might be a great fit.

The best thing about this tool is it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you create stunning layouts for your content.

Slidebean is ideal if you're not looking for extensive customizability, just ease of use and time-saving features like templates and content blocks.

4. Google Slides

presentation apps - Google Slides

Sometimes, the most basic tools are enough for creating a great presentation, especially if the industry you're operating in requires simplicity and seriousness.

The best part about Google Slides is that you can use it from anywhere and from any device. For example, you can create your entire presentation on your phone using the mobile application.

Presentations made in Google Slides can also be opened with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote, which makes it quite a versatile tool.

if you're wondering how to close your presentation, here are some key phrases you can use:

Appreciate your listeners

  • Thank you for your time and attention.
  • I appreciate your presence here today.
  • Thank you for being such an engaged audience.

Express gratitude for the opportunity

  • I'm grateful for the chance to share...
  • I want to express my gratitude to...
  • Thank you once again for the opportunity.

Summarize the main points

  • In summary...
  • To sum up...
  • In conclusion...

Use a call to action

  • I encourage each of you to...
  • Let's work together to...
  • Take the next step by...

Inspire or motivate your audience

  • Remember that...
  • As we move forward, let's keep in mind...
  • Let this be a reminder that..."

Leave your closing thoughts

  • In closing...
  • As a final thought...
  • To wrap things up...

Encourage your audience to ask questions or share their thoughts

  • I'm now open to any questions you may have.
  • I'd love to hear your thoughts on...
  • Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

Reiterate the main points

  • Just to recap...
  • To reiterate the key points...
  • In essence, we covered...

Use closing quotes

  • To quote [relevant figure]...
  • In the words of [author]...
  • As [famous person] once said...

Express optimism about the future

  • Looking ahead...
  • The future holds great opportunities for...
  • I'm excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Remember, these fun ways to end a presentation aren't one-size-fits-all. You need to tailor these phrases to fit the specific context and tone of your presentation.

Bonus 1: How to Start a Presentation

Now you know how to conclude a presentation. We’ve also discussed ​​what to say at the end of a presentation.

Let’s discuss how to begin a presentation.

According to bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell, in  Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking , "Snap judgments are ... enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience."

In other words: first impressions are real, and they happen really quickly. Think about those presentations you have sat in the audience for.

How quickly did you sum a presenter up when they took the stage? Did you judge them on their posture? What they were wearing? How they addressed the audience? What their voice sounded like?

Most likely, you took all of these factors into account and quickly decided whether you were going to give them your full attention or think about what you should make for dinner.

As a presenter, you must understand that your audience members will make a snap decision about you within the first few moments after taking that stage. Your job at the very beginning of your presentation is to grab their attention.

Here are some ways you can start your presentation strong.

how to start a presentation visme infographic

1. Make a Bold Claim

Imagine being in the audience when a presenter opens his mouth and the first words out are, “When I’ve finished here today, you will have the knowledge to increase your revenue by 200% this year.” Um… would you sit forward in your chair and listen to every single word? You bet you would!

You have been asked to speak because you are an expert in your field and have valuable information to share. So why be shy about it? Start your presentation with a bold claim, and then overdeliver.

2. Give Them the Unexpected

Another powerful way to grab attention right up top is to contradict audience expectations. Some people refer to this as "applied unpredictability principle."

Giving people what they expect is not very exciting. Imagine a roller coaster that had no sudden drops or turns. It wouldn’t thrill you. Well the same can be said for presentations. The unexpected hooks the audience instantly.

Here’s an example. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting , starts off her presentation by scanning the audience and then saying, “Okay, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar! Also the person to your left is a liar.”

Well, the audience laughs, getting her intended joke, but you can tell that this unexpected statement has hooked them, and they are ready to give their full attention.

3. Pique Curiosity

Humans like to have their curiosity piqued. We love the feeling of being presented with information that makes us curious and wonder about something.  Research actually shows that curiosity prepares our brain to learn something new. How does it do this?

Well, when we are curious about something, we give that something our full attention. We look for clues and assess situations. This is how we operate and it’s how our ancestors stayed alive.

If you want to grab the audience’s attention right off the bat, ask a question or pose an idea that piques their curiosity. You’ll see many Ted Talk presenters do this by “confessing” they have to share a secret or an apology.

Speaker Dan Pink does this in his famous  T e d Talk  when he says:

“I need to make a confession, at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I am not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wished no one would ever know, but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school.”

The minute someone says they have something to confess, we HAVE to know what it is, and so we are forced to pay attention.

RELATED: 29 Killer Presentation Tips to Wow Your Audience

4. Ask Questions

This technique is an oldie but a goodie. By posing a thoughtful question to your audience, their brain is forced to THINK about the answer. You have engaged them from second one. The key is to make the question one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but rather one that plants the seed of an idea.

“What scares you the most?”

“How do human beings constantly reach goals we all believe can never be reached?”

“When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel powerful?”

5. Tell a Story

“When I was nine, I met a homeless man who said he could see my entire future. He told me that when I turned 12, I would die. And I did.”

Okay, I am FULLY listening.

Stories are powerful. The human brain seems to have been wired to listen to stories. No matter how old we get, when someone starts to tell us a story, we instantly become 5-years-old, wide-eyed, ready to go on an adventure.

The story you tell can be personal or professional, just make sure it ties into your overall message.

Bonus 2: Top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

If we’re going to discuss a presentation success formula, we’ve got to first tackle some of the biggest public speaking mistakes that guarantee your presentation is unsuccessful. Are you guilty of any of these?

top common mistakes make in presentations infographic visme

1. Not Being Prepared

We’ve all seen those presenters who make it look so effortless. Steve Jobs was like that. He seemed to glide onto the stage, open his mouth and instantly captivate everyone.

But the truth is, even Steve Jobs had to prepare.

Thoughtful preparation is essential for any level of public speaking. Doing the work ahead of time will not only help you feel and sound more confident, it will ensure you deliver the right message to the right audience.

2. Being Robotic

Beyond being comfortable with your material, you must be comfortable in your own body. Have you seen presenters who just stand in one spot and barely move at all? While they’re not very good at exciting their audience, they do have a keen knack for lulling listeners to sleep.

Granted, there may be those rare situations where, because of a lack of robust technology, you have no choice but to stand behind a podium. But even then, be sure to use gestures to punctuate your message. Gestures communicate on a level that words don’t. Don’t be flamboyant but try and use natural gestures as much as you can – you’ll seem human instead of machine-like.

And, when technology does allow you free movement, by all means, move around that stage. Steve Jobs was great at using movement purposefully during his presentations.

If you have a presentation coming up and want to avoid sounding robotic, this video explains 8 ways to memorize your presentation.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

3. Avoiding Eye Contact

We can’t talk about body language and not mention one of the biggest mistakes that many speakers make, and that is avoiding eye contact. How many presentations have you seen where the speaker spent the entire time staring at her notes or PowerPoint presentation? How did you feel? Perhaps invisible?

Meeting a person’s gaze establishes a real connection and keeps listeners engaged. If your audience is small enough, try to make eye contact with everyone at least once. If the audience is too large, do your best to scan each section of the audience, landing on a few people. This will give everyone a general impression that you are doing your best to connect.

4. Starting and Ending Weak

If there is one no-no a presenter can make, this is it.

You should think of your presentation as a delicious meal you have painstakingly prepared for your guests. What do you remember most about a great meal? If you’re like most people, you remember the appetizers and the dessert – everything in between is kind of a good-tasting blur.

When you begin and end your presentation strong, you gain the audience’s attention quickly and leave a positive and lasting impression. These are two skills that cannot be emphasized enough.

Let’s look at some of the ways you can ensure you start your presentation strong:

Ready to Level-Up Your Presentation?

Whether it's a business presentation or a motivational speech, knowing how to give a closing statement and ending your talk on a high note is important.

The last thing you say in front of a crowd can help you leave a memorable impression, whether it's a recap of your presentation content or a rhetorical question.

If you're ready to take your presentations to the next level, use Visme's presentation software  to put together engaging and interactive slides.

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About the Author

Ashish Arora is the Co-Founder of SketchBubble.com , a leading provider of result-driven, professionally built presentation templates. Travelling the world to gather new creative ideas, he has been working in the digital marketing space since 2007 and has a passion for designing presentations. You can also find him on  Twitter or  LinkedIn .

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How to end a presentation effectively

In this blog, we explore the importance of a strong conclusion in presentations. A lackluster ending leaves the audience uninspired, while ending on a high note fires them up for action. We discuss strategies, additional… ... read more In this blog, we explore the importance of a strong conclusion in presentations. A lackluster ending leaves the audience uninspired, while ending on a high note fires them up for action. We discuss strategies, additional tips, and common mistakes to avoid. close

The end is an inevitable part of any good thing, and that includes your presentation. Leaving a final impression with a strong conclusion cannot be an afterthought; it is the spark needed to set your goals in motion. An anticlimactic conclusion leaves your audience uninspired at best, if not outright indifferent. Ending on a high note will fire them up, encouraging them to remain engaged and inspired to take action.

Why is it important to have a good conclusion?

Striving for an effective conclusion is a reliable way to ensure you fulfill the presentation’s purpose. To really recognize a presentation’s success , one must note its efficiency in yielding the desired outcomes from the audience. A powerful and inspiring ending contributes to enhancing a brand or business and has a positive impact within the presenter’s context. Whether the aim was to secure funding, showcase important data, or gain support for an initiative, a strong conclusion is a necessary component to confirm that the message is delivered and received effectively.

Effective strategies to conclude your presentation

A powerful conclusion leaves your audience feeling energized long after you wrap up your presentation. This is why it’s important to use effective tactics to create an impactful finale. How you decide to conclude your presentation impacts how your message will resonate with your listeners. Consider the following strategies to leave a lasting impression:

Bring back your main idea

Repetition is the key to retention. In the world of presentations, there is no surer way to make your message stick than to repeat it. Although you may feel like this approach is redundant, recapping the main points after each section emphasizes the message and improves audience learning. By consistently repeating the core concepts throughout your presentation, you let them become ingrained in the audience’s mind. And revisiting the same ideas several times allows for a renewed understanding, and the space to notice details and patterns. So you can conclude your presentation by reinforcing and ensuring that your main message is remembered by reiterating it one last time. 

Include a call to action

If the main purpose of your presentation is to inspire action, you need to move the audience towards it. You cannot assume that the audience will simply know what the next steps are without any guidance. Sum up your presentation by leaving them with an instructive call to action that lets them know what to do next.

Close the loop

The “loop technique” is when a speaker concludes their speech by referring back to the beginning of the presentation. This technique offers a sense of closure that is satisfying and concrete. You would use your allotted time to build audience anticipation and keep them engaged until the end, where you finally come full circle to the beginning of the presentation. This is a common structure for talks, and for good reason; it reminds the audience of your main idea and why they were there in the first place. 

End with an inspirational quote or surprising statistic

Occasionally, there will be times when you do not have the right words to express how you feel, so don’t hesitate to use someone else’s. You can use the final slide of your presentation to share a quote that appropriately sums up your message and leaves the audience with a strong impression.

3 Additional tips for a memorable conclusion

Tell a story.

Although this is a common technique for opening a presentation, it also makes for a meaningful conclusion. People are social creatures that long for connection, and stories are an emotional tether that creates empathy, which allows the audience to sympathize with your message. If you have been weaving your story with a narrative all throughout, the conclusion is the time to wrap it all up with a purposeful ending.

Use the rule of threes

Using the rule of threes is a super simple and effective way to communicate your main ideas. The idea is that the audience can remember concepts better when they are shared in a pattern of three. This could look like dividing your main idea into three sections or offering the audience the takeaway in a list of three action points, areas for improvement, or any other prompt you want to elicit.

Ask a rhetorical question

For a memorable conclusion, consider leaving your audience with a thought-provoking question for them to chew on. By posing a rhetorical question, you encourage the audience to contemplate and reflect on their answers long after you finish presenting. This leaves your presentation lingering in their minds, but it can also be a conversation starter for them later on. 

Common mistakes to avoid when ending a presentation

There are a few missteps that you should steer clear of when planning your conclusion. A presentation is meant to persuade, and these mistakes can leave your audience apathetic or uninterested in the next steps. 

Failing to announce your conclusion

You want to avoid an abrupt ending to your presentation that confuses the audience by announcing that you are nearing the end before wrapping up. Once you let the audience know that the conclusion is near, it makes them pay attention. You can simply say, “As I conclude my presentation,” for a clear signal before moving into your closing remarks.

Failing to tie up loose ends

In the world of creative writing, Chekov’s Gun refers to the principle by which writers are encouraged to resolve any element they introduce in the story. Similarly, in presentations, this is called the “tie-back principle.” Any time an interesting element is introduced in the beginning, whether a fact, a quote, or a photo, it should eventually be addressed again in the conclusion. It provides a satisfying conclusion and ensures you tie all loose ends together. 

Not offering a summary

With several factors contributing to disordered attention spans, it is crucial to consistently remind the audience of your key ideas. As you conclude your presentation, you can reiterate your points by posing a thoughtful question and using the space to answer it as a way to recap the ideas you covered. As you restate your message, you ensure your audience retains the most important takeaways. 

Concluding with a Q&A

A common mistake made by presenters is concluding with a Q&A session. Of course, audience interaction is encouraged, but it is best to dedicate time for questions during the presentation and not to end on it. Your final words are what are most likely to stay with your audience, so rather than leaving the audience to have the last word, dedicate the final moments to delivering a strong, comprehensive summary and a powerful closing statement.

Not providing a call to action

The main goal of a presentation is to persuade. And while your content may be informative and engaging, you still need to guide your audience toward the direct response you want to receive from them. If your presentation aims to get budget approval, ask for it at the end. Or if your presentation requests support or funding, then tailor your call to action to address this need.

With effective communication strategies, you can end your presentation on a high note and leave your audience with a lasting impression in their hearts and minds. A powerful and well-crafted conclusion not only affirms your message but also contributes to the overall advancement of your desired outcomes. To learn more about presentation tricks and techniques, visit Prezlab’s blog page for insightful and informative articles on all things related to presentation and presentation design.

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How to conclude a presentation | end your presentation on a good note

Lasting impression, reinforces key points, motivates action; ending shapes overall perception, leaving positive impact.

How to conclude a presentation

Table of content:.

  • 5 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style
  • Few tools to Help You Create a captivating Presentation
  • How to Start a Presentation like a Pro
  • Some of the top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

5 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style 👌

  • Incorporate a Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA): When concluding your presentation, the importance of a strong call-to-action cannot be overstated. As a business owner, your ultimate goal is to inspire your audience to take specific actions. Don't leave this to chance; instead, use powerful and definitive language to direct your audience. Phrases like "Begin the journey" or "Join the fight" cut through ambiguity, clearly conveying what you want your audience to do. By providing a decisive call-to-action, you not only guide your audience but also increase the likelihood of them acting upon your message.
  • Avoid Concluding with a Q&A Session: Concluding a presentation with a Q&A session might seem like a traditional approach, but it often results in a less memorable ending. Since you can't control the questions you'll receive, consider integrating questions throughout your presentation. This approach ensures that the questions asked are directly relevant to the information being shared, maintaining the flow and engagement. If a structured Q&A at the end is necessary, allocate time afterward to reinforce key takeaways and leave your audience with a strong, lasting impression.
  • Conclude with a Compelling Story: Just as a compelling story can captivate your audience at the beginning, closing with one can creatively encapsulate the information you've presented. However, it's essential to choose a story that resonates emotionally and effectively summarizes your message. Avoid the temptation to conclude with a case study, as these are more suitable for the middle of your presentation. A well-crafted story at the end can leave a lasting imprint on your audience, making your message memorable over the long term.
  • Reinforce Main Points: As your presentation draws to a close, take the opportunity to reinforce your main points. Offering a concise summary using a simple formula—tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them—provides a structured and comprehensive overview. Take the time to not only list key points but also demonstrate how each point connects to others. This approach enhances clarity, ensuring your audience leaves with a strong understanding of the core messages you aimed to convey.
  • Express Gratitude and Acknowledge Contributions: Signaling the conclusion of your presentation requires finesse, and expressing gratitude to your audience is a powerful way to achieve this. Include a dedicated thank-you slide to convey appreciation for their time and attention. Additionally, take a moment to acknowledge any individuals or companies that played a role in preparing your presentation. This act of recognition not only demonstrates professionalism but also reinforces a sense of collaboration and shared success.

T ools🔨 to Help You Craft a captivating Presentation

notion image

  • Versatile design tool suitable for various graphic design projects, including presentations.
  • User-friendly interface, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced designers.
  • Extensive library of templates, graphics, and customization options for a visually appealing presentation.
  • Limited advanced design features compared to specialized design tools.
  • Collaborative features may be restricted in the free version.
  • Canva offers a free version with basic features.
  • Canva Pro subscription, starting at $9.95 per month, provides additional features and collaboration options.
  • Drag-and-drop interface.
  • Template library for quick design.
  • Collaboration tools for team projects.

notion image

  • Non-linear approach offers a dynamic and engaging way to present information.
  • Unique design style sets presentations apart from traditional slide decks.
  • Suitable for those seeking a creative and visually impactful presentation.
  • Learning curve for users unfamiliar with non-linear presentation styles.
  • Free version has limited features.
  • Prezi offers a free version with basic features.
  • Prezi Plus subscription, starting at $7 per month, provides more storage and advanced features.
  • Prezi Business subscription, starting at $19 per month, is designed for teams and includes collaboration features.
  • Non-linear presentation style.
  • Zooming and panning effects for a dynamic presentation.

notion image

  • AI-driven design aids in creating polished layouts quickly.
  • User-friendly with templates and content blocks for ease of use.
  • Ideal for those prioritizing time efficiency in the presentation creation process.
  • Limited customization options compared to more advanced design tools.
  • Free version has limitations.
  • Slidebean offers a free version with basic features.
  • Slidebean Premium subscription, starting at $9 per month, provides additional features, including privacy settings.
  • AI assistance for layout design.
  • Time-saving templates and content blocks.

Google Slides:

notion image

  • Simplistic and accessible, allowing presentations to be created from any device.
  • Compatibility with widely used presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote.
  • Collaboration in real-time with team members.
  • Limited offline functionality.
  • Less advanced features compared to standalone design tools.
  • Google Slides is free to use with a Google account.
  • Cloud-based collaboration.
  • Seamless integration with Google Drive.

Microsoft PowerPoint:

notion image

  • Feature-rich with a wide range of design options and templates.
  • Integration with other Microsoft Office applications for seamless workflow.
  • Robust collaboration features for team projects.
  • Requires a Microsoft Office subscription for full access to advanced features.
  • Learning curve for users new to the software.
  • Part of the Microsoft Office suite, available through subscription plans starting at $69.99 per year.
  • Extensive template library.
  • Advanced design and animation options.

Start your Presentation like a Pro 😎

  • Make a Bold Assertion:
  • Craft a compelling, confident statement that demands attention.
  • Emphasize the value and expertise you bring to the audience.
  • Provide the Unexpected:
  • Break the mold by defying expectations in your opening.
  • Incorporate humor or surprise elements to captivate your audience.
  • Pique Curiosity:
  • Pose thought-provoking questions that stir curiosity.
  • Harness the brain's affinity for curiosity to enhance engagement.
  • Employ the "confession" technique used by many successful Ted Talk presenters.
  • Pose Thoughtful Questions:
  • Present questions that prompt deep reflection and engagement.
  • Craft inquiries that require more than a simple yes or no response, encouraging active participation.
  • Tell a Compelling Story:
  • Initiate your presentation with a gripping narrative.
  • Utilize the universal appeal of storytelling to instantly engage and connect with your audience.

Presentation Mistakes to Avoid 🤫

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Importance of ending presentation on a positive note

The Importance of Clarity in Communication: Tips for Clearer Messages

Conclusion:

Frequently asked questions:, blogs you might like:.

  • How to convert PPT to PDF online: https://www.magicslides.app/blog/How-to-convert-PPT-to-PDF-online
  • How To Duplicate A Power Point: https://www.magicslides.app/blog/how-to-duplicate-a-power-point
  • How To Create PPT With Just A Topic Name: https://www.magicslides.app/blog/How-to-create-PPT-with-just-a-topic-name
  • How To Make Presentations Interactive: Top 10 Tips: https://www.magicslides.app/blog/How-to-Make-Presentations-Interactive-Top-10-tips

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conclusion of effective presentation strategies

  • 5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation

By Paola Pascual on February 7, 2022

You just gave a great presentation in English… And it’s time to conclude.

If you think all the work is done –watch out! Did you know that the beginning of your presentation , together with the end of it, are the most important parts of your speech? This is what your audience will remember best, so it’s important to make the introduction and the conclusion as memorable as possible.

The last few minutes of your presentation are your best opportunity to make a long-lasting impression on your audience. This last part will help your audience remember the key points and help you get across the main idea .

In this article, you will learn 5 strategies to end your presentation in a powerful way. You’ll also learn useful expressions you can use to transition from one point to the next.  One great tip is to prepare both the beginning and the end of your presentation:

Prepare your presentation - Quote by Sonya Hamlin

5 Effective Strategies to Close Your Presentation

Choosing the right strategies to conclude your presentation will help you bring your audience back to the main point. We all get distracted sometimes, and our attention span keeps getting shorter.

The goal is for you to connect with your audience and make them feel connected to your topic. Your presentation should always be about them –not you. Make it easy for them to remember key points and bring their attention back to them.

Download this great effective presentation checklist and check the strategies below. Pick the ones you feel most comfortable with and dare to combine them –some of them work great together!

How to end a presentation - Talaera Blog

1. Restate your main idea

The most effective way to make your key points stick? Repeat them. Once again. And again.

You may feel that restating your key message throughout the presentation can be repetitive. However, adding recaps after each section and summarizing your main points in your conclusion will really make it stick in the minds of your audience members.

When you restate your main idea, make sure you paraphrase the points in a slightly new and refined way. You can change the word category, use synonyms, or use a simpler version.

Use these closing words and useful phrases to summarize your key points:

  • In other words, today we went over …
  • To put it simply, this presentation examined …
  • What I mean to say is, throughout this presentation, we explored …
  • As we/I understand it, 
  • By and large, we discussed …
  • Overall, today’s presentation covered …
  • To recap, we examined …
  • In conclusion, 
  • To conclude,
  • In short, I’d like to highlight…
  • To quickly recap,
  • In a nutshell, 
  • In summary,
  • To sum up,  I’d like you to remember…
  • To summarize, 
  • All things considered, 
  • All in all, 
  • To put it briefly, 

2. Include a Call To Action or next steps ➡️

Your presentation has a goal and some next steps. When you give a speech, you expect something else to happen. Whether that may be for your audience to provide feedback, for them to buy your product, for you to send them a brochure…

What are your future actions? It’s what we call our “ Next ” in our WHAT-WHY-NEXT framework . This should be one of the first things should consider when preparing your presentation. What do you want your audience to do after your speech? Do they need to take action or will you follow up with them?

Clearly tell your audience what they need to do after your presentation –or what they can expect.

Introduce your Call To Action and present how your findings will impact the future:

  • To wrap this up, I’d love to ask you to…
  • After today’s session, please take a minute to…
  • I’m counting on you to…
  • Looking forward,
  • To this end, it would be great to…
  • As a consequence, we must …
  • If you would like more information, please…
  • Please reach out to me if you have any questions…
  • I will send you a list of great resources that will help you…
  • So, next time you…, remember to…

3. Close the loop ⏺️

The “Loop Technique” is a popular technique in which you return to the subject you opened with at the start of your presentation. It’s especially effective because it creates a perfect circle and a satisfying sense of completion. Skillful speakers often build up audience anticipation at the beginning of their talk and then keep them in suspense until the end when they finally finish their story, give the punchline to their joke, or answer the question they posed right at the start.

Closing a presentation referring back to your opening message is a very common speech structure in many TED Talks . It is a great way to round off your story and remind your audience why they were there in the first place. It is also commonly used in comedy and marketing.

To approach this technique, you can finish a story or an anecdote you started or set up a question at the beginning of your talk and wait until the end to answer it.

4. End with an inspirational quote or surprising statistic

I must be honest with you –quotes are not my favorite way of ending a presentation, but I see how it can work in some contexts.

If you want to make your audience feel in a particular way or there is something you want your audience to remember, a quote or a surprising fact can be your best ally. It is an effective way to reengage your audience and help them remember your main point.

Always remember to add a quote or statistic that is related to your topic.

Oh, an impactful image could work just as well!

Use these phrases to introduce great quotes or statistics:

  • I’d like to finish with this inspiring quote from…
  • This reminds me of a wonderful quote from…
  • Let me leave you with this surprising statistic…
  • Let’s finish this session with an interesting quote…
  • Did you know that…?
  • It reminds me of the words of…
  • In the end, this is what matters…

5. Thank your audience

Before you go, remember to always thank your audience. After all, they’ve stayed until the end, right? A simple sentence will suffice, and it will make a difference by making you more likable.

Phrases to thank your audience:

  • Thank you so much for your attention today.
  • I’d like to thank you for your interest today.
  • I truly appreciate your interest and attention this morning.

Keep improving your presentation skills

Continue improving your communication skills for professional situations with our  free resources . If you are serious about improving your business English skills,  get in touch with Talaera . We will help you take your professional English communication skills to the next level.

For any additional information or questions, you can also reach out at  [email protected] . Stay in the loop with events, offers, and business English resources:  Subscribe to our newsletter .

More resources on presentation skills:

  • Presentation Skills for Non-Native English Speakers
  • 101 Must-Know Transition Phrases for Engaging Presentations Online
  • 21 Helpful Tips For Remarkable and Outstanding Presentation Skills
  • How To Start a Presentation: Follow These 4 Easy Steps
  • How To Bring Across Your Main Idea In A Presentation Effectively
  • 6 Public Speaking Tricks To Captivate Your Audience
  • How To Do Effective Business Storytelling According To Former Prosecutor
  • 8 Little Changes That’ll Make A Big Difference With Your Presentations
  • 3 Quick Public Speaking Tips For Your Next Presentation
  • Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are [TED Talk Lesson]

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How to End Your Presentation with a Bang

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

So you’ve spent days (maybe weeks) putting together a killer presentation. Now, you stand up with confidence, present every bullet point with poise, and then you get all the way to the end… and the presentation just fizzles.

It’s like a marathon runner who trains for months (maybe years), then just a half mile before the finish line, starts to cramps and can’t finish the race.

The last thing that you tell your audience will most likely be what they remember. So, you want to end your presentation with a bang!

In this post, we will cover three things that you should absolutely avoid when you close your presentation. In addition, we will also cover 6 killer ways to end on a positive note.

By the way, for more details about how to organize a good speech, see the following. 7 Foolproof Ways to Start a Presentation . | How to Design a Presentation Quickly .

Eliminate these “Show Stoppers” from Your Presentation Conclusion

Avoid these Presentation Ending Showstoppers

Avoid Ending Your Presentation with a Question & Answer Period.

One of the things that drives me up the wall is ending a fantastic presentation with a Q & A session that has a high propensity to just flop.

It reminds me of some sage advice from my jr high school football coach. He was an old-school running game type of coach. He’d say,

“In football, when you pass the ball, only three things can happen and two of them are bad.”

I kind of feel the same way about Question & Answer periods. There are only three ways that Q & A sessions can end, and two of them are bad .

Yes, If your audience asks you great questions, you can end your presentation on a high note. However, if your audience asks you odd questions or uninteresting questions, you can end on a low note. Even worse than getting crappy questions, though is getting no questions. Now, the ending will just seem odd.

When I present, I encourage people to ask questions DURING my presentation . That way, I can use a more dynamic way to end my presentation with a bang.

Don’t End by Thanking the Audience for Their Time.

When you stand up to speak, you should have the attitude that your audience is there to hear from you because you have important information that they need. When you thank your audience for their time, you are conceding that their time is more important than your time.

Also Avoid an Abrupt Ending with No Conclusion.

This happened to me early in my career. The first time that I really bombed a speech, I made two really big mistakes. The first was that I sped through the information so quickly that I finished in less than half of the allotted time. Then, I just ran out of things to say, so I sat down. The people in the audience were confused. I had more time and the ending was so abrupt, that they weren’t sure if I was finished.

So, spend time preparing your conclusion. Practice it a few times, and you will end on a high note.

Bonus Tip: Warn Your Audience Ahead of Time that Your Speech is Coming to a Close.

Our brains are wired to look for structure in things. That’s why people get frustrated with cliffhangers in movies. Only in movies, there’s a sequel. In speeches and presentations, the end is the end.

Give a hint that you are nearing a close a couple of slides or paragraphs before you actually do. Saying something like, “So let’s review what we’ve discussed so far”, “As I wrap up this presentation” or “In conclusion”.

Signaling the close prepares your audience for the ending. Ironically, it also makes the ending more memorable.

Secrets to a Powerful Presentation Ending – 6 Ways to End Your Presentation with a Bang

Not that we have covered what NOT to do, let’s focus on a few, turnkey ways to end your presentation with a bang.

(1) End Your Presentation with a Brief Summary You Key Points.

End Your Presentation with a Brief Summary You Key Points

This technique works really well because it allows you to repeat your key points a few times. This repetition helps your audience remember the content better.

An Example of Using a Summary to End Your Presentation with a Bang!

A couple of months ago, I had a class member that used this technique really well. She worked for a local TV station that was trying to attract new viewers. Here is the presentation outline that she created:

We Can Increase the Number of Young Viewers by Focusing More on Our Social Media Platforms Teens get most news from social media. Increase coverage w/ teens increases interest in station. Making social media selective will make us stand out against competition.

[Introduction] “My topic today is about how we can increase the number of young viewers by focusing more on social media. The things that we are going to cover are, how teens get most of their news from social media, that if we increase our coverage with teens there will also be a corresponding increase in interest in our TV station, and how making our social media selective will allow us to stand out from the competition.”

After the introduction, the speaker would then cover the “meat” of the presentation by going through each point with specific examples and evidence about how each of those points is true.

At the conclusion, the speaker could just recap by saying, “So in conclusion, since teens get most of their news via social media, if we increase our coverage with teens, we will also increase interest in our station, and if we make our social media selective we will stand out from the crowd, I believe that we can increase the number of young viewers by focusing more on social media.”

The summary technique is a very easy way to conclude your speech, and it will also increase the retention of your audience.

For additional examples, see How to Write a Speech in Just a few Steps .

(2) End with an Example, Story, or Anecdote.

End with a Story or Anecdote

I spoke for another 45 minutes, and then I finished the presentation by describing the success story of one of my class members. He had implemented the very content that I had just delivered to that breakout session group. However, he was delivering a very data-intense presentation for the Center for Disease Control. (So his content was even more boring than the type of content the audience had to deliver.) The story showed the group how a speaker can take even boring, data-filled material and deliver it well.

Those contrasting stories — the one at the start of my presentation, and the one at the end, work really well together. They bookend the entire presentation.

An Easy Way to Find a Funny Anecdote to End Your Presentation.

Sometimes a good anecdote or funny story can be a good way to end on a positive as well. A good place to get funny anecdotes is from Reader’s Digest . (RD has a great book published that has just funny work-related stories. You can purchase it here: Laughter the Best Medicine @ Work: America’s Funniest Jokes, Quotes, and Cartoons )

This is kind of an embarrassing incident, but it shows that if you get a little creative, any type of story can be a great ending.

I was training an instructor years ago, and I had her just pick a random funny anecdote from Reader’s Digest. I told her that, no matter what the story was about, I’d find some way to insert the funny story into our class. Here is the story that she picked…

A woman went to her boss saying that she was going to go home early because she was feeling sick. The boss, having just gotten over a cold said that he hoped it wasn’t something that he had given to her. A coworker overhearing the conversation said, ‘I hope not. She has morning sickness.'”

(Obviously, this instructor-in-training also had a sense of humor, as well.) I thought about it a while, and I just ended the session with, “So, in summary, one of the most important parts of the presentation design process is knowing your audience. In fact, that reminds me of a story…” I then just added the anecdote word-for-word, and I got a big laugh.

I created a whole series of posts on storytelling starting with Storytelling in Public Speaking .

(3) Finish Your Speech by Telling the End of an Earlier Story.

Tell the End of an Earlier Story

Then, I finished the presentation by telling how, just a year later, after a little outside training, I had to stand in front of over 400 people to give an acceptance speech for an award. This time, I was calm, and I used my humor to win over the audience, and I killed it. By continuing the story and providing a positive result at the end, it makes for a pretty nice presentation ending.

So start with a story where you had a challenge and end with a success story about how you overcame that challenge.

(4) End Your Presentation with an Open-Ended Question.

Ask an Open Ended Question

That’s why people are drawn to thought-provoking questions. So a great way to end your speech is with a well-designed, thought-provoking question.

When I teach a class, I use this technique before almost every break. For instance, if I teach an hour-long session, it will be easy for the audience to forget a lot of the content if it isn’t reinforced right away. So, by asking a thought-provoking question about the content, it stimulates the content in the minds of the audience.

When you ask questions, though, avoid easy questions where the answer is an obvious “yes” or “no.” Instead, ask open-ended questions. The easiest way to do this is to ask for the audience members’ opinions.

For instance, if my title is “Starting with a 3-Point Outline Will Help You Save Time When You Design Presentations,” I could end the speech with a question like, “Based on what we’ve talked about today, how can you see starting with a three-point outline helping you save time?”

Any answers that the audience provides will help me prove my point. The more the better.

(5) Give the Audience a Call-to-Action at the End of Your Speech.

End Your Speech with a Call to Action

Just as an FYI, here, though, if you ask them to do a single thing, they are more likely to do it. If you ask them to do a second thing, they are more likely to do neither. Sp, to prevent that and to inspire your audience, challenge them to do one specific thing from your speech.

If your presentation is about why your company should invest in advertising, make your call to action very specific. “So, my suggestion is that we increase our advertising budget by 10% and use that budget for additional re-targeting ads.”

The thing to keep in mind here is that the more calls to action that you have, the less likely they will do anything. So, make your call to action just a single item. And make the item easy to implement.

(6) The Echo Close Is an Inspirational Way to End Your Speech with a Bang.

The Echo Close for a Presentation

A wise man once said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” So, when you present, kindle the fire of knowledge. Kindle the fire of enthusiasm. Kindle the fire of humor. Kindle the fire of empathy. And you will kindle the fire of learning from your audience.

Another example might be.

So, in conclusion, brevity in public speaking is pretty important. In fact, George Orwell once said, “If it is possible to cut a word out of your speech, always cut it out.” So, when you create a presentation, cut the fluff. Cut the repetitive bullets. Cut the platitudes. And when you do, you will cut the confusion from your audience.

It is an easy technique if you prepare the ending and practice it a few times.

So that concludes the six ways that you can end your presentation with a bang. However… There is…

“One More Thing”

Steve Jobs was famous for concluding his keynotes with “One more thing…” then following it up with a surprising fact, feature, or innovation.

Why is this effective? Because it leaves people talking.

One More Thing

Regardless of how you choose to end your presentation, spend a little time on the ending. Make it flawless, and you will leave your audience wanting more! If you do, you will end your presentation with a bang!

Choose the Best Presentation Ending for Your Presentation Purpose

With all of the great choices, how do we know which presentation ending to use? Luckily, we have created a free handout to help you pick the best presentation ending. Although many of the tips above will work in many different types of speeches, the handout will help you identify which ending will accomplish specific purposes for your specific presentation.

For instance, if your goal is to help your audience retain the content, then summarizing your key points is a great choice. If your purpose is to inspire the audience, you might try the Call to Action or Echo technique instead. Just complete the form below for instant access!

Download the Free “How to End Your Presentation” Handout!

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Presentation Geeks

How To Close A Presentation

Table of contents, why the ending is the most important part.

The goal of your presentation is to have the audience members remember the message and act on it.

In order to effectively achieve this outcome, you must structure your presentation accordingly. You will need a strong introduction to set the scene, proof points throughout your presentation to support your argument and a conclusion to tie everything together.

Without a proper closing, your presentation will feel incomplete and leave the audience with more questions than answers. As the introduction is to the foundation of a home, the conclusion is to the roof. Without one, your presentation seems unstructured and incomplete with an empty void.

It is not up to the audience to break down what they’ve heard – that is simply too much cognitive processing required for them. You’ll lose your audience and your entire presentation would have been for nothing.

As the presenter, it is your responsibility to summarize key takeaways and craft a proper presentation conclusion that will leave a lasting impression with your audience.

All effective presentations have a conclusion. Whether it’s an inspirational quote, call to action or a few simple closing words. Nevertheless, you must practice and master the skills of how to end your presentation to join the ranks of master presenters.

To help you on your journey, we’ve put together a list of five ways you should end your presentation whether it be an informal, formal presentation or a virtual presentation . Even though these are only a few ways to end your presentation, they are tried and true based on presentation feedback we have received over the years.

10 Ways To End Your Business Presentation & PowerPoint Presentation

1 – end with a call to action.

In the world of business, you’ll be presenting to gain new business on a daily occurrence. RFP presentations and client proposals are just some of the presentations you’ll be engaged with. Just like any sales system, closing and asking for the business is the most critical part.

One way to end your presentation, especially in business is with a call to action.

A call to action is when you directly ask the audience what next steps you want them to take. This might be asking them to sign up for a promotion, following you on social media or engaging in some way.

A call to action is a great tool to use to close your presentation as it has a high conversion rate, the message is clear and it keeps the audience engaged.

2 – End With A Compelling Story

We are social creatures and stories are one of the most effective communication channels we use. Presentation psychology shows us that messages told through the use of a story are better remembered since they act on our human emotions and behaviors.

Stories are also great because it helps the audience sympathize with your messaging easier. Since they already have experienced emotions tethered to an event they can relate to, eliciting an emotional response from them will be easier.

3 – Avoid Q&As

Don’t end your presentation with a Q&A.

Question and answer periods are often unstructured. They could discredit your presentation should the questions not be vetted and your main message may get misconstrued.

Luckily, there are alternatives to Q&As which can still offer the same benefits without the uncertainties.

Alternative Ways To Get The Audience’s Attention, Feedback and Increase Engagement

Instead of using an unstructured Q&A period, try using a presentation tool such as Pigeonhole .

Software similar to this can help you filter questions before they’re made visible to the public. This will help you avoid any awkward or unwanted questions.

It can also allow you to ask for questions ahead of the presentation. This can allow you to avoid all questions being submitted at the end and will give you an opportunity to answer questions throughout the presentation.

4 – Come Full Circle With Your Message

Even with a strong opening message, it’s important to come full circle with your message.

As you progress through your presentation, points you mention will start to fade as your audience tries to remember the key points. Unfortunately, there are times where the main points of your presentation do get forgotten.

A way to combat this is to come full circle with your message. At the very beginning of your presentation, you should introduce the argument or message of your presentation similar to a thesis of an essay. As you progress through your presentation with proof points, you are supporting your argument. By the end, your audience might’ve forgotten what the main argument is. Not a problem, simply reintroduce the thesis, argument or key message of your presentation on the final slide for a lasting impression.

5 – Demonstrate Your Product

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

If your presentation is showcasing a new product or line of services, consider ending with a demonstration or live performance!

This will certainly blow away your audience members and be a strong ending. A perfect example of a presenter who perfected this technique is Steve Jobs.

Not only is ending your presentation with a demonstration a great way for your presentation to conclude, it also provides great additional benefits such as PR.

Also, depending on how your audience learns new things, it will help put into perspective what you just presented. If you talk about the benefits of a new product you’re launching, demonstrating those benefits will help provide context.

6 – Always End On A High Note

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Always end a presentation on a high note.

Even if your presentation is covering a grim and dark topic, leave the audience with some positive motivation.

Negative motivation such as having your audience act on fear and anger are not ideal ways to end a presentation. Although considered effective by some marketers, ending on a high note leaves a longer lasting impression.

The last thing people want to hear are bad things. We are already bombarded with negativity on the news and social media. Convey a sense of positivity by ending on a high note.

7 – End With A Thought Provoking Question

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Spark a sense of curiosity by asking your audience a relevant thought provoking question.

Asking a thought provoking question is a great way to end a presentation as it sticks with the audience long after everything is finished.

By having the audience fixated on a question, it will keep reminding them of your presentation and what initially sparked that question in the first place.

Remember though, the question should be relevant to what you spoke about.

8 – End With A Powerful Quote

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Similar to a question, a quote will leave a lasting impression with your audience.

Sometimes, what you want to be said has already been said in a profound way you can’t top and that’s ok. Adding a quote, especially an impactful quote from someone famous like Julius Caesar helps drive your point across.

9 – End With A Powerful Image

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

We all know the saying that a picture says a thousand words.

What better way to end a presentation with an image that can leave the audience with their own personalized conclusion.

Ending off with a powerful image lets your audience come to their own conclusion of the presentation. The image might be meaningful as it relates to the topic you’re presenting or might target a specific emotion you want to elicit from them.

10 – End With Clear Next Steps

Similar to a call to action, outlining clear next steps is important for ending a presentation.

Even when you might not require the audience to take action as you would when inputting a call to action, you might want to set clear steps for what you as the presenter will do, what the organization will do or what the audience as individuals will do in a business setting.

Outlining clear next steps holds everyone accountable and it makes things less ambiguous.

You may consider outlining next steps typically in a business presentation.

For example, if you’re pitching to a client on some business you hope for them to buy into, providing a timeline will help put them in a mindset that makes them believe they’re already working with you. Next steps could be what to expect once the contract is signed with clear deliverable dates.

If you’re still not sure on how to end your presentation, consider outsourcing your presentation design to an agency like Presentation Geeks that have years of experience crafting presentations for a variety of industries.

By trusting professional presentation designers, you can be assured that from beginning to end, your presentation will be one to remember and you’ll be on your way to becoming a better presenter .

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How to end a presentation in english: methods and examples.

  • By Matthew Jones

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Naturally, the way you end a presentation will depend on the setting and subject matter. Are you pitching an idea to your boss? Are you participating in a group presentation at school? Or are you presenting a business idea to potential investors? No matter the context, you’ll want to have a stellar ending that satisfies your audience and reinforces your goals.

So, do you want to learn how to end a presentation with style? Wondering how to end an informative speech? Or do you want to know how to conclude a Powerpoint presentation with impact? We’re here to help you learn how to end a presentation and make a great impression!

How to End a Presentation: 3 Effective Methods

Every presentation needs a great beginning, middle, and end. In this guide, we will focus on crafting the perfect conclusion. However, if you’d like to make sure that your presentation sounds good from start to finish, you should also check out our guide on starting a presentation in English .

Though there are many ways to end a presentation, the most effective strategies focus on making a lasting impression on your audience and reinforcing your goals. So, let’s take a look at three effective ways to end a presentation:

1. Summarize the Key Takeaways

Most presenters either make an argument (i.e. they want to convince their audience to adopt their view) or present new or interesting information (i.e. they want to educate their audience). In either case, the presentation will likely consist of important facts and figures. The conclusion gives you the opportunity to reiterate the most important information to your audience.

This doesn’t mean that you should simply restate everything from your presentation a second time. Instead, you should identify the most important parts of your presentation and briefly summarize them.

This is similar to what you might find in the last paragraph of an academic essay. For example, if you’re presenting a business proposal to potential investors, you might conclude with a summary of your business and the reasons why your audience should invest in your idea.

2. End with a CTA (Call-To-Action)

Ending with a Call-To-Action is one of the best ways to increase audience engagement (participation) with your presentation. A CTA is simply a request or invitation to perform a specific action. This technique is frequently used in sales or marketing presentations, though it can be used in many different situations.

For example, let’s say that you’re giving an informational presentation about the importance of hygiene in the workplace. Since your goal is to educate your audience, you may think that there’s no place for a CTA.

On the contrary, informational presentations are perfect for CTA’s. Rather than simply ending your presentation, you can direct your audience to seek out more information on the subject from authorities. In this case, you might encourage listeners to learn more from an authoritative medical organization, like the World Health Organization (WHO).

3. Use a Relevant Quote

It may sound cliche, but using quotes in your closing speech is both memorable and effective. However, not just any quote will do. You should always make sure that your quote is relevant to the topic. If you’re making an argument, you might want to include a quote that either directly or indirectly reinforces your main point.

Let’s say that you’re conducting a presentation about your company’s mission statement. You might present the information with a Powerpoint presentation, in which case your last slide could include an inspirational quote. The quote can either refer to the mission statement or somehow reinforce the ideas covered in the presentation.

Formatting Your Conclusion

While these 3 strategies should give you some inspiration, they won’t help you format your conclusion. You might know that you want to end your presentation with a Call-To-Action, but how should you “start” your conclusion? How long should you make your conclusion? Finally, what are some good phrases to use for ending a presentation?<br>

Examples of a Good Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that we can increase our annual revenue this year. We can do this with a combination of increased efficiency in our production process and a more dynamic approach to lead generation. If we implement these changes, I estimate that annual revenue will increase by as much as 15%.

The example above shows a good conclusion for a business presentation. However, some people believe that the term in conclusion is overused. Here’s how to end a presentation using transition words similar to in conclusion .

Transition words help your audience know that your presentation is ending. Try starting your conclusion with one of these phrases:

  • To summarize

However, transition words aren’t always necessary. Here are a few good ways to end a presentation using a different approach.

  • Summarize Key Takeaways : There are two things that I’d like you to remember from today’s presentation. First, we are a company that consults startups for a fraction of the cost of other consultation services. And second, we have a perfect record of successfully growing startups in a wide variety of industries. If anything was unclear, I’d be happy to open the floor to questions.
  • Make a Call-To-Action : I am very passionate about climate change. The future of the planet rests on our shoulders and we are quickly running out of time to take action. That said, I do believe that we can effect real change for future generations. I challenge you to take up the fight for our children and our children’s children.
  • Use a Relevant Quote: I’d like to end my presentation with one of my favorite quotes: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

As you can see, your conclusion does not need to be very long. In fact, a conclusion should be short and to the point. This way, you can effectively end your presentation without rambling or adding extraneous (irrelevant) information.

How to End a Presentation in English with Common Phrases

Finally, there are a few generic phrases that people frequently use to wrap up presentations. While we encourage you to think about how to end a presentation using a unique final statement, there’s nothing wrong with using these common closing phrases:

  • Thank you for your time.
  • I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.
  • I’ll now answer any questions you have about (topic).
  • If you need any further information, feel free to contact me at (contact information).

We hope this guide helps you better understand how to end a presentation ! If you’d like to find out more about how to end a presentation in English effectively, visit Magoosh Speaking today!

Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones

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Best Ways to Conclude a Presentation

Last Updated: October 4, 2023 Fact Checked

Strategies for Wrapping up a Presentation

Other best practice presentation tips, public speaking advice, how should you end a presentation.

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz and by wikiHow staff writer, Ali Garbacz, B.A. . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 6,277 times.

You’ve just spent the last hour or so preparing a super thorough and detailed presentation. Now it’s time to add the finishing touches and come up with an attention-grabbing and memorable closer. What strategies can you use to make sure that people really remember what you've said? Keep reading to learn all the most effective methods you can use to conclude your presentation in a way that’ll really stick with your audience. We'll cover different strategies you can mix and match to end your presentation with a bang, then follow up with public speaking tips. Let's dive in!

Things You Should Know

  • Bring your presentation to a close by first giving a clear indication that you’ll be wrapping up, followed by a short summary of your main ideas.
  • Grab your audience’s attention with a strong call to action and an explanation of what good things will happen when they listen to your message.
  • Make your presentation memorable by embellishing it with a powerful quote, a story, or a surprising statistic or fact.
  • Get your audience involved by running a poll or survey at the end of your presentation.

Step 1 Give a clear indication that the presentation is coming to an end.

  • “In conclusion…”
  • “In summary…”
  • “As I conclude my presentation, let me ask you a question.”
  • “This brings me to the end of my presentation today.”
  • “In respect of time, allow me to wrap up my last comments.”

Step 2 Provide a quick and concise summary of the presentation’s key points.

  • “That brings me to the conclusion of my presentation. If you’re to take anything away from my presentation today, let it be the three Cs of credit that we talked about: character, capacity, and capital.”
  • "Above all else, remember the acronym RAM: redesign, application, and management."

Step 3 Grab your audience’s attention with a strong call to action.

  • “When you volunteer for this program, you will build your skills and gain valuable experiences.”
  • “You will participate in the increased profitability of our company by joining this new program.”
  • “Make this company a more inclusive and healthy place to work by taking just a few minutes out of your day to do these small actions.”

Step 4 End your presentation with a powerful statement or quote.

  • “As the Greek historian Plutarch once said, ‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.’ Let’s kindle the fire within our minds and make the changes we want to see.”
  • “I’ll leave you today with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: ‘Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.’”
  • “Work hard to inspire not only those around you, but yourself as well.”

Step 5 Present one last surprising statistic to grab people’s attention.

  • Pair this statistic or fact with a memorable visual, such as an illustrated graph, a video, or a picture. The more visual your presentation is, the more memorable it will be to your audience.

Step 6 Conclude by telling a story that encompasses your main ideas.

  • Another way to go about telling a story is to start it in your presentation’s intro and end it during the conclusion. Your audience will be curious to know how the story ends.

Step 7 Ask a rhetorical question that’ll make your audience think.

  • “What do you think the word ‘success’ means?”
  • “How can we make an impact every day through the work we do?”
  • “Why do you think people are so afraid of change and questioning the way things have always been done?”
  • Asking a question at the beginning of your presentation and answering it during the conclusion is another strategy to consider. Just be sure that you don’t forget to answer this question and accidentally leave your audience hanging.

Step 1 Put your Q&A section in the middle of your presentation instead of at the end.

  • “What’s your usual mood during the workday?”
  • “Have you ever presented your supervisor with a new idea or suggestion?”
  • “Do you see yourself participating in this new program?”

Step 4 Conduct a final...

  • What they liked and disliked about the presentation
  • What improvements could be made
  • One memorable thing they took away from your presentation

Step 1 Make your presentation about your audience and not solely about you.

  • Before your presentation, go and talk with some of the audience members. This will give them a chance to warm up to you and can help you feel more relaxed once you get up and start presenting.

Step 2 Use hand gestures to create an inviting atmosphere.

  • Using hand gestures also shows the audience that you’re in control of the space around you, and makes you appear much more confident and at ease.

Step 3 Maintain your professional stage presence before and after the presentation.

Expert Q&A

  • Keep in mind that your presentation gives you the chance to be a messenger. Give your audience something meaningful to walk with at the end of your speech. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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  • ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/worst-ways-to-end-a-presentation-2014-7
  • ↑ https://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0
  • ↑ https://www.wilmu.edu/edtech/documents/the-science-of-effective-presenations---prezi-vs-powerpoint.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.mentimeter.com/blog/awesome-presentations/ways-to-end-a-presentation-and-tools
  • ↑ https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml
  • ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/02/15-methods-of-every-effective-public-speaker/?sh=3a911bdd3047
  • ↑ https://youtu.be/VRJzvJ5XPQI?t=11

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

  • Carmine Gallo

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

  • Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Speaking about Presenting

Presentation structure: Why it’s smarter to put your conclusion in your opening

by Olivia Mitchell | 19 comments

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

It seems natural to structure your presentation with the conclusion at the end of your presentation and some articles on presentation structure advise this. But most of the time (exceptions below), it’s more effective to tell your audience your conclusion near the beginning of your presentation. Here’s why:

1. It gives your audience the big picture

In Brain Rules , John Medina argues that we learn and remember best when we:

Start with the key ideas and, in a hierarchical fashion, form the details around these larger notions.

This is because we remember things best by forming mental models or schema. So if you provide your audience with a hierarchical framework starting with your conclusion they will understand and remember better.

2. It enables people to make decisions

Decision-makers want to hear your recommendation upfront. They don’t have the time to be taken on a mystery tour. Managers who engage Effective Speaking to run courses for their staff often tell us ‘I want to know immediately what they’re telling me.” Once they have your recommendation they are then ready to assess your arguments.

3. It allows for repetition

When you establish your conclusion at the beginning of your presentation, you can then weave it throughout the presentation, showing how each point that you cover relates and supports it.

4. It holds people’s attention

This may seem counterintuitive. After all why should they listen if they already know the conclusion? However, as presentation design agency m62 argue:

By presenting the main arguments analytically [conclusion first] you create intrigue in the audience, increasing your audience’s attention. Showing facts and figures to support an eventual conclusion often lowers the concentration levels of the audience prompting a ‘What’s the point of this?’ mind set.

Good reasons to put your conclusion in your closing

There are some situations where it’s effective to leave your conclusion till the end of your presentation.

1. Create mystery

If you can structure your presentation by posing, and then unravelling a puzzle you can have the audience eating out of your hands. Malcolm Gladwell is a master at this both in his books and in his presentations . You could use it effectively in a keynote presentation (as Gladwell does) or in a teaching/training environment as an introduction to a larger topic. This does require some skill to avoid people tuning out if they can’t follow you. For most presenters it will work best to use this strategy for a segment of your talk – rather than the whole talk.

2. Create ownership

In a training environment, you can set up an exercise which enables people to come to their own conclusions. Debrief the exercise by asking participants what they learnt from it. This does require skillful design of the exercise (so that participants learn from it what you want them to learn) and skillful facilitation to draw out their learnings. Done well it’s a powerful method of creating ownership of the learning.

Bad reasons to leave your conclusion till the end

You may be tempted to leave your conclusion till the end for not so good reasons:

1. You’re concerned that people will stop paying attention once they know your conclusion

As I argued above, this is rarely the case. People are more likely to tune out when they don’t have the big picture.

2.You’re concerned that your audience might disagree with your conclusion

If you have to deliver bad news you may feel tempted to leave the bad news till the end. This is rarely a good idea. A classic example: a representative of a New Zealand government agency made a presentation to a group of commercial retailers about changes which were going to take place to their commercial area. He described how it was going to be revamped and made beautiful and attract a lot more foot traffic. He closed with this statement ‘” And that’s why your businesses will have to be shut down for six months.” You can bet they were furious.

What do you think? When do you put your conclusion in the opening? When do you leave your conclusion to the closing?

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

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19 Comments

Dan Cybulskie

Great post! Do you think the urge to leave the conclusion til the end is because people tend to approach, and plan for, presentations using the same methodology as essays and documentation?

To answer you questions: I really hadn’t thought about it. I agree with what you’ve said though, so you can bet I’ll be putting more thought into ‘conclusion placement’ from now on.

Olivia Mitchell

Hi Dan Yes, we’re trained at school to do things that way. However, in the corporate workplaces I’ve worked I was trained to put the recommendation (conclusion) first… Go well with your presentation when you try out, putting your conclusion near the beginning. Olivia

Denis Francois Gravel

Good advice. It is very effective to start with the conclusion when it is surprising or chocking for the audience. They will want to know “Where that conclusion comes from.” If you start your conference saying something like: two years from now, we won’t need firemen anymore in Los Angeles, people will listen to know why.

Thanks for your post

Denis Francois Gravel

Hi Denis You’ve given a great example.

However, putting your conclusion in your opening works even when your conclusion is not particularly shocking or surprising to your audience. I recommend that the conclusion is expressed in one clear and succinct sentence (which I call the Key Message). The Key Message should be relevant to the audience and add value in some way – but not necessarily shock or surprise. Olivia

I Totally agree. I wasn’t specific enough in my first comment.

Denis François

Claudio Perrone

A lot of incredibly dull presentations diligently start with a main point (your “conclusion”), develop it throughout the session, and finally end up with a summary. The focus there is clarity. But there is a huge problem. This “logical” structure does not engage the audience at emotional level. That’s why speakers often sound “preachy”. They are the experts, they have a truth and they are more than happy to shovel their data into our throats. No, there must be something better than that. Is putting the conclusion at the end a better approach then? Well, the speaker you mentioned put the conclusion at the end and clearly failed. My guess is that he did not “lead” the audience there, he only “pointed” them there.

Brain Rules also mentions that audience attention typically drops after 10 minutes, and gives the advice of using, for example, anecdotes.

So, what’s my approach? Simple. I start with a problem(!) and tell the audience a story. Rather than a logical outline, I use a dramatic outline (problem/development – typically consisting on a series of try and fail -/resolution) The story becomes a mere device to package all the data and information that I want to provide. You see, I (as a speaker) don’t not play the role of the expert anymore. I become a travel companion that brings the audience in a journey of discovery. Denis Francois Gravel gave an excellent example of what I would normally call a “hook”. You get your attention with a strong opening or title. In that case, the “conclusion” is strong because it is unexpected and, likely, opinionated. “Invest in ostrich farming” is clearly not as good, isn’t it? 🙂 Like in a movie, however, a hook grabs your attention at the beginning, but it is just not sufficient to keep your audience engaged for the whole presentation (see the 10 minutes “rule” above).

Hi Claudio You raise some interesting points. I would make this distinction: the engagement level of the presentation is not necessarily related to the placement of the conclusion. A dull boring presentation can start or end with the conclusion and so can an engaging one.

I do like your description of the role you play in your presentations as the travel companion. What you describe seems to be similar to the Gladwell approach of taking your audience on a journey with you.

Olivia, let me clarify. Here we are specifically talking about structure and how a structure supports a presentation. You can be engaging despite the structure and you can be engaging despite the dreaded bullet points on slides. The point being is that the choice of structure may heavily influence your results and objectives (clarity vs. emotional engagement).

The dramatic structure I use (Problem/development 1 2 3/resolution) is designed to preserve the tension until the end. Let me give you a practical example. “I was a talented software developer, I though I was invincible. Unitl one day… I faced an impossible project. Everyone was against me. What would you do? This is what I tried first” You see? Now I have a character, desire, obstacles. I give the audience experience (you can start with a “what if” scenario is the story is fictional)

The first time I wrote this presentation, I said: “…I faced an impossible project. Amazingly, it succeeded. Maybe this is why”…and so on. In the latter example I made a little but important mistake. I resolved the implicit dramatic question (“will he succeed?”) too early.

By the way, since I noticed you asked for examples of presentations structured around stories (in another post), here is a link to a presentation I did 3 weeks ago which talks about storytelling techniques, I think you may like it ;-): http://www.agilesensei.com/blog/articles/2010/06/17/crafting-outstanding-presentations/

Thank you for the example that you’ve added. I should add a new category to the reasons for leaving the conclusion till the end “Create tension” because that is different to “Create mystery”.

I haven’t had time to look at your presentation slides as I’m off to run a course, but looking forward to having a browse later on.

TJ Goan

A very well reasoned piece Olivia!

My one point of disagreement comes with your case against putting the conclusion at the end when “You’re concerned that your audience might disagree with your conclusion”

A presentation in which you are delivering bad news certainly calls for getting it out early to avoid the appearance of sandbagging. It is true that the longer you withhold bad news the more the audience will feel you haven’t dealt honestly with them.

However, if you are presenting a proposal or trying to change minds, I find that it is often better to prepare the groundwork first. If there is a chance that the audience will not fully appreciate the importance of the problem (to them), I would think you need to build that case first. I may be getting this wrong, but I think I recall one of your newsletters talking about getting the audience in touch with the pain of the problem (not taking it for granted). This comes first, no?

More important is the case where the audience may be negatively predisposed to your proposal. If the audience, for instance, feels threatened by your proposal then presenting your conclusions first may cause them to throw up mental barriers to your arguments. To reiterate, this is not to be confused with delivering bad news. Rather, I am referring to situations where the audience may be brought to your way of thinking if you build your argument incrementally.

Hmm… thinking.

I don’t think there’s one rule which applies in all situations – and it may well be that we’ve had different experiences which have led us to see things differently.

My particular experience relates to local government – when a local official was presenting a proposal to the public it was rarely the first the audience had heard about it. Similarly when it came to presenting new proposals to staff, it was rarely my experience that staff didn’t know something about the proposal before the presentation. In both cases there were often rumours floating about and it was helpful to accurately state the proposal near the beginning of the presentation.

Yes, I have written a newsletter where I talk of getting people in touch with the pain of a problem. This can come just after stating the proposal. I would state the proposal and then lead into a discussion of the problem by saying: “Here’s why we have to do this…”

But to reiterate, my views may simply be a product of my experience. I’ve simply not come across a situation where stating the conclusion early on has caused the argument not to succeed. They may well throw up mental barriers – but you can then deal with those barriers during the body of your presentation. There is a risk that if you leave the conclusion till the end – that despite your careful building of the argument – people still throw up mental barriers, and then you don’t have an opportunity to deal with them.

Thank you for your comments – you’ve caused me to think about this more deeply. Olivia

Zach Robbins

Good points here. I think it is generally the best approach to include your conclusion in your intro. I wrote a blog post on packaging your talk in this way here: http://blog.speakerrate.com/post/681885350/tip-packaging-your-talk-say-it-3-times

In addition to your reasoning, you can still “create mystery” by having your conclusion in your intro but include a “continuous element” such as a story or analogy. I once gave a presentation about organ donation. I introduced the topic with a story of my good friend who needed a heart transplant. I leave the story halfway, even though the audience feels that I may have actually finished the story. In the end, I come back to the story and mention that my friend received his heart trasplant and is only alive today because of that one person’s decision. It’ll have your audience eating out of your hand, like you said, but without leaving out your conclusion.

Good stuff.

Hi Zach That’s a great example of using the same story to introduce and conclude your talk. It’s a great technique. Thanks, Olivia

javier

Olivia, I enjoyed the post. It is a very good advice for very general situations. I use the same strategy to the documents that I send to managers and is much more effective to leave the conclusions for the final. So I’m sure that they will read and get more attention to the rest of the document. Congratulations for the post and the blog, it has given me much to my presentations

Hi Javier and welcome to my blog – glad you’re finding it useful for your presentations. Olivia

Bruce Gabrielle

Hi Olivia – thanks for surfacing an important point about presentation structure and for allowing for some lively discussion.

In my workshops with business managers I teach them to lead with the conclusion and then unpack the data that supports that conclusion. This is based on personal experience as well as writers like Barbara Minto, John Medina and others. Here’s a further explanation of this principle: http://www.speakingppt.com/1-answer-first/

The exception is when you expect the audience to disagree with your conclusion. In that case, putting it first may cause debate before you even have a chance to develop the rest of your argument. An example: I produced a report for a company that believed software piracy was their biggest challenge with one customer segment. But this was based on misinterpeting some key data. In meetings when I tried to correct people, there was a strong emotional resistance to hearing my counter-argument. So in my presentation I started with “Piracy: what does the data say?”. People were more willing to assess the data when it didn’t challenge their preconceived notions.

Hi Bruce You give a very good example of when it is wise to leave your conclusion till the end.

My caveat would be to only do this when you have good reason (not just an unfounded assumption) to predict that an audience will resist to the point of shutting off.

In other situations, starting with your conclusion will surface some disagreements but this won’t be fatal to your case. Rather surfacing the disagreements allows you to be address them in a straightforward manner. In sales, this is the idea that it’s good for the customer to raise objections, so that you can address them. Olivia

Jim Harvey

There’s also a point to be made here about about classical story structure. Shakespeare (building on the Greek tradition of ‘chorus’ etc.) Uses the prologue in his plays to do a number of things.

1- quieten the crowd and get them hooked from the start 2- tells them what he wants them to do to get the most out of the play 3- tempt them with tasty morsels from the story…

if they ‘do with patient ears attend’ the ‘2-hours traffic of our stage’. But he doesn’t give the plot away, just the core theme.

In Romeo and Juliet, he promises the (hungry, diseased, drunk, depressed and oppressed) people who would have been in his audience in the 1500’s, rich Italians (how exotic), hatred, sex (always a winner) , murder, suicide (a crime against God) and a happy ending (of sorts) in the first 45 seconds. Then he tells the audience to be patient, and promises them that all will be clear by the end.

It’s pure salesmanship. And half-way between giving the conclusion at the beginning, and leaving it ’til the end.

And at the very bitter end he nails them with the epilogue. He tells them that they must go away and talk about what they’ve seen, and tells them that they’ve never heard such a story before!

It’s brilliant, but you can only do it in real life if you’re confident that you have a strong story. But when you do, and you do it, it’s amazing the effect it has on even the most cynical, senior and jaded crowd.

Thanks Jim, for adding Shakespeare into the mix.

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List of Effective Strategies to Close your Presentation

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Your presentation close is just as important as your introduction. It is oftentimes neglected but is actually crucial because it will be easily recalled by your audience. It is with your introduction that you can catch the audience’s attention but it is with the conclusion that you can leave a lasting impression. Whether you intend to inspire, entertain,   inform, or persuade, your closing is your final chance to accomplish your goal, therefore, it is essential to make it impactful.

Never lose this chance by ending abruptly and just saying last lines like   “Well, that just about covers it’, “ That’s pretty much it, Thank you” or “That’s it, I’m done… These statements are not powerful enough to end your speech. Instead, make sure to close your speech properly and sum up your final points in a clear and direct way. Remember that you may lose the impact of the key points in your presentation if you do not end it properly.   Plan your closing statement word for word and write it to achieve that powerful ending. To help you smoothly close your presentation here are 5 effective strategies that you can use.

1. Bookend Close

Bookends are used at the beginning and end of a row of books, whereas with the presentation this applies by using the same opening and closing tool at the beginning and end of your talk. You simply repeat something that you have said from the opening which may be a quote or an anecdote while recapping your whole speech in your closing. This helps the audience to see that you end up where you started thus completes a full circle. You can employ this technique by finishing a story or by answering a question you asked at the beginning of your speech or you may use title close wherein you end with your title.

2. Callback Close

This may look similar to bookend close but differs in a way that with this technique you refer to anything in the body of your speech whereas with bookend, you recall something from the introduction . In this approach, you tie your presentation end to a story that has not been fully completed in the body by presenting its conclusion at the closing of your speech .

3. Repetitive Close

Repeating a phrase or a line is a good way to drive home your main point. To use this strategy y ou need to find a certain phrase in your presentation then repeat it to close your speech. You may do this through echo close, where you focus on a word that you want to emphasize or Sing Song Close where you will ask your audience to repeat the phrase you have used several times.

4. Movie close

This technique uses a well-known movie as a reference. To ensure that most of your audience is familiar with the line that you will refer to, it may be best to choose a film that is in the English language. These kinds of movies are popular worldwide due to its usage of the global language. Your audience will find it amusing if you are able to inject a line that they are familiar with or may leave them curious if they have not heard it before. 

5. Quotation Close

You can end your presentation by using a quotation from a text or from a pronouncement of a notable person. This will help you to succinctly summarize your message. Choose a quote that fits your presentation theme and captures the feeling you want your audience to have. Also, make sure that you choose a quote that has not been heard so often that it has become cliché.

6. Tell a short story / Close With A Story

This technique is used with introduction but can also be used as an effective way to close your presentation. If you have discussed a subject with complex facts and figures, telling a story will help in making these significant ideas clear. This enables your audience to visualize the subject even more. You may also use this strategy if you want your audience to be inspired by sharing a story with a moral and telling them what the moral is.

7. Personal Example

For a deeper audience connection, you may close your presentation by sharing a personal story about your subject. This will not only help you achieve an impactful ending but your story will also become memorable to your listeners. Sharing a personal anecdote may help you to inspire or encourage your audience to try to do different or be better in what they do.

8. Rhetorical Question

A rhetorical question may be asked at any point in your presentation, but asking it at the end of your speech leaves the audience with your question still lingering in their minds. Listeners are generally drawn into thinking about an answer the moment you ask them a question that is provocative or touches a possibly sensitive area of their lives .

9. Contrast

After presenting your main points to your audience, it is also effective to allow them to think about which solution is better for them to pursue. Not pushing your point too much on them can be a subtle way of encouraging them to embrace what you propose. This technique enables you to make them feel that they have the freedom to choose while keeping your suggested option linger in their minds.

10. Challenge close

You may close your presentation by appealing for belief or action. This technique is good for persuasive presentation especially when you have provided recommendations on how your audience can do something about the problems you have presented them. This is also effective when you are inspiring and encouraging them to apply the moral they have learned in your presentation

11. Summary of Major Points

Another great way to end your presentation is by linking the main points to the key message. This is useful for complex presentations and long speeches that are divided into a few specific points. You may do these by briefly listing your key points, one by one, then show their relationship and how they support your main argument. If you do, people will better understand the connection and appreciate your message even more. 

If you want to end lightly and make your audience be entertained, then closing with humor is good. You can tell a joke that is related to your subject and repeats the lesson of the main point. This will augment the significant ideas in your speech while closing in a fun way.

When writing your closing, think about the purpose of your presentation. Identifying your goal will help you to design a conclusion that reinforces your purpose while asking your listeners to consider the action you wish them to do. Also, determine the emotion you want them to feel after your presentation then write your closing build toward that feeling. In this way, you are sure that you can close and leave your audience with the way you want them to feel.

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How to End a Presentation (+ Useful Phrases)

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Table of Contents

Most people are aware of the power of first impressions.

However, our appearance and the first words we utter are only one part of the impact we have on others.

Arguably, the final words we exchange during an interaction can have an even more lasting effect . And that applies to public speaking, too.

Obviously, the way you introduce yourself and the topic you’ll be discussing is important.

However, the end of a presentation should also be recognized as a crucial part of the experience .

With that in mind, this article will walk you through some:

  • Things you should consider before drafting your conclusion,
  • Tips for ending a presentation memorably,
  • Mistakes you should avoid, and
  • Phrases you can use to wrap up your speech.

But, before we discuss how to end a presentation, let’s establish why having an impactful conclusion is so essential.

How to end a presentation - cover

Why is it important to have an impactful ending for your presentation?

In our article about starting a presentation , we explained how the steps of the motivated sequence framework correspond to the structure of the average presentation or speech.

As we have established, the introduction of a presentation mirrors the first step of that model. That means that one of its main goals is to get the listeners’ attention .

The central part of the speech, or the body , corresponds to the second, third, and fourth steps of the motivated sequence framework. In other words, it has to:

  • Introduce the audience’s need (or identify a problem the listeners are having),
  • Offer a way to satisfy (or resolve) that need, and
  • Help the listeners visualize the successful implementation of the speaker’s solution.

Having checked off these points, we arrive at the conclusion , i.e., the subject of this article.

That stage of a presentation corresponds to the final step of the motivated sequence model — which consists of the call to action .

So, the conclusion of a presentation allows the speaker to drive their point home and nudge the audience toward performing a specific action.

However, that’s not the only purpose of a conclusion.

According to the authors of Business Communication: Process & Product , the final section of a presentation should achieve 3 goals . It should:

  • Summarize the main themes of the presentation,
  • Leave the audience with a specific and noteworthy takeaway (i.e. propose a specific course of action), and
  • Include a statement that allows the speaker to leave the podium (or pass the mic) gracefully.

Above all, the ending of a presentation should be memorable , akin to the punchline of a joke.

Having said that, let’s talk about some factors you should consider as you’re writing the conclusion of your speech.

Things to consider before crafting the conclusion of your presentation

If you’re trying to figure out how to end a presentation, knowing the goals of a conclusion should help.

However, those objectives are only one part of the puzzle. To get the others, you should also consider:

  • Your audience’s demographic breakdown,
  • The general purpose of your presentation ,
  • The specific purpose of your presentation , and
  • Your thesis statement .

With that in mind, let’s see how each of these factors can help you develop an impactful conclusion for your presentation.

Factor #1: The demographic breakdown of the audience

As we have noted in our article about starting presentations, understanding the demographic breakdown of one’s audience is a crucial part of drafting a speech .

After all, the audience affects all of the choices we make — from the way we present ourselves to the vocabulary and the supporting materials we use during our presentations.

In our quest to learn more about the effect an audience can have on a presentation, we spoke to Persuasion Strategist Juliet Huck .

Having spent a significant portion of her professional career preparing people to take the witness stand, Huck knows a thing or two about adjusting one’s messaging to fit the preferences of one’s audience. She says:

Juliet Huck

“[The] ending [of] every presentation should be different and always based on the background of your audience. This should not be a blanket statement.  It also depends on if you are educating your audience or persuading them to make a decision in your favor.  You must do the homework on your audience prior to giving a presentation and end by leading them to your desired conclusion by giving them a conclusion they can relate to.”

But, if you’re not entirely sure how to take your audience into account when drafting your conclusion, consider the following questions:

  • How will your audience connect to the topic you’re discussing?
  • How can you relate the information you’re sharing to the listeners’ needs?
  • What would make your audience think back on your presentation in positive terms?
  • What would be the most effective way to get your point across to this specific audience?

Knowing whether your audience is friendly, neutral, uninterested, or hostile will also help you adjust your approach.

If nothing else, it’ll tell you whether you should stick to the facts or feel free to deliver a more casual or rousing speech.

Examples of different audience breakdowns

In our article about starting a presentation, we demonstrated our tips through 3 fictional speakers. So, let’s use the same presenters to illustrate this point.

  • Nick Mulder is talking about the dangers of phishing. He introduced himself as the head of the security department. So, we can assume that he’s speaking to an audience of fellow employees, perhaps even through video conferencing software. Therefore, he was addressing an internal problem the company was having in front of a fairly receptive audience.
  • Joan Miller is talking about how artificial intelligence is changing the future of the marketing industry. In her introduction, she mentioned having over four decades of experience in marketing. Consequently, we can infer that she’s speaking to an audience of marketing specialists who were previously unaware of her credentials.
  • Milo Green is talking about employee retention. In his introduction, he indicated that the audience may know him as the founder of Green & Co. So, he’s probably famous enough to be recognized by at least a portion of his audience. Between that and the subject of his presentation, we can assume that he’s talking to the upper management of other companies.

From our examples, we can see how the identity of the speaker and their level of familiarity with the listeners might affect the way they prepare their presentations .

Factor #2: The general purpose of your presentation

Understanding the general purpose of a speech brings you one step closer to knowing how to end a presentation.

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , most presentations can be sorted into one of 3 categories based on that factor. In that regard, your presentation could be:

  • Informative , aiming to expand the listeners’ knowledge and/or help them acquire a specific skill,
  • Persuasive , with the goal of changing the listeners’ opinions or encouraging them to behave a certain way, or
  • Entertaining , which is good for getting the audience to relax and look forward to upcoming speakers or events.

The general purpose of your presentation will naturally affect your conclusion because it will change what you choose to emphasize.

💡 Pumble Pro Tip

The basic goal of your presentation could correspond with the type of presentation you’re giving. To learn more about presentation types and styles, check out this article:

  • Presentation types and styles explained

Examples of defining the general purpose of a presentation 

Let’s see how our imaginary presenters would define the general purpose of their presentations.

  • The general purpose of our phishing expert’s presentation is informative . The speaker’s primary goal is to teach his coworkers how to recognize and defend themselves against phishing attempts.
  • Our marketing expert’s presentation is persuasive . She wants to change her listeners’ minds and make them more open to using AI in their marketing campaigns.
  • The last speaker’s presentation about employee retention is also persuasive . After all, the speaker is attempting to show his listeners how they can increase the employee retention rate at their own companies. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the speech, it could also take on some entertaining qualities.

Factor #3: The specific purpose of your presentation

The specific purpose of a presentation is essentially the outcome you’re looking to achieve with your speech. Defining this goal will require you to know the answers to the following questions :

  • Who do you want to influence?
  • What do you want them to think or do?
  • How, when, and where do you want them to do it?

Ideally, the specific goal you come up with should be realistic and highly specific .

To that end, the authors of Communicating at Work recommend setting measurable goals . So, for example, instead of thinking: “ I want to get approval for my project. ”,

“I want my manager to let me set aside one day per week to work on this project. I also want them to let me ask one or two other people to help me with it.”

Having this kind of goal in mind will help you figure out how to wrap up your presentation.

Examples of defining the specific purpose of a presentation

So, how would our 3 speakers specify the desired outcomes of their presentations in measurable terms? Let’s see:

“I want the people in my company to understand the dangers of phishing attacks. They should learn the exact steps they need to take when they see a suspicious email in their inbox.”
“I want these marketing experts to be more knowledgeable about the way artificial intelligence works right now and understand how they can incorporate that software into their professional practice.”
“I want managers and HR professionals to know how they can make their companies a better place to work so they can keep their employee retention rate high.”

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Factor #4: Your thesis statement

Ultimately, defining the general and specific goals of your presentation is a great way to keep yourself on track when crafting your speech.

However, the audience doesn’t need to know those goals.

Instead, they can hear your thesis statement — a summary of your overall message .

You can treat this statement as the throughline of your presentation. It will appear at least once in the introduction, followed by a few repetitions throughout the body of the presentation.

Finally, you’ll also want to include that same idea in your conclusion at least once.

In addition to keeping you, as the speaker, grounded, that repetition also keeps your audience from wondering what your presentation is about .

Examples of defining the thesis statement of a presentation

So, what would a thesis statement look like in practice? Let’s hear it from our fictional presenters:

“Identifying and reporting phishing emails will save the company’s information and money in the long term.”
“Right now, artificial intelligence isn’t as advanced as people think it is. However, we can still use it for marketing purposes as long as we make sure the process doesn’t begin and end with AI.”
“Improving your employee retention rate makes employees more engaged with their work and saves the company time and money that would otherwise go to training new personnel.”

How to end a presentation with a bang: 10 tips + examples

Now that we know why having an impactful conclusion is so crucial, it’s time to find the right way to achieve your goals.

To that end, we have highlighted 10 tips that might help you wrap up your presentation .

  • Reiterate the key points and your core message.
  • Mirror your opening statement.
  • Elicit a response.
  • Engage the audience.
  • Call to action.
  • Hand out materials.
  • Acknowledge your contributors.
  • Provide contact information.
  • Thank the audience.
  • Ask for feedback.

Of course, many of these methods we’ll discuss can be combined. However, your choices may be limited depending on the factors we have previously mentioned.

Tip #1: Reiterate the key points and your core message

Making sure the audience remembers your main points is one of the most important objectives your conclusion should accomplish.

With that in mind, you should dedicate some time at the end of your speech to reinforcing what you were trying to say throughout your presentation.

Take it from Mark Beal , Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Communication, at Rutgers University:

Mark Beal

“Every presentation should deliver and consistently reinforce three key message points. Most audience members will not recall more than three messages. Some may only recall one or two. With that [in mind], an engaging and effective presentation should conclude with the three messages the presenter wants the audience to take away.”

In essence, you’ll want to summarize your presentation by reiterating up to 3 key points and then repeating your thesis statement.

You could even translate this tip to your presentation slides. As Juliet Huck says:

“Your last slide should always draw your audience to your desired conclusion. [It] should be your billboard message , as we remember 70% of what we see and 20% of what we hear.”

We can see what that might look like through the example of our imaginary presentation on the dangers of phishing, below.

The final slide of a presentation about phishing

Tip #2: Mirror your opening statement

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , splitting a narrative between the introduction and the conclusion of your presentation is a good way to keep your audience’s attention.

Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Communication at the State University of New York, Dr. Lee M. Pierce , agrees:

Dr. Lee M. Pierce

“Psychological closure is looping back to the beginning to give the audience a sense of a closed circle. Don’t add new information in the conclusion, just tie the presentation up with a bow. [For example,] I always customize my closings based on the opening of the speech. During a TEDx Talk on Beyoncé’s ‘Formation,’ I began by walking out to the introduction to the song, and then I ended by walking off to the end of the song.”

The above quote demonstrates that this tip can be useful no matter which method you used to start your presentation .

You can use it to put a new spin on a statistic you shared in the introduction, give a story you told a different ending, or finish the punchline of a joke you started with.

Overall, coming back to the theme you introduced at the beginning of your speech should make your presentation seem more complete and intentional .

Phrases you can use to reflect the introduction of your presentation in the conclusion

With all that being said, let’s see how our imaginary speakers would mirror the opening lines of their presentations in their conclusion.

Having started with a phishing statistic, our first speaker might say:

“Going back to the number we started with, remember that the Anti-Phishing Working Group has recorded 1,270,883 individual phishing attacks in the third quarter of 2022 — and that number is always on the rise. Luckily, you now have all the information you need to avoid becoming a part of that statistic.”

Our second speaker would have announced her plans to survey her listeners at the beginning of her presentation. In her conclusion, she might say:

“At the beginning of my presentation, I asked you to answer a quick survey on whether you’d be willing to work with AI. If you look back at your phones, you’ll see a different link in the #general channel on Pumble . Let’s see if this talk has managed to sway some opinions!”

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Lastly, our final speaker might refer back to a humorous statement he made about chaining one’s employees to their desks to ensure that employee retention rates stay high.

“Once you start making your company a better place to work, your employees will happily perform their daily tasks — without being glued to their desks.”

Tip #3: Elicit a response

Making an audience experience strong emotions is always a good thing, but especially as the presentation comes to a close.

Putting the listeners in a contemplative mood or, even better, a cheerful one, means that they’ll be more likely to remember you and the points you made after your presentation ends.

On top of that, concluding your presentation in this manner would allow you to step off the stage gracefully, which is one of the main goals your conclusion should accomplish.

Now, depending on the type of presentation you’re delivering and, indeed, your style of presenting, you could elicit a response by:

  • Ending with a short but powerful statement ,
  • Asking a thought-provoking rhetorical question ,
  • Relying on an impactful statistic or a quote , or even
  • Inserting a funny picture or a meme on your final presentation slide.

Any one of these methods could help you solidify yourself and your message in the minds of the audience.

Phrases you can use to elicit a response from the audience

So, how would our 3 presenters try to get a response from their audiences? Well, they might use the following statements.

“Ultimately, the best defense against phishing attacks is human intelligence. You, alone, can ensure that your information remains secure by implementing the checklist I’ve shared today.”
“So, let me ask you again. Would you be willing to incorporate AI into your marketing campaign?”
“Hey, if the conditions you’re offering to your employees are good enough — there’s no need to keep them glued to their desks.”

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

Tip #4: Engage the audience

As we’ll discuss later on, having a Q&A session at the end of your presentation doesn’t always pan out the way you want it to.

Even so, getting your audience — or at least a few select listeners — to verbally respond to you can go a long way toward making you seem like a more engaging speaker.

Still, you can’t implement this tip without a strategy. You want to lead your audience to a certain type of response .

Professional speaker, career change consultant, and host of the Career Relaunch® podcast, Joseph Liu , had this to say:

Joseph Liu

“I often invite attendees to share what action they’re going to take amongst the potential ones I’ve covered throughout the presentation or to at least commit to taking some sort of action.”

Speaker, author, and editorial producer at CNN, Nadia Bilchik , agrees:

Nadia Bilchik

“If time allows, I always ask participants to share their biggest takeaway.”

The quote above also highlights the importance of being aware of the time as you are concluding a presentation — which is another thing we’ll talk about later.

For now, we’ll just boil this tip down to the following statement: if possible, try to make people verbalize or at least think about the knowledge they’re taking away from your speech .

Phrases you can use to engage the audience

Going back to our imaginary speakers, let’s see how this tip might work in practice.

“As we approach my conclusion, I’d like for us to reflect on everything we’ve learned here today. So, let me turn the spotlight on you all. Does anyone remember how to recognize a phishing email without opening it?”
“Now, I’m sure everyone here has some idea of how they might incorporate AI into their next marketing campaign. Is anyone willing to share their strategy?”
“Alright! Pop quiz time — don’t worry, I won’t grade you. Can you all shout out the main 3 ways to increase employee retention? Number 1?”

Tip #5: Call to action

Once you have finished reiterating your core message and making sure you have your audience’s attention, you need to be able to direct the listeners to the next step.

As Michelle Gladieux , author of Communicate with Courage and President of Gladieux Consulting, an employee coaching provider, would put it:

Michelle Gladieux

“What can the audience DO with the information you’ve shared? Suggest a positive, fruitful next step or, even better, suggest several, and let your presentation participants choose among options that have panned out well for others.”

In her workshops, Gladieux says:

“We ask participants to document at least one goal for behavior change that is specific, measurable, and time-based, and take a bonus step of inviting them to name one person they’ll tell about their goal for added accountability.”

According to the authors of Communicating at Work , there are 2 ways to deliver a call to action at the end of your presentation. Namely, you can either phrase it as:

  • An appeal or a question (e.g. “If any of this sounds interesting, you can learn more by signing up for our newsletter through the link on the screen behind me.” ), or
  • A challenge or a demand (e.g. “Now, you can keep doing what you’re doing and getting lackluster results. Or, you can sign up for our newsletter to receive tips that will help you upgrade your strategy.” ).

As always, your choice will depend on the factors we have listed at the top of this article.

Phrases you can use to call the audience to action

Let’s see what our fictional speakers’ calls to action might look like.

“Remember, even if you happen to open a phishing email, you’ll be able to deal with it easily by forwarding it to this email address. That’s the main thing you need to remember from this talk.”
“I bet many of you could come up with even more creative ways to incorporate AI into your marketing campaigns. So, how about this: if you fill out the form I’m about to send you, I’ll check in with you in about three months. Those of you who succeed in using AI in a meaningful way will get a chance to share your insights on this very stage next year!”
“I have a challenge for those of you who are ready to meet me at my level. I want you to sign a pledge, promising to boost your employee retention rate by 10% in the next year. We had a similar experiment at one of my talks a couple of years back, and even I was surprised by the results.”

If you decide to accompany this part of your speech with a call to action slide, keep Juliet Huck’s advice in mind:

“A call to action slide is not always persuasive. Persuasion is not a call to action — it is a directed action. To ‘call’ means someone can say no, but to ‘persuade’ [is to] direct your audience to your desired conclusion based on a number of steps.”

In effect, that means that your call to action should be the final step of your persuasion strategy.

You should start building to that desired outcome well before you get to the end of your presentation.

Tip #6: Hand out materials

The ending of a presentation is the perfect time to give the audience a keepsake of your speech .

But, keep in mind that a memento doesn’t have to be a physical item. As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“I like to direct my audiences to free downloadable resources on our website for those who want to continue their personal and professional growth as leaders and communicators.”

So, sharing resources through email or a business messaging app would work just as well.

Of course, you don’t have to hold off until the conclusion of your presentation to give your audience something to remember you by. Gladieux also shared a method she used in her workshops: 

“[Most of our] participants have our high-quality original workbooks in hand during the presentation and available later as a tangible resource. Folks add notes, take short assessments, and work on case studies when we teach using workbooks. If we use presentation slides, we keep the content as engaging visually as possible and short on words.”

If your budget allows you to do something similar, that might be a good way to make the audience remember you.

Phrases you can use before handing out materials

In the scenarios we have conjured up, the speakers might introduce their additional materials like so.

“If you’re interested in learning more about phishing and how you can defend yourself from future attacks, you’ll find more information by following the link on the screen.”
“Now, at this point, I see that my associates have already started delivering some additional materials and miscellaneous goodies to you. I hope you’ll use them to workshop further ideas for using AI in your marketing strategies.”
“I’ll go ahead and forward these presentation slides as well as some additional resources for improving employee retention to you all.”

The third speaker uses the team communication app, Pumble, to share additional resources

If you’re looking for a convenient way to deliver additional resources to the attendees of your speech, Pumble is a great option. This article offers some practical tips for using business messaging software for educational purposes — including online conferences:

  • Using Pumble for teaching and learning  

Tip #7: Acknowledge contributors

If you’re delivering a business presentation as a representative of a team or a department, you can also use the final moments of your speech to acknowledge everyone who worked on the presentation with you.

On the one hand, you could simply thank your team in general terms and leave it at that.

Alternatively, you could highlight the individual contributions of specific team members if you want to make sure their effort doesn’t go unnoticed.

Phrases you can use to acknowledge your contributors

Here’s how our fictitious presenters might acknowledge the people who helped them create their presentations:

“Before I sign off, I’d like to take a moment to thank Jill and Vanessa from the security team, who helped me compile the data and create the slides you just saw.”
“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge that this presentation wouldn’t be half as informative without the experts who helped me understand the technical side of AI.”
“Now, let’s all give it up for my wonderful team, who helped me organize this lecture.”

Improve communication and collaboration for increased team efficiency with Pumble.

Tip #8: Provide contact information

Business presentations often double as networking opportunities , both for presenters and for audience members.

With that in mind, you might want to put your contact information on one of your closing slides.

For one, doing so would show the audience how they can get in touch with you after your presentation ends. After all, they may have additional questions or even interesting business opportunities for you.

On top of that, putting your contact information on the last slide is also a good way to remind the audience of your name and credentials .

For that reason, our second imaginary speaker might have “Joan Miller — Chief Marketing Officer at Happy Media” on her final slide.

Phrases you can use to provide contact information

So, how would our presenters encourage their audience to keep in touch? Well, they might say: 

“I’m always happy to answer any of your security or phishing-related questions on Pumble. You’ll find me by clicking the plus sign next to the direct messages section and searching my name, Nick Mulder.”
“If you all have any follow-up questions for me or one of the AI experts I’ve spoken to, you’ll find all of our contact information on this slide.”
“If you want to stay up to date on Green & Co’s latest news, follow us on LinkedIn.”

The first speaker asked his coworkers to contact him through direct messages on the business communication app, Pumble 

Tip #9: Thank the audience

Many presenters find a way to incorporate a “ thank you ” slide at the end of their presentations.

If you want to express your appreciation to your audience members , you could do the same thing.

However, as we’ll soon discuss, many of the experts we’ve spoken to would advise against having pointless visuals at the end of your presentation.

After all, you want to leave the audience with something memorable to take away from your speech.

Still, if you want to thank the audience, you could always make that final slide serve multiple functions .

For example, a “thank you” slide can also contain the speaker’s contact information, as well as additional resources.

conclusion of effective presentation strategies

This example “thank you” slide above features a QR code (you can create one using a QR code generator ) leading to more resources — it prompts the audience to find the speaker on various social media platforms.

Tip #10: Ask for feedback

Lastly, some speakers might benefit from knowing what the audience thinks about their delivery and other aspects of their presentation.

That’s why some of the experts we’ve spoken to suggest that conducting a brief survey of the audience could be a good activity to end a presentation with.

Rutgers University professor, Mark Beal, says that:

“Offering audience members the opportunity to take a concise survey at the conclusion of a presentation will result in valuable insights that will inform how to consistently evolve and improve a presentation. […] We use the last few minutes of seminars to allow participants to answer a few questions about what was most useful in our content and delivery, and what, in that individual’s opinion, could improve.”

Michelle Gladieux is also an advocate for audience surveys, saying:

“I’ve delivered thousands of training workshops and keynotes and never miss an opportunity to ask for feedback formally (in writing), informally (in conversation), or both. As you might guess, I advise every presenter reading this to do the same.”

You could encourage this type of feedback by:

  • Asking attendees to share their thoughts on your presentation after you step off the stage,
  • Setting up a notebook near the door and asking people to jot down their thoughts as they exit,
  • Having a suggestion box for hand-written feedback notes, or
  • Creating an anonymous survey online and linking to it on your presentation slides.

Most presenters nowadays tend to rely on technology to compile audience feedback, but the method you use will depend on the circumstances surrounding your presentation.

If you’ve never had to ask for feedback before, you might find this article interesting:

  • How to ask your manager for feedback  

The worst ways to end a presentation

Having gone through the best practices for concluding a presentation memorably, we also wanted to know what are some of the mistakes speakers should avoid as they reach the end of their speech.

The experts we have spoken to have identified 5 of the worst ways to end a presentation :

  • Overloading your final slide.
  • Settling for a lackluster closer.
  • Ending with a Q&A session.
  • Not having time for any questions at all.
  • Going over your time.

So, let’s see what makes these mistakes so bad.

Mistake #1: Overloading your final slide

Overloading your presentation slides isn’t a mistake you can make only at the end of your presentation.

Professional speakers know that slides are only there to accompany your speech — they shouldn’t be the main event.

As Nadia Bilchik says:

Nadia Bilchik

“Slides are only there to support your message. Towards the end of the presentation, I may even stop the slideshow entirely and just have a black screen. At the very end of the presentation, my suggestion is to have a slide up with the next steps or a call to action.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce also tends to use blank slides:

Dr. Lee M. Pierce

“I always end and begin with blank slides. As a speaker, you’re trying to build connection and rapport between you and the audience, not between the audience and your slide deck.”

Therefore, putting too much information onto a single slide can make the speaker seem unprepared, in addition to overwhelming the audience.

When in doubt, remember Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule :

  • No more than 10 slides per presentation,
  • Keep your presentations under 20 minutes, and
  • The text on your slides should never be smaller than 30-point font. 

Mistake #2: Settling for a lackluster closer

If your goal is to become a proficient speaker, you’ll have to stop using uninspired closers like:

  • “Well, I guess that’s it.”
  • “That’s pretty much all I had to say.”
  • “That’s about it from me. Can we get some applause?”

The audience will respond if you say something deserving of a response.

Instead of using these bland lines, remember Juliet Huck’s advice:

“Never end your presentation without closing the loop of your beginning theme and being specific when asking for your desire conclusion.”

As we have established, it’s best to conclude your speech by bringing back your thesis statement and key points.

Finishing with weak visuals is similarly offensive — and here we’re not just talking about presentation slides.

Remember, body language is an important component of our communication .

Fidgeting as your presentation comes to a close or slumping your posture as soon as you’re finished speaking won’t do.

As Michelle Gladieux would say:

“Never end a presentation seeming happy to be done, even if you are! Be certain you’re happy to be the presenter before you begin, or find someone else to do it.”

In other words, try not to show signs of anxiety during your presentation .

Maintain a confident demeanor for as long as you remain on stage or as long as you’re on camera, in the case of virtual meetings .

Mistake #3: Ending with a Q&A session

One of the experts we have spoken to, Nadia Bilchik, was particularly adamant about not ending presentations with Q&A sessions.

“Never ever end a presentation on a question-and-answer session. I have seen numerous presenters end by asking ‘Any questions?’ Too often there are no questions, and the presenter is left looking deflated and muttering ‘Thank you.’ [If there are] no questions, you can always say ‘A question I’m often asked is…’ or ‘Something I would like to reiterate is…’ Never end your presentation without your audience being clear about what they are expected to do with the information you have just shared.”

Adding that you can:

“Ask for questions, comments, and concerns, and only then end with a quick wrap-up. The goal is to end with your audience being clear on their next steps.”

Even if the listeners do have questions, there’s a good reason not to have a Q&A session at the very end of your presentation.

Namely, there’s always a chance that someone will ask a question that completely derails the conversation.

If you have the Q&A portion right before your conclusion, you’ll have time to reiterate your core message and proceed with a memorable closing statement .

For reference, you can ask for questions by saying:

“Before I close out this lecture, do you guys have any questions for me?”

Then, if there are no questions, you can still proceed to your conclusion without losing face. 

A Q&A session is one of the best ways to make your presentations more interactive — but it’s not the only way to go about it. To learn more, check out this article:

  • 18 Ways to make presentations more interactive and engaging

Mistake #4: Not having time for any questions at all

Ending with a Q&A session could be a problem — but, perhaps, not as big of a problem as not taking questions at all.

As Mark Beal would say:

“Not giving the audience the opportunity to participate in the presentation via a question and answer session is another ineffective way to end a presentation. Audiences want to have a voice in a presentation. They will be more engaged with the presentation content and recall it more effectively if given the opportunity to participate in the presentation and interact with the presenter.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce adds:

“It’s always good to leave at least 15 minutes for questions. Leaving 5 minutes is annoying and pointless. Also, be prepared that the audience may not have questions or not feel comfortable just jumping in, so have some of your own questions ready to offer them. You can say something like, ‘Just to put it out there, if I were going to ask me a question, I’d ask…’ ”

Now, both Nadia Bilchik and Lee M. Pierce have mentioned phrases you can use if no one comes forth with a question.

You’ll notice that the sentences they have come up with will require you to consider the questions you may be asked ahead of time .

In addition to helping you create a better presentation, doing this will also allow you to answer any questions effortlessly.

Mistake #5: Going over your time

Last but not least, many of the professional speakers we have interviewed have stressed the importance of ending one’s presentation on time.

Michelle Gladieux said it best:

“The best way to end a presentation is ON TIME. Respect others’ time commitments by not running over. You can always hang around for a while to speak with people who have more to say or more to ask.”

Dr. Lee M. Pierce agrees:

“The worst thing you can do is run over time. If you were given 45 minutes for a presentation plus 15 minutes for Q & A, you should end at 45 minutes — better if you end at 35 or 40.”

Then again, according to Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule, even going over the 20-minute mark could risk boring and alienating one’s audience.

Useful phrases for ending a presentation

In the course of our research, we’ve found many practical phrases one might use to wrap up a presentation.

We even had experts send in their suggestions. For example, Nadia Bilchik says:

“I always end with a very quick summary of the content, a definitive call to action, and a reiteration of the benefits to the audience. This is a superb model, and I have shared it with thousands of individuals who have found it immensely valuable. Use this as your framework: What I have looked at today… What I am asking you to do… The benefits are…”

Other phrases you might use at the end of your presentation include:

“To recap, we’ve discussed…”

“Throughout this presentation, we talked about…”

“In other words,…”

“To wrap up/conclude,…”

“In short, I’d like to highlight…”

“To put it simply,…”

“In conclusion…”

“In summary, the goal of my presentation…”

“If there’s one thing you take away from my presentation…”

“In bringing my presentation to a close, I wanted to…”

If you’d like to incorporate a call to action, you might say:

“I’m counting on you to…”

“After this presentation, I’d like to ask you to…”

“Please take a minute to…”

“Next time you (see a suspicious email), remember to (forward it to this email address).”

To end with a quote, you could say:

“Let me leave you with this quote…”

“That reminds me of the old saying…”

Lastly, more useful phrases include:

“Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.”

“For more information, head to the link on the screen.”

“Thank you for your time/attention.”

“I hope you found this presentation informative/useful/insightful.”

Remember: the last words you say should make it abundantly clear that your presentation has ended.

What should your final slide look like?

If you don’t want to leave your final slide blank as some of the experts we have talked to would recommend, there are other ways to fill that space.

Joseph Liu told us:

“I tend to make it very clear the presentation is coming to an end by having a slide that says, ‘Closing Thoughts’ or something to that effect. I recommend ending with a recap of your content, reconnecting with the initial hook you used at the start, and finally, some sort of call to action.”

Mark Beal has a similar formula for his closing slides, saying:

“The final slides of my presentation include: A slide featuring three key messages/takeaways, A question and answer slide to engage the audience at the conclusion in the same manner a presenter wants to engage an audience at the start of a presentation, and A final slide including the presenter’s contact information and a website address where they can learn more information. This slide can include a QR code that the audience can screenshot and access the presenter’s website or another digital destination.”

Between these two suggestions and the many examples we have included throughout our guide, you ought to have a clear picture of what your final slide might look like.

End your presentations with a bang on Pumble

Knowing how to end a presentation effectively is a skill like any other — you’re bound to get better through practice and repetition.

To get the most out of your presentations, make sure to give them on Pumble.

Pumble — a team communication and collaboration app — allows you to have the most interactive, efficient presentations thanks to:

  • The video conferencing feature that allows you to share your knowledge with a large group of people,
  • The screen sharing feature that allows you share your presentation,
  • The in-call message feature, to ensure your audience can participate (and send questions for the FAQ partition of the presentation, for example), and
  • The blur background feature, that ensures your audience’s attention is always on you and you alone.

Secure, real-time communication for professionals.

OlgaMilicevic

Olga Milicevic is a communication researcher and author dedicated to making your professional life a bit easier. She believes that everyone should have the tools necessary to respond to their coworkers’ requests and communicate their own professional needs clearly and kindly.

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14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

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Anete Ezera July 15, 2022

An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don’t come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you’ll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success. 

Whether you’re preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or you’re looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, you’ll find these presentation tips useful. We’ve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. You’ll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out. 

Confident businessman talking into microphone during seminar. Happy male professional is giving presentation to colleagues. He is wearing smart casuals.

Most common presentation mistakes

Before we list our top effective presentation tips, let’s explore the most common presentation mistakes. If you’ve made one or more mistakes in this list, you’re not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, what’s important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.

#1 A poor start

One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation. 

Let’s say you’ve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when you’re in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience? 

The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation . 

#2 Lack of preparation

Yes, even though it’s clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, it’s still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.

Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where you’re going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If you’re presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids you’re going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when you’re presenting. 

Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how you’d answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers. 

Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.

effective presentation tips

#3 Losing track of time

It’s great to feel passionate about your topic. However, you’ll have to consider your audience’s level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and you’d like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention. 

Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audience’s interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

Effective presentation tips

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes – let’s dive into effective presentation tips that’ll help you excel in future presentations. 

#1 Tell a story

Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. It’s also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique. 

With that in mind, telling a story when you’re presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic you’re presenting. 

effective presentation in a company

#2 Work on your body language

Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. It’s one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldn’t overlook. 

Body language says a lot about a person’s confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, it’s a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic. 

Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message you’re trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions. 

#3 Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, you must know who you’re speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful. 

Back view of large group of business peoplein a board room. Someone is presenting in front.

If you’re speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If you’re presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know they’ll resonate with.

#4 Use high-quality visuals

What’s one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point. 

Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as they’re easier to process than text. If you’re not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.

P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. It’s all available in your dashboard .

#5 Use data visualizations

Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience. 

There’s nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible. 

Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there. 

#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements

It’s not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isn’t impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, you’ll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience. 

Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive. 

As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic. 

#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles

You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation. 

Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme that’s not too distracting. If you’re using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting “copy styles.” This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors. 

#8 Structure your presentation properly

Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. What’s the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative. 

Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you’re taking questions and for how long. 

For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:

#9 Practice your public speaking skills

Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Don’t decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people. 

One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends – people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic you’re presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way you’ll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking. 

Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media: 

#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen

If you’re presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed. 

As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what you’re saying even better. 

If you already have your slides prepared, don’t worry – you can easily integrate them into Prezi. 

See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.

#11 Calm down before presenting

Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress. 

Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so you’re not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation . 

#12 Use transitions and animations 

Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. You’ll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations. 

Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message. 

#13 Be enthusiastic 

When you’re in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you can’t help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic people’s behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. That’s called the chameleon effect . 

effective presentation tips

When you’re presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what you’re presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after you’ve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home. 

#14 End your presentation in a memorable way

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audience’s attention. However, don’t underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it. 

The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide.  

Young woman sharing her views with team in office meeting.

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if you’re nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If you’re interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free . 

Elevating presentations with Prezi AI

Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platform’s capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.

Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement

Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.

Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video

Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though you’re directly conversing with your audience.

Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi

The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.

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Presentation Conclusions: Signal to the End

Strong start, strong finish.

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3 reasons to include a signal to the end in your presentation conclusion

  • Wake up the audience.   Many times the audience loses focus and is daydreaming towards the end of the presentation.  This shows them that things are ending soon, and it is time to pay attention again.
  • Reset your own focus.   Sometimes it is easy to go so in-depth on topics we know well that we lose focus on what our audience wants to hear.  The signal to the end not only wakes up the audience, but the speaker as well and allows them to deliver a strong presentation conclusion.
  • Clarify your structure.   Presentations need clear structure so that the audience can focus on key points and follow along.  When you use effective transitional phrases such as a signal to the end, it creates clarity in your structure and helps the audience stay with you.

3 phrases to use as a signal to the end in your presentation conclusion

  • “ This brings me to the end of my presentation.   To summarize my main points,…”
  • “ Well, that is all I have for today.   Let me now summarize what I talked about…. ”
  • “ I have now come to the end of my presentation.   In summary, I spoke about…”

3 results of using a signal to the end in your presentation conclusion

  • Get your points across a final time.   At the end of a good presentation, you will have mentioned your main points in your introduction, your body, and finally in your conclusion summary.  A good signal to the end focuses the audience’s attention one last time, so that you can mention your main points again as well as your recommendation.  People tend to remember what they hear at the end of a presentation more than at the beginning or middle.
  • Set yourself up to finish strong.   By clearly defining you are starting your conclusion, it will help you focus and go through the correct steps in your conclusion.  This will leave your audience with a favorable impression of your speech.
  • Be a better public speaker.   So many people give poorly structured presentations, and especially end their presentations on a low note.  Having a clear structure will help you to look more professional and get the results you want out of your presentation.

Having a strong presentation conclusion will leave your audience with a focused, positive view of your message and a good signal to the end is key to starting it well.  Let us know of any ideas you have in the comment areas below.  Want more on presenting with impact?  Click here .

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This is a really important point Matt – and again it is often forgotten.

To give even more emphasis to your ending, raise / lower your voice or make a change to your voice to wake up the audience – but don’t shout!

Something like:

OK! (with a bit more volume) SO! (with a rise and then a fall in your voice) Right! (with a clap of your hands – if appropriate – and a rise in your voice)

Now your audience is awake, you can finish with a bang using one of the sentences above from Matt.

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The 10-Step Guide for a Successful Strategy Presentation

Discover essential steps and best practices in 'How to Write a Strategy Presentation.' Elevate your approach and effectively communicate your strategic vision with our comprehensive guide.

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Introduction.

Now, picture this: a room hanging onto your every word, eyes lit with interest.

It’s time for your audience to listen and be utterly captivated.

How to Write a Strategy Presentation: 10 Steps

1. set the stage right.

In the same way, before you even think of diving into your content, please know your audience.

Connect on a personal level, and half your battle is already won. 🎯

2. Define Your Mission

Once you have that clarity, your path becomes straightforward. Trust me, your audience will thank you for it.

3. Craft an Unforgettable Opening

4. break down the core.

In your strategy presentation, this is the issue or challenge at hand.

So, you’ve hooked them with the problem and dazzled them with your solution.

5. Elevate with Design

That’s gold. And hey, always lean into simplicity. Less is more, especially on slides. 🖼️

6. Weave in Stories

7. get them talking.

No one enjoys a monologue. You can turn your presentation into a dialogue.

8. Wrap it Up with Pizzazz

You're nearing the end. This is where you cement all you've shared.

9. Rehearse to Perfection

Know each slide, each transition, and each pause. Familiarize yourself with the flow. The more comfortable you are with the material, the more confidently you'll deliver.

10. After the Applause: Your Next Moves

And always, always be open to feedback. It’s the breakfast of champions, after all.

So, go ahead and inspire change—illuminate minds. And make a lasting impact.🚀

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More From Forbes

The future of learning operations: embracing predictive analytics and ai.

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Ryan Austin is Founder and CEO of Cognota. You can attend free virtual workshops to learn how to run L&D like a business.

In today's fast-changing business landscape, Learning and Development (L&D) is more critical than ever, with workforce development and reskilling becoming strategic priorities for staying competitive.

Recently, a group of Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) formed the CLO Lift initiative to tackle L&D challenges. Their collaborative efforts produced articles on learning governance, emphasizing the importance of creating internal learning advisory boards. (You can see them speak at the Virtual LearnOps Summit on September 25.)

While pivotal, learning operations are set for transformation through predictive analytics and AI. Having taught and spoken on learning governance at workshops like " Reinventing Learning Operations " with CLOs Rob Lauber and Martha Soehren, I've reflected on how these technologies can revolutionize time-consuming strategies like building and managing learning advisory boards.

The Current State: Governance And Advisory Boards

The CLO Lift initiative's focus on governance highlights L&D as a strategic function. Governance structures and learning advisory boards ensure learning initiatives align with organizational goals by providing insights into departmental talent needs and fostering collaboration.

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These governance models help prioritize learning investments for maximum returns and create a framework for continuous improvement through feedback and after-action reviews. This approach has aligned L&D with business priorities, leading to measurable improvements in employee skills and organizational performance.

The Future State: Predictive Analytics And AI

While governance and advisory boards have laid a solid foundation, the future of learning operations lies in harnessing the power of predictive analytics and AI. These technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of L&D strategies, transforming how we approach workforce development.

Predictive Analytics: Anticipating Learning Needs

Predictive analytics uses historical data and statistical algorithms to forecast future outcomes. In L&D, it can anticipate learning needs by analyzing employee performance, skills gaps and industry trends. This proactive approach addresses skills deficiencies before they become critical, ensuring the workforce is prepared for emerging challenges.

For example, predictive analytics identifies employees at risk of missing performance targets due to skills gaps, allowing tailored learning interventions to improve performance and reduce turnover. Additionally, predictive models can forecast the impact of new technologies and market changes on skill requirements, helping organizations stay competitive.

A Solid Predictive Training Request Process: A Game Changer Vs. Common Learning Advisory Boards

One transformative application of predictive analytics in L&D is the training request process. Historically, L&D teams have been viewed as order takers, responding to "intakes" rather than consulting strategically. I've advocated for shifting from "intakes" to "requests," allowing L&D to take a more proactive approach. Requests enable L&D to assess actual needs and prioritize investments.

My perspective has evolved to recognize the value of both requests and intakes in a comprehensive L&D strategy. In my last article , I discussed integrating top-down and bottom-up approaches. Building on this, incorporating a company-wide training intake process can be beneficial, despite concerns about manageability if every employee can submit a request.

This is where predictive analytics and AI come into play. These technologies can streamline the management of requests, allowing AI to review, analyze patterns and prioritize them based on corporate objectives. Predictive analytics can recommend which requests L&D should focus on, ensuring resources are allocated effectively.

To implement this strategy successfully, L&D must align with the organization's top priorities and goals. Without this alignment, the strategy fails. However, the benefits are significant, enabling L&D to identify overlooked training needs that align with corporate objectives.

Furthermore, integrating the intake process with financial budget planning and procurement systems can reveal spending redundancies and vendor overlaps, optimizing tail spend. This ensures every dollar invested in L&D is used efficiently and effectively.

Steps To Building An Effective Intake Strategy

1. Define objectives and align with corporate goals : Clearly define the objectives of your intake process and align them with the organization's strategic priorities to gain executive support and position L&D as a strategic partner.

2. Develop a robust data collection system : Avoid using basic forms like Google or Microsoft Forms, email or spreadsheets. Instead, invest in a robust LearnOps platform to capture underlying data such as which departments or employees are submitting requests.

3. Implement AI and predictive analytics : Use AI to review and categorize incoming requests, analyzing patterns to prioritize based on strategic priorities. Predictive analytics can forecast the impact of requests, offering data-driven recommendations.

4. Build a workflow for routing requests : Develop a workflow that routes prioritized requests to the appropriate L&D teams for consultations or action, ensuring high-priority requests are promptly addressed by the right people.

5. Integrate with financial and procurement systems : Link your intake process with financial and procurement systems to gain insights into spending patterns, identify redundancies, optimize tail spend and demonstrate that L&D is a strategic advisor, not just a cost center.

The Shift From Time-Consuming To Efficient Strategies

Integrating predictive analytics and AI into learning operations shifts from time-consuming, manual processes to efficient, data-driven strategies. Traditionally, building and managing learning advisory boards required significant time and effort. Predictive analytics and AI can streamline these tasks, providing real-time insights and automating routines.

This shift enhances efficiency and improves decision-making. Leveraging data and AI allows organizations to make informed decisions about learning investments, ensuring resources are allocated to the most impactful initiatives.

Conclusion: Embracing The Future Of LearnOps

Predictive analytics and AI will likely transform the future of learning operations by anticipating learning needs and streamlining tasks, driving efficiency and effectiveness in L&D strategies.

While the insights from the CLO Lift initiative and the focus on learning governance remain relevant, integrating predictive analytics and AI is the next evolution in learning operations. These advancements enable agile, data-driven learning ecosystems that support continuous improvement and strategic alignment with business goals.

As someone deeply involved in evolving learning operations, I am excited about the possibilities these technologies bring. By leveraging them, we can move beyond traditional methods to create scalable, predictable and easily managed learning governance, driving impactful L&D outcomes.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Ryan Austin

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6 Effective Strategies for Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value Through Retention

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Enhance Customer Retention and Maximize Profits

Improving customer retention should be a top priority for every business. Retaining existing customers is easier and more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Happy, loyal customers are a valuable asset, and smart businesses capitalize on these existing relationships.

Explore Customer Retention Strategies with Kissmetrics

Understanding customer lifetime value (clv).

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a crucial metric that measures the total profit a business can expect to make from a single customer over their entire relationship. To calculate CLV, start by finding the average expenditure per customer visit, then multiply it by the average number of visits or purchases per year.

Next, estimate how many years you expect your customer to stay with your brand. Multiply the annual revenue per customer by the number of years to predict their lifetime value. This metric is crucial for planning long-term growth and retention strategies.

Why Customer Lifetime Value Matters

Studies show that retaining customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. A high CLV directly contributes to increased profitability. Ideally, you want customers to purchase from you for as long as possible. While perpetual loyalty is rare, extending customer relationships is attainable and beneficial for your business.

Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value Through Retention

Your CLV is inherently linked to customer retention. If customers churn after a short period, your CLV will be low. However, by enhancing retention, you give customers more opportunities to purchase, thus increasing their lifetime value.

Effective Strategies to Boost Customer Retention

Increasing customer retention reduces acquisition costs and optimizes profitability. Here are key strategies to achieve this:

1. Increase Repeat Customer Rate

If customers only engage for a few months, you’re likely losing money on acquisition costs. Encourage annual subscriptions over monthly plans to enhance repeat rates. Offer discounts for long-term commitments, even if it means offering incentives like a reduced rate compared to monthly billing.

This approach is especially effective if you continuously introduce new features or provide comprehensive service plans. An annual commitment allows customers to fully experience your offerings, increasing the likelihood of renewal.

2. Increase Purchase Frequency

Another way to boost CLV is by increasing purchase frequency. Implement strategies like rolling out software updates in segments, encouraging customers to purchase add-ons, or launching new product versions regularly. By offering improved features and services, you motivate customers to upgrade frequently.

3. Increase Average Order Value

Upselling is a proven method to increase average order value and CLV. For example, a streaming service might preset checkboxes for additional channels, encouraging customers to opt for bundled packages. This tactic increases the order value and, consequently, the customer’s lifetime value.

4. Utilize Email and SMS Retargeting

Engage customers with personalized email and SMS campaigns. Ensure your messages provide value to prevent them from being perceived as spam. Personalization can be as simple as reminding customers of their savings through loyalty programs or highlighting the benefits they’ve already experienced.

5. Implement Customer Accounts

Offering customer accounts creates a personalized experience, leading to increased engagement. Accounts enable you to offer tailored discounts, streamline checkouts, and provide recommendations based on past purchases.

For instance, if a customer buys a shirt, suggest matching pants or accessories. This approach enhances the shopping experience and encourages additional purchases.

6. Improve Customer Support

Exceptional customer support is vital for reducing churn. While some industries may not require extensive support, sectors like SaaS and tech should prioritize accessible and knowledgeable customer service.

Efficient support, such as quick responses via live chat or knowledgeable representatives, can be the difference between retaining and losing a customer. Consider models like Apple’s Genius Bar, which excels in providing in-person assistance.

Measuring Customer Retention

Kissmetrics helps measure customer retention by monitoring metrics like churn rate and active user numbers. Additionally, tools like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) gauge customer satisfaction, identifying promoters who are likely to return.

Choosing the Right Retention Strategy

To succeed in business, understanding and meeting customer needs is essential. Retaining customers leads to increased profits and reduced acquisition costs. By continuously appealing to existing customers and reminding them of your value, you can enhance retention and maximize profitability.

  • 12 Proven Tactics to Increase Your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) | Retently.com
  • 10 Tactics For Increasing Your Customer Lifetime Value and Loyalty | Neil Patel
  • How to Optimize Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)—15 Effective Tactics That Every Marketer Needs to Know | Useinsider.com

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IMAGES

  1. Effective Presentations 101

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  4. Three Stages Of An Effective Presentation

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COMMENTS

  1. 30 Examples: How to Conclude a Presentation (Effective Closing Techniques)

    30 Example Phrases: How to Conclude a Presentation. 1. "In summary, let's revisit the key takeaways from today's presentation.". 2. "Thank you for your attention. Let's move forward together.". 3. "That brings us to the end. I'm open to any questions you may have.".

  2. How to End a Presentation? [Top 8 Strategies with Examples]

    This helps create a good long-lasting impression of your presentation. 4. End with a Call to action: One of the best ways to end your presentation is by concluding with a call to action slide. Incorporating a call to action into your presentation can be a powerful way to encourage your audience to take the next step.

  3. How To End A Presentation & Leave A Lasting Impression

    From summarizing key points to engaging the audience in unexpected ways, make a lasting impression with these 10 ways to end a presentation: 1. The summary. Wrap up your entire presentation with a concise and impactful summary, recapping the key points and main takeaways.

  4. How to Conclude a Presentation: Tips and Examples

    Here are some tips for using a story to conclude a presentation: Make sure the story is brief. Choose a story that relates to the main points of the presentation. Stories about a customer experience or successful case study are effective. Make sure the story is relatable and encourages empathy from your audience. 7.

  5. 6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style (& Tools to Use)

    But how you end it can make all the difference in your presentation's overall impact. Here are some ways to ensure you end powerfully: Way #1: Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA) Way #2: Don't End With a Q&A. Way #3: End With a Memorable Quote. Way #4: Close With a Story. Way #5: Drive Your Main Points Home.

  6. How To End A Presentation Effectively

    Effective strategies to conclude your presentation. A powerful conclusion leaves your audience feeling energized long after you wrap up your presentation. This is why it's important to use effective tactics to create an impactful finale. How you decide to conclude your presentation impacts how your message will resonate with your listeners.

  7. How to conclude a presentation

    Importance of ending presentation on a positive note. 01 Leaving a Lasting Impression: Ending your presentation on a high note ensures that your audience remembers your key points, contributing to a lasting impression that lingers beyond the session. A strong conclusion cements your message in their minds.

  8. 5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation

    5 Effective Strategies to Close Your Presentation. Choosing the right strategies to conclude your presentation will help you bring your audience back to the main point. We all get distracted sometimes, and our attention span keeps getting shorter. The goal is for you to connect with your audience and make them feel connected to your topic. Your ...

  9. How to End a Presentation: 5 Ways to End a Presentation

    How to End a Presentation: 5 Ways to End a Presentation. While all aspects of a business presentation are important, the end of the presentation can determine whether you leave a lasting impression on your audience. Learn public speaking tips and some key takeaways for how to end your presentation. While all aspects of a business presentation ...

  10. How to End a Presentation: 8 Effective Ways and Tips on What Not to Do

    This article will teach us eight effective ways to end a presentation. 8 Effective Strategies - How to Conclude a Presentation. The conclusion of your presentation is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression. Here are some of the most effective ways to end the presentation. 1. Emphasise the Core Message Again

  11. Tips and Tricks to End Your Presentation with a Bang

    So, in conclusion, brevity in public speaking is pretty important. In fact, George Orwell once said, "If it is possible to cut a word out of your speech, always cut it out.". So, when you create a presentation, cut the fluff. Cut the repetitive bullets. Cut the platitudes.

  12. How To Close A Presentation: Why The Ending Is So Important

    Why The Ending Is The Most Important Part. 10 Ways To End Your Business Presentation & PowerPoint Presentation. 1 - End With A Call To Action. 2 - End With A Compelling Story. 3 - Avoid Q&As. Alternative Ways To Get The Audience's Attention, Feedback and Increase Engagement. 4 - Come Full Circle With Your Message.

  13. How to End a Presentation in English: Methods and Examples

    Though there are many ways to end a presentation, the most effective strategies focus on making a lasting impression on your audience and reinforcing your goals. So, let's take a look at three effective ways to end a presentation: 1. Summarize the Key Takeaways. Most presenters either make an argument (i.e. they want to convince their ...

  14. How to End a Presentation: Most Effective Methods

    Some things you can say include: [1] "In conclusion…". "In summary…". "As I conclude my presentation, let me ask you a question.". "This brings me to the end of my presentation today.". "In respect of time, allow me to wrap up my last comments.". Provide a quick and concise summary of the presentation's key points.

  15. What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

    Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...

  16. Presentation structure: Where to put your conclusion

    There are some situations where it's effective to leave your conclusion till the end of your presentation. 1. Create mystery. If you can structure your presentation by posing, and then unravelling a puzzle you can have the audience eating out of your hands. Malcolm Gladwell is a master at this both in his books and in his presentations.

  17. List of Effective Strategies to Close your Presentation

    6. Tell a short story / Close With A Story. This technique is used with introduction but can also be used as an effective way to close your presentation. If you have discussed a subject with complex facts and figures, telling a story will help in making these significant ideas clear.

  18. How to End a Presentation (+ Useful Phrases)

    Mistake #5: Going over your time. Last but not least, many of the professional speakers we have interviewed have stressed the importance of ending one's presentation on time. Michelle Gladieux said it best: "The best way to end a presentation is ON TIME. Respect others' time commitments by not running over.

  19. effective presentation strategies

    Visuals enrich your presentation, help reinforce your words, highlight important points, and keep your audience engaged. Visuals are powerful tools. Used wisely, they can elevate your presentation to a whole new level. Most people are visual learners - 65% to be exact.

  20. 14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

    Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you're taking questions and for how long.

  21. Presentation Conclusions: Signal to the End

    The signal to the end not only wakes up the audience, but the speaker as well and allows them to deliver a strong presentation conclusion. Clarify your structure. Presentations need clear structure so that the audience can focus on key points and follow along. When you use effective transitional phrases such as a signal to the end, it creates ...

  22. The 10-Step Guide for a Successful Strategy Presentation

    Highlight the Issue: Every story needs a conflict. In your strategy presentation, this is the issue or challenge at hand. Paint a vivid picture. Make them see what's going awry. But remember, no doom and gloom—just honest, relatable content. b. Showcase Your Solution: Now, for the hero of our story - your solution.

  23. The Future Of Learning Operations: Embracing Predictive ...

    The Shift From Time-Consuming To Efficient Strategies Integrating predictive analytics and AI into learning operations shifts from time-consuming, manual processes to efficient, data-driven ...

  24. 6 Effective Strategies for Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value Through

    Choosing the Right Retention Strategy. Depending on your industry and offerings, different strategies may be more effective. Kissmetrics provides insights into customer preferences, helping you tailor strategies to meet their expectations and increase retention. Conclusion. To succeed in business, understanding and meeting customer needs is ...

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    Conclusion. Implementing these PPC strategies is a must-do if you want to thrive in the LMS market. You can try a few of them at first, but it's best to dive into them all eventually. Experiment with them and see how the data changes. Staying updated with PPC strategies gives you a significant advantage as the digital world changes fast.