TWHS#078: Moments That Matter. 4 Steps To Smash Your Ending

I've seen a lot of people waste a huge opportunity during a presentation.  The Ending.

The ending is a "Moment That Matters".  It's one of the most important times in a presentation.  It's a chance to create energy, reinforce your key message and drive action.  It's the last thing people here from you.

A lot of people focus on the beginning - which is a great thing to do, but don't forget the end.

Let's do a thought experiment.

Imagine you're an audience member in a presentation, and it's  a pretty dull presentation.  You're busy daydreaming about that wonderful Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner tonight.  Then all of a sudden you hear the joyous words of the presenter ….. ”So in conclusion”.  Bang, your back in the room.  You’re listening again.  It happens to us all.  Those final words they say are so important, but do they make the most of it?

Do you make the most of it when you're presenting?

Delivering a great ending is essential.

Here's my secret sauce to smash the ending.  Use this framework:

• Announce it’s the end
• Summarise your key messages
• Share next steps
• And finish with thanks

Easy.  Impactful.  Make the most of a "Moment That Matters".

Let’s dig into each of those:

Announce it’s the end. 

Reset the audience.  Get them back in room – metaphorically.    Seize their attention,.  Make sure they know the end is coming and they're mentally set up for it.  Say something like:

“So everyone.  We have reached the end of our time together.” [pause]

We’ve jolted them back.  Now hit them with the key message we want them to take away.

Summarise

You've got their attention, now reinforce the key message. (which hopefully you already shared at the beginning and reinforced in the middle)

What message do you want them to take away?  Your key message.  So make sure you need to know it.  If you don't know it you can't tell them.  Share it concisely and clearly.

Here’s an example:

“We’ve thought about how you can reduce the time it takes to release your products to the market.  We’ve thought about how you can delight your customers with high quality features that are delivered before the competition, and we've thought about how you can do this for less money."

Next Steps

And now we share their next steps.  Their call to action.  Hopefully you've energised and engaged your audience enough that they want to continue with you. 

Make the next steps easy,

Make the next steps frictionless

Make the next steps clear. 

Something like:

• Read this article that covers the topic here.
• Join this community to get involved.
• Click this link to book a meeting to speak with me.

The answer is not, I`ll send you a copy of the slides.  It should be something more purposeful.

Thanks

And finally.  Let’s be respectful to our audience.  They have given your their time today.  Time they can’t get back.  So say thank you.

“Thank you so much for giving me your time today.  It’s been a pleasure to speak to you.  Thanks for listening.

Using this framework will ensure your audience leave with energy, leave with your key message and leave with a mindset to take action.

Hope this helps

BenP

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