In the Tom Petty song ‘Learning to Fly’, there is the line – ‘Coming down is the hardest thing‘.
For a presentation, it could be argued that closing is the hardest thing.
Once you have closed – that is final – there is no way to recover, change or pull things back.
Different parts of a presentation have their challenges, but for every section apart from the close there is a route back.
When working with clients in seminars or 1-2-1s we always focus on the close.
What should you not do?
Don’t mirror the close I heard a few weeks ago.
The presenter ended with 22 words…
“That is the thirty minutes up.”
“Hopefully this presentation wasn’t too long.”
“Sorry about the mix-up with the slides earlier.”
“Any questions?”
This close had a detrimental impact on the presentation as a whole.
What should you do?
Firstly, give careful thought to your close in advance of the presentation.
A lot of people simply try to ‘wing it.’
While this can sometimes work, it is pretty risky.
A slight rush of ‘closing adrenaline’ can also cloud your speaking judgement.
So, plan it when you have space and time to do so.
You can always adjust it later, but at least you have a Plan A.
Secondly, learn a lesson from Aristotle.
He described a key purpose of the close as being:
“…to dispose the hearer favourably toward oneself…”
Once you have planned the close, review it carefully.
Does it have anything that might dispose the hearer unfavourably towards you?
If yes, you might want to amend it.
Then ask – does it have anything that might dispose the hearer favourably towards you?
If no, can you work something in?
The majority of closes are bland and neutral.
Get it right and you can stand out here.
This week’s article ends with a close from Aristotle’s Art of Rhetoric:
I have spoken.
You have heard.
You know the facts.
Now give your decision.
With getting your presentation close right in mind, check out the following article on ensuring you finish a presentation at the right time…
