As a speaker, you need to know when to stop. Finish a presentation at the right time.

This is particularly important when things have gone well.

There is a temptation to keep going and give the audience more.

But this was not part of the plan, so it is risky.

The main risk is that you undo a lot of the good work.

It is best illustrated by way of an example I saw last year.

(This example shows what I call ‘the curse of the second speech’ but the effect is the same as going on longer than planned.)

At a large evening event the principal speaker delivered their main address.

It was fantastic.

They had clearly prepared well and thought carefully about the nuances of each message.

They delivered with energy and authority.

The audience loved it.

And the speaker finished the presentation at the right time.

Most people at my table scored the speech at 9 out of 10.

Later on in the evening our speaker gave another slightly shorter speech.

However, it was obvious she had not really prepared these remarks.

There was a bit of a ramble and a few comments that did not really sit well with event.

There was no round of applause at the end.

And the audience were left slightly bemused.

People at my table gave this speech 3 out of 10.

There are two lessons I ask you to draw from this.

Firstly, if the original speech was a 9 and the second speech was a 3, then surely the audience would give the speaker an average score of 6.

Not so.

When I spoke with people afterwards, most of the audience gave a score of 3 overall.

Be aware that adding a lot more than you prepared can end up undoing most of your good work.

Secondly, be aware of the ‘curse of the second speech.’

It is not easy to reach the same heights in a second speech to the same audience.

Do not suddenly decide to do this mid-event.

And if you are asked to do it in advance, give careful thought to only saying yes once.

Know when to stop.

Finish a presentation at the right time.