conclusion in speech writing

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9 Closing a Speech: End with Power and Let Them Know It is Time to Clap

Open Your Speech With a Bang Close It With a Slam-Dunk Westside Toastmasters

“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending,” according to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The first few words of your speech make the audience want to listen and the last few sentences help them decide what they feel about you and your topic. In this chapter, I will explain the function of a conclusion, the format of a conclusion, and I will give you numerous examples of ways to end your speech. Most of this chapter is dedicated to showing you good examples of different types of speech closings. Let’s get started by talking about the purpose of the closing.

A Strong Closing Does Many Things

• Summarizes the points. By restating your points your audience is more likely to remember them.
• Tells the audience when to clap. Let’s face it, it is so awkward when you are done with your speech, and no one claps. Being clear the end is near, relieves the audience of the pressure of wondering if they are clapping at the right time.
• Provides resolution. Your speech should give the audience a sense of resolve or a sense of being challenged.

The Formula for Closing Most Speeches

• Transition statement to ending.
• Review the main points–repeat the thesis.
• If it is a persuasive speech, tell the audience what you want them to do or think.
• Provide a closing statement.

Restate the Thesis

Tell them what you are going to say, say it, tell them what you have said. This speech pattern is useful in most types of speeches because it helps the speaker to remember your key points. As you build your closing, make sure you restate the thesis. A good rule of thumb is to write it in such a way that if the audience were asked to restate the main points, their answer would match closely with your thesis.

EXAMPLE Watch as Stella Young gives her thesis and then restates her thesis at the end of the speech as she wraps up. The thesis of the talk in the introduction: We’ve been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It’s a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make you exceptional. Restates the thesis of the talk at the closing: Disability doesn’t make you exceptional but questioning what you think you know about it does.

Stella Young, I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk

This next example is from a student’s speech. It is easy to pull out one sentence that clearly summarizes the main points of her speech. Following her summary, she winds the speech down into a thoughtful conclusion and ends with three powerful words.

Now is the time to separate the war on drugs from the war on addiction. T oday you’ve heard the problems, impacts, and solutions of criminalizing addictions. Bruce Callis is 50 years old now. And he is still struggling with his addiction. while you all are sitting out there listening to this, I’m living with it. Bruce Callis is my father and for my entire life, I have watched our misguided system destroy him. The irony here is that we live in a society where we are told to recycle. We recycle paper, aluminum, and electronics. But why don’t we ever consider recycling them most precision think on Earth– the human life. Student Tunnette Powell, Winner of the 2012 Interstate Oratorical Association Contest.

Closing Phrases

After you restate your thesis, you should carefully deliver your closing phrases.  Your closing should provide a resolution to your speech and/or it should challenge the audience. Frantically Speaking writer Hrideep Barot suggests  “a conclusion is like tying a bow or ribbon to a box of your key ideas that your audience will be taking along with them.”

A speech closing is not just about the words you say, but it is also the way you say it. Change the pace near the end of your speech. Let your tone alone should signal the end is near. It is about deliberate voice control, don’t let your voice weakly away.

In the next section, I will cover these ways to end your speech:

End with powerful words End with a quote End with a graphic End with parallel construction End on a positive note End with a challenge End with a question End with inspiration End with well-wishing End with humor End with a call to action End with a feeling of resolve End with a prop

The best way to teach you about advanced closings is to show not tell. For this section, I will briefly explain each type of closing and then provide a video. Each video is queued so you can play the video and watch the closing statement.  I included a transcript under each video if you want to follow along.  It will be most beneficial for you to watch the clip and not just read the text. By watching, you will have a chance to hear the subtle changes in the speaker’s voice as they deliver their closing statements.

End with Powerful Words

As you design your closing, look at the last three to five words and examine them to see if they are strong words. Oftentimes, you can rearrange a sentence to end with a powerful word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Watch this clip for how BJ Miller ends with a powerful thought and a powerful word. 

Parts of me died early on, and that’s something we can all say one way or another. I got to redesign my life around this fact, and I tell you it has been a liberation to realize you can always find a shock of beauty or meaning in what life you have left, like that snowball lasting for a perfect moment, all the while melting away. If we love such moments ferociously, then maybe we can learn to live well — not in spite of death, but because of it. Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination. BJ Miller, What Really Matters at the End of Life

End by Circling Back to the Opening

Another type of ending is to circle back to what you said in the beginning. You can revisit a quote, share the end to an illustration that was begun in the beginning, or you can put away a prop you got out in the beginning.

Watch this clip for how Zubing Zhang begins and ends with the same quote to circle back around to the main idea. 

She starts by telling a story of bungee jumping off the world’s highest platform and how she saw a sign with a quote that says, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” After telling her own story about pushing her emotional limits, she circles back around at the end by saying, “As the words said high on the bungee platform, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”

Yubing Zhang, Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone. 

End With Quote

If you end your speech with a quote, attend to the following.

• Always say the author of the quote before the quote for example, “I want to leave you with a leadership quote ‘What you do has far greater impact than what you say,’ Steven Covey.” The problem with this ending is that “Stephen Covey” are the last two words of the speech and that is boring. Consider instead this ending. “I think Robin Sharma said it best ‘Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.'” In this arrangement, the last three words are powerful–influence and inspiration.
• Provided context for the quote before or after. Make sure the quote is meaningful and not just an easy way to end.

Watch this clip for how Sir Ken Robinson ends with a quote. Notice how he says the author and then the quote.

Also, notice how he then ties his speech to the quote with a final few sentences and ends with the powerful word–“revolution” and how he uses a strong vocal emphasis as he says his last word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

There’s a wonderful quote from Benjamin Franklin. “There are three sorts of people in the world: Those who are immovable, people who don’t get it, or don’t want to do anything about it; there are people who are movable, people who see the need for change and are prepared to listen to it; and there are people who move, people who make things happen.” And if we can encourage more people, that will be a movement. And if the movement is strong enough, that’s, in the best sense of the word, a revolution. And that’s what we need.

Sir Ken Robinson, How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. 

End with a Graphic

You might want to use a visual to make your final point. Bringing in a picture, graphic, or object, reengages the audience to pay attention to your final ideas.

Watch this clip for how Barry Schartz uses the magic words “so to conclude” and then he creatively uses a picture of a fishbowl to narrow in on his point. Notice how his final word is spoken with urgency as he says “disaster.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

 So, to conclude. (He shows a picture of fish in a fishbowl) He says, “You can be anything you want to be — no limits.” You’re supposed to read this cartoon and, being a sophisticated person, say, “Ah! What does this fish know? Nothing is possible in this fishbowl.” Impoverished imagination, a myopic view of the world –that’s the way I read it at first. The more I thought about it, however, the more I came to the view that this fish knows something. Because the truth of the matter is, if you shatter the fishbowl so that everything is possible, you don’t have freedom. You have paralysis. If you shatter this fishbowl so that everything is possible, you decrease satisfaction. You increase paralysis, and you decrease satisfaction. Everybody needs a fishbowl. This one is almost certainly too limited –perhaps even for the fish, certainly for us. But the absence of some metaphorical fishbowl is a recipe for misery and, I suspect, disaster. Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

End with Parallel Construction

Parallel construction is a series of repeated phrases. It can be a powerful tool to use in a persuasive speech as it creates a feeling of importance.

Watch this clip for how Malala Yousafzai ends with a series of parallel statements to build momentum. Notice how her pace perfectly matches her words and you feel her strength when she ends with “education first.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice, and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of schools. We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future. So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism, and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First.

Malala Yousafzai,  United Nations Youth Assembly

End on a Positive Note

Audiences are constantly evaluating a speaker to determine their attitude and motivation. As you consider your speech closing, ask yourself what type of impression do you want to leave?  Do you want to leave them with depression or hope? Sadness or promise? Most of the time, audiences will receive messages that end positively better than speeches that end negatively.

In this speech sample, Hans Rosling showed the audience some hard statistics and he even pointed fingers at the audience as part of the problem. To help them hear his main point, he wisely ends on a positive note.

Watch this clip for how Hans Rosling ends this thought-provoking talk on a positive note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Now, when thinking about where all this leaves us, I have just one little humble advice for you, besides everything else, look at the data. Look at the facts about the world and you will see where we are today and how we can move forwards with all these billions on our wonderful planet. The challenge of extreme poverty has been greatly reduced and it’s for the first time in history within our power to end it for good. The challenge of population growth is, in fact, already being solved, the number of children has stopped growing.  And for the challenge for climate change, we can still avoid the worst, but that requires the richest, as soon as possible, find a way to use their set their use of resources and energy at a level that, step by step, can be shared by 10 billion or 11 billion by the end of this century. I’ve never called myself an optimist, but I do say I’m a possibilist and I also say the world is much better than many of you think.

Hans Rosling, Facts about the Population.

End with a Challenge

Leave the audience with a doable personal challenge. Help them mentally make sense of all the information that you shared by helping them know how to file it away and how to use it.

Watch this clip for how Melissa Butler ends with a challenge. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So, I challenge each of you, when you go home today, look at yourself in the mirror, see all of you, look at all of your greatness that you embody, accept it, and love it. And finally, when you leave the house tomorrow, try to extend that same love and acceptance to someone who doesn’t look like you . Melissa Butler, Why You Think You’re Ugly. 

Watch this clip as Darren LaCroix literally falls face down to anchor the point that when we fall, we “fall forward.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Darren LaCroix talks about taking risks and falling down and getting back up, he literally and purposefully falls down during his speech and ends this way: What’s your next step… take it. I didn’t want to look back at my life and say you know I never did try that comedy thing, but I died debt-free. All of us are headed toward that goal we are going to teach a point where we get stuck and our feet are like in cement and we can’t move but we’re so afraid of that ouch but we forget that if we lean forward and take a risk–(He falls face down) and we fall on our face. When we get up, notice, you still made progress. So please, with me, go ahead and fall. But fall forward. Darren LaCroiz, Winning Speech delivered at National Speech Association

End with a Question

Asking a question at the end is one way to reengage the audience. It helps them think about what your topic might mean for them.

Watch this clip for how David Eagleman reminds us about why his topic is important and then ends with a question. Notice how he pauses before his final question and how he changes the pace of his speech for the final sentence. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So I think there’s really no end to the possibilities on the horizon for human expansion. Just imagine an astronaut being able to feel the overall health of the International Space Station, or, for that matter, having you feel the invisible states of your own health, like your blood sugar and the state of your microbiome, or having 360-degree vision or seeing in infrared or ultraviolet. So the key is this: As we move into the future, we’re going to increasingly be able to choose our own peripheral devices. We no longer have to wait for Mother Nature’s sensory gifts on her timescales, but instead, like any good parent, she’s given us the tools that we need to go out and define our own trajectory. So the question now is, how do you want to go out and experience your universe?

David Eagleman, Can We Create New Senses for Humans? 

Watch this clip for how Lera Boroditsky ends with a personal note and a  powerful final question. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I want to leave you with this final thought. I’ve told you about how speakers of different languages think differently, but of course, that’s not about how people elsewhere think. It’s about how you think. It’s how the language that you speak shapes the way that you think. And that gives you the opportunity to ask, “Why do I think the way that I do?” “How could I think differently?” And also,  “What thoughts do I wish to create?” Lera Boroditsky, How Language Shapes the Way We Think

End with Inspiration

“Inspiring your audience is all about helping them see their own vision, not yours.”

You may want to end your speech with inspiring and encouraging words. Pick words that resonate with most of your audience and deliver them in such a way that your audience feels your lift in emotion.

Watch this clip for how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ends with an inspiring final note and a powerful last few words “regain a kind of paradise” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.

I would like to end with this thought:   That when we reject the single-story,   when we realize that there is never a single story   about any place,   we regain a kind of paradise.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,  The Danger of a Single Story  

Watch this clip for how Dan Pink ends with an inspiring final note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing) Let me wrap up. There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. Here is what science knows. One: Those 20th century rewards, those motivators we think are a natural part of business, do work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. Two: Those if-then rewards often destroy creativity. Three: The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive– the drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things cause they matter.

And here’s the best part. We already know this. The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between what science  knows and what business does, if we bring our motivation, notions of motivation into the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe, maybe — we can change the world. I rest my case. Dan Pink, The Puzzle of Motivation

End with Well Wishing

There are several types of closings where the speaker wished the audience well.

The Benediction Close: M ay God bless and keep you…. The Presidential Close: God bless you and may God bless the USA The Congratulatory Close: I congratulate you on your accomplishment and wish you continued success. 

End with Humor

You can end on a fun lighthearted note. It is important to always run your humor by a variety of people to make sure you are funny, and your humor is appropriate.

Watch this clip for how Andrew Dunham uses humor throughout his speech and ends with a funny one-liner. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I wish you all the best as we begin this journey on our paths and I sincerely hope and pray that your time and success have proven to be as memorable and spiritually rewarding as mine. If not, there’s always summer school.

Andrew Dunham, Valedictorian Comes Out As Autistic During Speech

End with a Call to Action

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, let the audience know exactly what you want them to do.

End with a Feeling of Resolve

Paul Harvey made famous the line “And now you know…the rest of the story.” Your closing should allow us to know the rest of the story or to know how a situation was resolved.

Watch this clip for how Lucy Hone ends this tough but inspiring talk with a feeling of resolve (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

https://youtu.be/9-5SMpg7Q0k?t=913 If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think there’s no way I’m coming back from this, I urge you to lean into these strategies and think again. I won’t pretend that thinking this way is easy and it doesn’t remove all the pain. But if I’ve learned anything over the last five years, it is that thinking this way really does help. More than anything it has shown me that  it is possible  to live and grieve at the same time. And for that I will be always grateful. Lucy Hone, The Three Secrets of Resilient People

End with a Prop

Nancy Duarte says you should give your audience, SOMETHING THEY  will ALWAYS REMEMBER–S.T.A.R. One way to do that is with an action or statement that will have the audience talking about it for a long time. President Obama did it with a mic drop.

Memorize Your Conclusion

End on time.

Do not diminish the effect of a great speech with a bloated, aimless conclusion. Dan Rothwell.

“Times about up.”

Don’t end with any references to time. It is like a giant stop sign saying, “stop listening.”  Don’t highlight that you ran over time or that it is almost time for lunch. You want them to think about your speech, not the clock.

“Any Questions?”

You want them to feel a sense of closure for your speech.  End with something powerful and let them applaud.  After the applause, you can offer to answer questions. Similarly, projecting your last slide with the words, “Any Questions” is a weak ending.

“Let Me Add This Point I Missed”

If you forget something in the body of your speech, it is usually best to leave it out.  Most of the time you are the only one who will miss it.

“Thank You to the Team”

There is a time to thank the organizers and those who helped you but it is not at the end of your speech. Your focus should be on your audience and what they need and what they need to hear is your idea.  Send a thank you letter to the team if you want them to feel your appreciation.

“I’m Sorry”

“Sorry again for the technology issue,” “I apologize for going over time, ” “I regret I have no answer to this.” These are all negative phrases.  Keep to your topic that is what they need to hear and stay focused.

“I’ll Close with this Video”

No, you should close with talking about the big idea.

If you don’t have a plan at the end, you will ramble. “Steer clear of meandering endings they kill a story,” according to the Moth Storytelling website. “Your last line should be clear in your head before you start. Yes, bring the audience along with you as you contemplate what transpires in your story, but remember, you are driving the story, and must know the final destination. Keep your hands on the wheel!”

To Thank or Not to Thank, That is the Question

There is a debate amongst speech professionals, speech teachers, and speech coaches about whether or not you should thank the audience. Here are their main arguments.

Why You Should Not Say Thank You

• You want to end with powerful words. “Thank you” are not strong words.
• The recency effect suggests they will remember the last words you spoke. You want them to remember more than just “thank you.”
• It is not a very creative way to end.
• It can be a sign of a lazy speaker, “I have no idea how to end this, I’ve run out of good things to say so I’ll say ‘Thank you’ so you will clap now.”

Why You Should Say Thank You

• It has come to be the expected ending in many settings. Violating their expectations can cause them to have a negative reaction.
• It clearly signals you are finished so the audience knows when to clap. The relieves the pressure from both you and the audience.
• It expresses gratitude.

I will leave it up to you to decide what works for you. As for me, I plan on trying to find more creative ways to end other than just saying “thank you.”

Maximizing the Primacy Recency Effect

If I were to read you a list of thirty things on my grocery list and then asked you to list all that you can remember, chances are you would remember the first times on the list and the last items on the list ( and any ones you found interesting from the middle). When people engage in listening, they tend to remember the first and last things they hear, it is called the primacy-recency effect. T his is just one more reason that your introduction and conclusion should be so well planned out. It is those first words and last words that the audience is going to remember. 

The primacy recency effect influences, not only what people pay attention to in a speech, but also which speech we pay the most attention to in a series of speeches. For example, if there is a lineup of six speakers, the first and last speakers tend to get the most attention.

As a speaker, you can use this information to your advantage by volunteering to go first or last. If you are giving a long presentation, you can break it up by allowing the audience to move around or talk to a neighbor. When you come back from break, you have re-engaged that primacy effect and moved them back to a high state of attention.

Do You Have Everything You Need for a Strong Closing?

• Have I signaled my speech is coming to an end with my words or my voice?
• Have I restated my main points?
• If I am persuading my audience, do they know what I want them to do or think?
• Have I written the last three to five words in such a way that I end with powerful words?
• Have I memorized my closing?

Getting Off the Platform is Part of Your Closing

Plan on making a strong exit. Whether you are stepping off a stage or simply going to your seat, you should consider that the audience is watching you.

I have had students who finished their speech and then walked over to the trashcan and in a large, exaggerated movement, they threw their notecards in the trash. In our minds, we threw their message away with those cards. I’ve seen speakers, sit in their chairs and then announce, “I can’t believe my hands were shaking so much.” I’ve sat there and thought, “I didn’t notice.” I then realized that the comments they made influenced my perception of them and my perception of their topic.

You said your last word and the audience is applauding, now what? Look at your audience and smile and nod in appreciation before walking off the stage. If you will be answering questions, wait until after the applause stops to begin your question and answering period.

When practicing your speech, it is a good idea to start from your chair, walk up to a spot and then give your speech, and then walk back to your chair and sit down. Your “speech” impression begins and ends from your chair.

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

• A speech closing should include a review of the main points and a purposeful closing sentence.
• Persuasive speech endings should tell the audience specifically what they should do or think about.
• The recency effect suggests that people remember the most recent things they have heard which is one reason the closing is so important.
• Chance the pace of your speech and the tone of your voice to signal the end of the speech.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have an activity to include? Did you notice a typo that I should correct? Are you planning to use this as a resource and do you want me to know about it? Do you want to tell me something that really helped you?

Click here to share your feedback. 

Adichie, C.N. (2009). The danger of a single story. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg Standard YouTube License.

Anderson, C. (2016). TED talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Mariner Books.

Barot, H.  Fifteen powerful speech ending lines (and tips to create your own). Frantically Speaking. https://franticallyspeaking.com/15-powerful-speech-ending-lines-and-tips-to-create-your-own/

Boroditsky, L. (2017). How language shapes the way we think.  https://www.ted.com/talks/lera_boroditsky_how_language_shapes_the_way_we_think  Standard Youtube License. 

Butler, M. (2018). Why you think you’re ugly. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imCBztvKgus  Standard YouTube License. 

Dunham. A. (2019). Valedictorian comes out as autistic during speech. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk  Standard Youtube License. 

Eagleman, D. (2015). Can we create new senses for humans?[Video]. YouTube  https://youtu.be/4c1lqFXHvqI  Standard YouTube License. 

Hone, L. (2019).  The three secrets of resilient people. [Video]. YouTube  https://youtu.be/NWH8N-BvhAw  Standard YouTube License. 

Jeff, P. (2009). Ten ways to end your speech with a bang. http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/10-ways-to-end-your-speech

Jobs, S. (2005). You’ve got to find what you love. https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/

Khanna, P. (2016). Let the head of TED show you how to end your speech with power. https://www.fastcompany.com/3059459/let-the-head-of-ted-show-you-how-to-end-your-speech-with-p

Karia, A. (2013). How to open and close a TED talk (or any other speech or presentation). https://akashkaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/HowtoOpenandCloseaTEDTalk.pdf

LaCroix, D. (2001). World champion of public speaking. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUDCzbmLV-0  Standard YouTube License. 

Mandela, N. (2011). Speech from the dock in the Rivonia trial.[Video]. YouTube https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/i-am-prepared-to-die  Standard YouTube License. 

Mandela, N. (1994). Presidential Inaugural Speech. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nelsonmandelainauguralspeech.htm  Standard YouTube License. 

Miller, B.J. (2015). What really matters at the end of life. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life?language=en  Standard YouTube License. 

Moth. (2021). Storytelling tips and tricks: How to tell a successful story. https://themoth.org/share-your-story/storytelling-tips-tricks 

Obama, B. (2016). White House correspondents dinner. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFkEj7KPC0  Standard YouTube License. 

Pink, D. (2009). The puzzle of motivation. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_the_puzzle_of_motivation  Standard YouTube License. 

Rothwell, D. (2014). Practically Speaking. Oxford University Press.Robinson, K. (2013). How to escape education’s death valley. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc  Standard YouTube License. 

Rosling, H. (2014). Don’t Panic-Hans Rosling showing the facts about population.[Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FACK2knC08E  Standard YouTube License. 

Schwartz, B. (2005). The paradox of choice. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice  Standard YouTube License. 

Toastmasters International. (2016). Concluding your Speech. https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Concluding-Your-Speech

Young, S. (2014). I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much. [Video]. YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk  Standard YouTube License. 

Yousafzai, M. (2013). Malala Yousafzai addresses United Nations Youth Assembly. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/3rNhZu3ttIU  Standard YouTube License. 

Zhang, Y. (2015). Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmN4xOGkxGo  Standard YouTube License. 

Media Attributions

• Audience clapping © Alex Motoc is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• jose-aragones-81QkOoPGahY-unsplash © Jose Aragones is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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11.2 Steps of a Conclusion

Learning objectives.

• Examine the three steps of an effective conclusion: restatement of the thesis, review of the main points, and concluding device.
• Differentiate among Miller’s (1946) ten concluding devices.

Matthew Culnane – Steps – CC BY-SA 2.0.

In Section 11.1 “Why Conclusions Matter” , we discussed the importance a conclusion has on a speech. In this section, we’re going to examine the three steps in building an effective conclusion.

Restatement of the Thesis

Restating a thesis statement is the first step in a powerful conclusion. As we explained in Chapter 9 “Introductions Matter: How to Begin a Speech Effectively” , a thesis statement is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. When we restate the thesis statement at the conclusion of our speech, we’re attempting to reemphasize what the overarching main idea of the speech has been. Suppose your thesis statement was, “I will analyze Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” You could restate the thesis in this fashion at the conclusion of your speech: “In the past few minutes, I have analyzed Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his July 2008 speech, ‘A World That Stands as One.’” Notice the shift in tense: the statement has gone from the future tense (this is what I will speak about) to the past tense (this is what I have spoken about). Restating the thesis in your conclusion reminds the audience of the major purpose or goal of your speech, helping them remember it better.

Review of Main Points

After restating the speech’s thesis, the second step in a powerful conclusion is to review the main points from your speech. One of the biggest differences between written and oral communication is the necessity of repetition in oral communication. When we preview our main points in the introduction, effectively discuss and make transitions to our main points during the body of the speech, and finally, review the main points in the conclusion, we increase the likelihood that the audience will retain our main points after the speech is over.

In the introduction of a speech, we deliver a preview of our main body points, and in the conclusion we deliver a review . Let’s look at a sample preview:

In order to understand the field of gender and communication, I will first differentiate between the terms biological sex and gender. I will then explain the history of gender research in communication. Lastly, I will examine a series of important findings related to gender and communication.

In this preview, we have three clear main points. Let’s see how we can review them at the conclusion of our speech:

Today, we have differentiated between the terms biological sex and gender, examined the history of gender research in communication, and analyzed a series of research findings on the topic.

In the past few minutes, I have explained the difference between the terms “biological sex” and “gender,” discussed the rise of gender research in the field of communication, and examined a series of groundbreaking studies in the field.

Notice that both of these conclusions review the main points originally set forth. Both variations are equally effective reviews of the main points, but you might like the linguistic turn of one over the other. Remember, while there is a lot of science to help us understand public speaking, there’s also a lot of art as well, so you are always encouraged to choose the wording that you think will be most effective for your audience.

Concluding Device

The final part of a powerful conclusion is the concluding device. A concluding device is essentially the final thought you want your audience members to have when you stop speaking. It also provides a definitive sense of closure to your speech. One of the authors of this text often makes an analogy between a gymnastics dismount and the concluding device in a speech. Just as a gymnast dismounting the parallel bars or balance beam wants to stick the landing and avoid taking two or three steps, a speaker wants to “stick” the ending of the presentation by ending with a concluding device instead of with, “Well, umm, I guess I’m done.” Miller observed that speakers tend to use one of ten concluding devices when ending a speech (Miller, 1946). The rest of this section is going to examine these ten concluding devices.

Conclude with a Challenge

The first way that Miller found that some speakers end their speeches is with a challenge. A challenge is a call to engage in some kind of activity that requires a contest or special effort. In a speech on the necessity of fund-raising, a speaker could conclude by challenging the audience to raise 10 percent more than their original projections. In a speech on eating more vegetables, you could challenge your audience to increase their current intake of vegetables by two portions daily. In both of these challenges, audience members are being asked to go out of their way to do something different that involves effort on their part.

Conclude with a Quotation

A second way you can conclude a speech is by reciting a quotation relevant to the speech topic. When using a quotation, you need to think about whether your goal is to end on a persuasive note or an informative note. Some quotations will have a clear call to action, while other quotations summarize or provoke thought. For example, let’s say you are delivering an informative speech about dissident writers in the former Soviet Union. You could end by citing this quotation from Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has ever loved great writers” (Solzhenitsyn, 1964). Notice that this quotation underscores the idea of writers as dissidents, but it doesn’t ask listeners to put forth effort to engage in any specific thought process or behavior. If, on the other hand, you were delivering a persuasive speech urging your audience to participate in a very risky political demonstration, you might use this quotation from Martin Luther King Jr.: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live” (King, 1963). In this case, the quotation leaves the audience with the message that great risks are worth taking, that they make our lives worthwhile, and that the right thing to do is to go ahead and take that great risk.

Conclude with a Summary

When a speaker ends with a summary, he or she is simply elongating the review of the main points. While this may not be the most exciting concluding device, it can be useful for information that was highly technical or complex or for speeches lasting longer than thirty minutes. Typically, for short speeches (like those in your class), this summary device should be avoided.

Conclude by Visualizing the Future

The purpose of a conclusion that refers to the future is to help your audience imagine the future you believe can occur. If you are giving a speech on the development of video games for learning, you could conclude by depicting the classroom of the future where video games are perceived as true learning tools and how those tools could be utilized. More often, speakers use visualization of the future to depict how society would be, or how individual listeners’ lives would be different, if the speaker’s persuasive attempt worked. For example, if a speaker proposes that a solution to illiteracy is hiring more reading specialists in public schools, the speaker could ask her or his audience to imagine a world without illiteracy. In this use of visualization, the goal is to persuade people to adopt the speaker’s point of view. By showing that the speaker’s vision of the future is a positive one, the conclusion should help to persuade the audience to help create this future.

Conclude with an Appeal for Action

Probably the most common persuasive concluding device is the appeal for action or the call to action. In essence, the appeal for action occurs when a speaker asks her or his audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking. When a speaker concludes by asking the audience “to do” or “to think” in a specific manner, the speaker wants to see an actual change. Whether the speaker appeals for people to eat more fruit, buy a car, vote for a candidate, oppose the death penalty, or sing more in the shower, the speaker is asking the audience to engage in action.

One specific type of appeal for action is the immediate call to action . Whereas some appeals ask for people to engage in behavior in the future, the immediate call to action asks people to engage in behavior right now. If a speaker wants to see a new traffic light placed at a dangerous intersection, he or she may conclude by asking all the audience members to sign a digital petition right then and there, using a computer the speaker has made available ( http://www.petitiononline.com ). Here are some more examples of immediate calls to action:

• In a speech on eating more vegetables, pass out raw veggies and dip at the conclusion of the speech.
• In a speech on petitioning a lawmaker for a new law, provide audience members with a prewritten e-mail they can send to the lawmaker.
• In a speech on the importance of using hand sanitizer, hand out little bottles of hand sanitizer and show audience members how to correctly apply the sanitizer.
• In a speech asking for donations for a charity, send a box around the room asking for donations.

These are just a handful of different examples we’ve actually seen students use in our classrooms to elicit an immediate change in behavior. These immediate calls to action may not lead to long-term change, but they can be very effective at increasing the likelihood that an audience will change behavior in the short term.

Conclude by Inspiration

By definition, the word inspire means to affect or arouse someone. Both affect and arouse have strong emotional connotations. The ultimate goal of an inspiration concluding device is similar to an “appeal for action” but the ultimate goal is more lofty or ambiguous; the goal is to stir someone’s emotions in a specific manner. Maybe a speaker is giving an informative speech on the prevalence of domestic violence in our society today. That speaker could end the speech by reading Paulette Kelly’s powerful poem “I Got Flowers Today.” “I Got Flowers Today” is a poem that evokes strong emotions because it’s about an abuse victim who received flowers from her abuser every time she was victimized. The poem ends by saying, “I got flowers today… / Today was a special day—it was the day of my funeral / Last night he killed me” (Kelly, 1994).

Conclude with Advice

The next concluding device is one that should be used primarily by speakers who are recognized as expert authorities on a given subject. Advice is essentially a speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done. The problem with opinions is that everyone has one, and one person’s opinion is not necessarily any more correct than another’s. There needs to be a really good reason your opinion—and therefore your advice—should matter to your audience. If, for example, you are an expert in nuclear physics, you might conclude a speech on energy by giving advice about the benefits of nuclear energy.

Conclude by Proposing a Solution

Another way a speaker can conclude a speech powerfully is to offer a solution to the problem discussed within a speech. For example, perhaps a speaker has been discussing the problems associated with the disappearance of art education in the United States. The speaker could then propose a solution of creating more community-based art experiences for school children as a way to fill this gap. Although this can be an effective conclusion, a speaker must ask herself or himself whether the solution should be discussed in more depth as a stand-alone main point within the body of the speech so that audience concerns about the proposed solution may be addressed.

Conclude with a Question

Another way you can end a speech is to ask a rhetorical question that forces the audience to ponder an idea. Maybe you are giving a speech on the importance of the environment, so you end the speech by saying, “Think about your children’s future. What kind of world do you want them raised in? A world that is clean, vibrant, and beautiful—or one that is filled with smog, pollution, filth, and disease?” Notice that you aren’t actually asking the audience to verbally or nonverbally answer the question; the goal of this question is to force the audience into thinking about what kind of world they want for their children.

Conclude with a Reference to Audience

The last concluding device discussed by Miller (1946) was a reference to one’s audience. This concluding device is when a speaker attempts to answer the basic audience question, “What’s in it for me?” The goal of this concluding device is to spell out the direct benefits a behavior or thought change has for audience members. For example, a speaker talking about stress reduction techniques could conclude by clearly listing all the physical health benefits stress reduction offers (e.g., improved reflexes, improved immune system, improved hearing, reduction in blood pressure). In this case, the speaker is clearly spelling out why audience members should care—what’s in it for them!

Informative versus Persuasive Conclusions

As you read through the ten possible ways to conclude a speech, hopefully you noticed that some of the methods are more appropriate for persuasive speeches and others are more appropriate for informative speeches. To help you choose appropriate conclusions for informative, persuasive, or entertaining speeches, we’ve created a table ( Table 11.1 “Your Speech Purpose and Concluding Devices” ) to help you quickly identify appropriate concluding devices.

Table 11.1 Your Speech Purpose and Concluding Devices

Key Takeaways

• An effective conclusion contains three basic parts: a restatement of the speech’s thesis; a review of the main points discussed within the speech; and a concluding device that helps create a lasting image in audiences’ minds.
• Miller (1946) found that speakers tend to use one of ten concluding devices. All of these devices are not appropriate for all speeches, so speakers need to determine which concluding device would have the strongest, most powerful effect for a given audience, purpose, and occasion.
• Take the last speech you gave in class and rework the speech’s conclusion to reflect the three parts of a conclusion. Now do the same thing with the speech you are currently working on for class.
• Think about the speech you are currently working on in class. Write out concluding statements using three of the devices discussed in this chapter. Which of the devices would be most useful for your speech? Why?

Kelly, P. (1994). I got flowers today. In C. J. Palmer & J. Palmer, Fire from within . Painted Post, NY: Creative Arts & Science Enterprises.

King, M. L. (1963, June 23). Speech in Detroit. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 760.

Miller, E. (1946). Speech introductions and conclusions. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 32 , 181–183.

Solzhenitsyn, A. (1964). The first circle. New York: Harper & Row. Cited in Bartlett, J., & Kaplan, J. (Eds.), Bartlett’s familiar quotations (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., p. 746.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to end a speech memorably

3 ways to close a speech effectively.

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 09-05-2022

Knowing how, and when, to end a speech is just as important as knowing how to begin. Truly.

What's on this page:

• why closing well is important
• 3 effective speech conclusions with examples and audio
• 7 common ways people end their speeches badly  - what happens when you fail to plan to end a speech memorably
• How to end a Maid Honor speech: 20 examples
• links to research showing the benefits of finishing a speech strongly

Why ending a speech well is important

Research *  tells us people most commonly remember the first and last thing they hear when listening to a speech, seminar or lecture.

Therefore if you want the audience's attention and, your speech to create a lasting impression sliding out with:  "Well, that's all I've got say. My time's up anyway. Yeah - so thanks for listening, I guess.",  isn't going to do it.

So what will?

* See the foot of the page for links to studies and articles on what and how people remember : primacy and recency.

Three effective speech conclusions

Here are three of the best ways to end a speech. Each ensures your speech finishes strongly rather than limping sadly off to sure oblivion.

You'll need a summary of your most important key points followed by the ending of your choice:

• a powerful quotation
• a challenge
• a call back

To work out which of these to use, ask yourself what you want audience members to do or feel as a result of listening to your speech. For instance;

• Do you want to motivate them to work harder?
• Do you want them to join the cause you are promoting?
• Do you want them to remember a person and their unique qualities?

What you choose to do with your last words should support the overall purpose of your speech.

Let's look at three different scenarios showing each of these ways to end a speech.

To really get a feel for how they work try each of them out loud yourself and listen to the recordings.

1. How to end a speech with a powerful quotation

Your speech purpose is to inspire people to join your cause. Specifically you want their signatures on a petition lobbying for change and you have everything ready to enable them to sign as soon as you have stopped talking.

You've summarized the main points and want a closing statement at the end of your speech to propel the audience into action.

Borrowing words from a revered and respected leader aligns your cause with those they fought for, powerfully blending the past with the present.

For example:

"Martin Luther King, Jr said 'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'

Now is the time to decide. Now is the time to act. 

Here's the petition. Here's the pen. And here's the space for your signature.

Now, where do you stand?"

Try it out loud and listen to the audio

Try saying this out loud for yourself. Listen for the cumulative impact of: an inspirational quote, plus the rhythm and repetition (two lots of 'Now is the time to...', three of 'Here's the...', three repeats of the word 'now') along with a rhetorical question to finish.

Click the link to hear a recording of it:  sample speech ending with a powerful quotation .

2. How to end a speech with a challenge

Your speech purpose is to motivate your sales force.

You've covered the main points in the body of it, including introducing an incentive: a holiday as a reward for the best sales figures over the next three weeks.

You've summarized the important points and have reached the end of your speech. The final words are a challenge, made even stronger by the use of those two extremely effective techniques: repetition and rhetorical questions.

"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours.

Can you do it?

Will you do it?

The kids will love it.

Your wife, or your husband, or your partner, will love it.

Do it now!"

Click the link to listen to a recording of it: sample speech ending with a challenge . And do give it a go yourself.

3. How to end a speech with a call back

Your speech purpose is to honor the memory of a dear friend who has passed  away.

You've briefly revisited the main points of your speech and wish in your closing words to  leave the members of the audience with a happy and comforting take-home message or image to dwell on.

Earlier in the speech you told a poignant short story. It's that you return to, or call back.

Here's an example of what you could say:

"Remember that idyllic picnic I told you about?

Every blue sky summer's day I'll see Amy in my mind.

Her red picnic rug will be spread on green grass under the shade of an old oak tree. There'll be food, friends and laughter.

I'll see her smile, her pleasure at sharing the simple good things of life, and I know what she'd say too. I can hear her.

"Come on, try a piece of pie. My passing is not the end of the world you know."

Click the link to hear a recording of it: sample speech ending with a call back . Try it out for yourself too. (For some reason, this one is a wee bit crackly. Apologies for that!)

When you don't plan how to end a speech...

That old cliché 'failing to plan is planning to fail' can bite and its teeth are sharp.

The 'Wing It' Department * delivers lessons learned the hard way. I know from personal experience and remember the pain!

How many of these traps have caught you?

• having no conclusion and whimpering out on a shrug of the shoulders followed by a weak,  'Yeah, well, that's all, I guess.',  type of line.
• not practicing while timing yourself and running out of it long before getting to your prepared conclusion. (If you're in Toastmasters where speeches are timed you'll know when your allotted time is up, that means, finish. Stop talking now, and sit down. A few seconds over time can be the difference between winning and losing a speech competition.)
• ending with an apology undermining your credibility. For example:  'Sorry for going on so long. I know it can be a bit boring listening to someone like me.'  
• adding new material just as you finish which confuses your audience. The introduction of information belongs in the body of your speech.
• making the ending too long in comparison to the rest of your speech.
• using a different style or tone that doesn't fit with what went before it which puzzles listeners.
• ending abruptly without preparing the audience for the conclusion. Without a transition, signal or indication you're coming to the end of your talk they're left waiting for more.

* Re  The 'Wing It' Department

One of the most galling parts of ending a speech weakly is knowing it's avoidable. Ninety nine percent of the time it didn't have to happen that way. But that's the consequence of 'winging it', trying to do something without putting the necessary thought and effort in.

It's such a sod when there's no one to blame for the poor conclusion of your speech but yourself! ☺

How to end a Maid of Honor speech: 20 examples

More endings! These are for Maid of Honor speeches. There's twenty examples of varying types: funny, ones using Biblical and other quotations... Go to: how to end a Maid of Honor speech    

How to write a speech introduction

Now that you know how to end a speech effectively, find out how to open one well. Discover the right hook to use to captivate your audience.

Find out more: How to write a speech introduction: 12 of the very best ways to open a speech .

More speech writing help

You do not need to flail around not knowing what to do, or where to start.

Visit this page to find out about  structuring and writing a speech . 

You'll find information on writing the body, opening and conclusion as well as those all important transitions. There's also links to pages to help you with preparing a speech outline, cue cards, rehearsal, and more. 

Research on what, and how, people remember: primacy and recency 

McLeod, S. A. (2008).  Serial position effect .  (Primacy and recency, first and last)  Simply Psychology.

Hopper, Elizabeth. "What Is the Recency Effect in Psychology?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 29, 2020.

ScienceDirect: Recency Effect - an overview of articles from academic Journals & Books covering the topic.

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How to Conclude a Speech

Last Updated: May 15, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gale McCreary . Gale McCreary is the Founder and Chief Coordinator of SpeechStory, a nonprofit organization focused on improving communication skills in youth. She was previously a Silicon Valley CEO and President of a Toastmasters International chapter. She has been recognized as Santa Barbara Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year and received Congressional recognition for providing a Family-Friendly work environment. She has a BS in Biology from Stanford University. 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 115,129 times.

The last moments are where a good speech can be made. If you want to leave your audience stunned, you can learn the basics needs of a good conclusion, as well as some tactics for ending creatively. You can also learn what techniques to avoid.

Things You Should Know

• Summarize the main points of your speech to remind listeners what they've learned.
• Recall something from the introduction so your speech comes full circle.
• Thank your audience for attending and listening.

Concluding Your Speech

• Use the chance to repeat your thesis a final time, if necessary. What's the one thing you hope someone remembers from your speech? What's the one thing that needs to be learned?
• In informal speeches, repeating the main points won't be necessary. If you're giving a toast at a wedding, you don't need to run back through a list of the great things about the groom.

• If you started the speech by drawing a sad portrait of a recently returned veteran who couldn't get work, or health insurance, and ended up in dire straits, that can be a heart-breaking intro. Pick back up with the story in conclusion to let you know where that vet is now.
• Any kind of reference can work. If you started a speech with a quote by Thomas Paine, end with more about Thomas Paine. The bookend technique is an excellent way of signaling the end for the audience.

• Put a face on things. Case studies and personal examples are extremely effective in helping an audience connect with a complicated issue or topic.
• Some people like to use this technique for the introduction, but it can be unexpected and even more effective to wait and use it at the conclusion, especially for speeches that are a little bit shorter.

• "We can turn back the oceans and stop the warming of our planet. It's not too late, as the title of my speech promises. It's not too late for any of us."

• It's also appropriate to use a "thank you" as the very last thing that you say: "We must continue fighting the good fight on climate change, for our children, for our economy, and for ourselves. Thank you." Cue applause.
• Sometimes, it's also appropriate to ask for questions if the occasion calls for it. People should be sure your speech is over, but if people seem hesitant, it's ok to say, "I'd be happy to take questions, if anyone has them."

Nailing the Ending

• "The fight for climate change (pause ) is a fight (pause) that we must (pause) win. Our children (pause). Our children's children (pause). Demand it."

• Return to the story of the veteran struggling to find work. With the sorts of infrastructure you're calling for in your speech, maybe he could be working a specific job, and getting into his own house, and even starting to plant a garden in the yard, something he always wanted to do. Dream a little, and let your audience do the same.

• "We must do this for our children, we must do this for our neighbors, we must do this for America, we must do this for the world, we must do this for the oceans, we must do this for the forests..."
• "Politicians can't legislate this. Architects can't build this. Artists can't dream this. Developers can't innovate this. Only you can do this."

• Address the audience specifically. Start using "you" toward the end of the speech, or address an individual in the audience to help bring it home.

Avoiding Common Mistakes

• "Well, that's pretty much it."
• "That's it."
• "I'm done."

• When the speech is over, don't keep talking. Even if you just remembered a point you forgot to make a few minutes ago, don't launch back into the speech when people are clapping, or once they're finished. When the speech is over, let it be over. If there's a chance for Q & A, then get to it then.

• Some speeches can be leavened with a bit of humor in the ending. If you've just given a particularly touching toast at a wedding, it might be good to release a bit of the tension with a well-placed gag. Probably not so much for a professional presentation.

Community Q&A

• Don't overwrite it. After your first few drafts, sit back and let it rest a few days. Then come back to your ending with new perspective. Pretend that you are listening to someone else say it for the first time. Read it like you will at the event. Then go back to editing. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0
• Catch your audience's attention. Use a shocking fact, or statistic that will leave the listeners thinking and will urge them to action. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/introductions-and-conclusions
• ↑ https://westsidetoastmasters.com/article_reference/12_ways_to_end_your_speech.html
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-conclude-a-presentation
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-communications/chapter/conclusion/
• ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-call-action-speech-examples-mitch-carson?trk=public_profile_article_view
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/avoid-these-common-speech-mistakes-1

About This Article

To conclude a speech, try summarizing the main points you made throughout it so you can remind the listener what you want them to learn or take away. In some cases, you can use the conclusion to recall the introduction, showing how the speech comes full circle. Or, if you have a catchy title, work it into the conclusion to grab your audience's attention. You can also signal the ending by thanking the audience for listening or simply stating “In conclusion” to let your listeners know it’s time to wrap up. To put extra emphasis on your ending, slow your speech to get people to perk up and really hear your final points. To learn how to use your conclusion as a call to action, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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9 Tips to End a Speech With a Bang

A good talk or public speech is like a good play, movie, or song.

It opens by arresting the listener’s attention, develops point by point, and then ends strongly.

The truth is, if you don’t know how to end a speech, the overall message won’t be persuasive and your key points may get lost.

The words you say at the beginning, and especially at the end of your talk, are usually the most persuasive parts of the speech and will be remembered longer than almost any other part of your speech.

Some of the great speeches in history and some of the most memorable Ted talks have ended with powerful, stirring words that live on in memory.

How do you end a speech and get the standing ovation that you deserve?

Keep reading to discover how…

Here are 9 tips and examples for concluding a speech.

1) Plan Your Closing Remarks Word for Word

To ensure that your conclusion is as powerful as it can be, you must plan it word for word.

Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this talk?”

Your answer should involve the actions that you want your listeners to take after hearing you speak on this subject.

When you are clear about the end result you desire, it becomes much easier to design a conclusion that asks your listeners to take that action.

The best strategy for ending with a BANG is to plan your close before you plan the rest of your speech.

You then go back and design your opening so that it sets the stage for your conclusion.

The body of your talk is where you present your ideas and make your case for what you want the audience to think, remember, and do after hearing you speak.

2) Always End a Speech With a Call to Action

It is especially important to tell the audience what you want it to do as a result of hearing you speak.

A call to action is the best way to wrap up your talk with strength and power.

Here is a Speech Conclusion Call to Action Example

“We have great challenges and great opportunities, and with your help, we will meet them and make this next year the best year in our history!”

Whatever you say, imagine an exclamation point at the end. As you approach the conclusion, pick up your energy and tempo.  This is even more important if the presentation you are giving is virtual .

Speak with strength and emphasis.

Drive the final point home.

Regardless of whether the audience participants agree with you or are willing to do what you ask, it should be perfectly clear to them what you are requesting.

3) End a Speech With a Summary

There is a simple formula for any talk:

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

As you approach the end of your talk, say something like,

“Let me briefly restate these main points…”

You then list your key points, one by one, and repeat them to the audience, showing how each of them links to the other points.

Audiences appreciate a linear repetition of what they have just heard.

This makes it clear that you are coming to the end of your talk.

4) Close with a story

As you reach the end of your talk, you can say,

“Let me tell you a story that illustrates what I have been talking about…”

You then tell a brief story with a moral and then tell the audience what the moral is.

Don’t leave it to them to figure out for themselves.

Often you can close with a story that illustrates your key points and then clearly links to the key message that you are making with your speech.

To learn more about storytelling in speaking, you can read my previous blog post “8 Public Speaking Tips to Wow Your Audience.”

Here’s a recap of these 4 tips in a video…

5) Make Them Laugh

You can close with humor.

You can tell a joke that loops back into your subject and repeats the lesson or main point you are making with a story that makes everyone laugh.

During my talks on planning and persistence, I discuss the biggest enemy that we have, which is the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. I then tell this story.

Ole and Sven are out hunting in Minnesota and they shoot a deer. They begin dragging the deer back to the truck by the tail, but they keep slipping and losing both their grip and their balance.

A farmer comes along and asks them, “What are you boys doing?”

They reply, “We’re dragging the deer back to the truck.”

The farmer tells them, “You are not supposed to drag a deer by the tail. You’re supposed to drag the deer by the handles. They’re called antlers. You’re supposed to drag a deer by the antlers.”

Ole and Sven say, “Thank you very much for the idea.”

They begin pulling the deer by the antlers. After about five minutes, they are making rapid progress. Ole says to Sven, “Sven, the farmer was right. It goes a lot easier by the antlers.”

Sven replies, “Yeah, but we’re getting farther and farther from the truck.”

After the laughter dies down, I say…

“The majority of people in life are pulling the easy way, but they are getting further and further from the ‘truck’ or their real goals and objectives.”

That’s just one example of closing using humor.

6) Make It Rhyme

You can close with a poem.

There are many fine poems that contain messages that summarize the key points you want to make.

You can select a poem that is moving, dramatic, or emotional.

For years I ended seminars with the poem, “Don’t Quit,” or “Carry On!” by Robert W. Service. It was always well received by the audience.

7) Close With Inspiration

You can end a speech with something inspirational as well.

If you have given an uplifting talk, remember that hope is and has always been, the main religion of mankind.

People love to be motivated and inspired to be or do something different and better in the future.

Here are a few of my favorite inspirational quotes that can be tied into most speeches.  You can also read this collection of leadership quotes for further inspiration.

Remember, everyone in your audience is dealing with problems, difficulties, challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and temporary failures.

For this reason, everyone appreciates a poem, quote or story of encouragement that gives them strength and courage.

Here are 7 Tips to Tell an Inspiring Poem or Story to End Your Speech

• You have to slow down and add emotion and drama to your words.
• Raise your voice on a key line of the poem, and then drop it when you’re saying something that is intimate and emotional.
• Pick up the tempo occasionally as you go through the story or poem, but them slow down on the most memorable parts.
• Especially, double the number of pauses you normally use in a conversation.
• Use dramatic pauses at the end of a line to allow the audience to digest the words and catch up with you.
• Smile if the line is funny, and be serious if the line is more thought-provoking or emotional.
• When you come to the end of your talk, be sure to bring your voice up on the last line, rather than letting it drop. Remember the “exclamation point” at the end.

Try practicing on this poem that I referenced above…

Read through “Carry On!” by Robert Service .

Identify the key lines, intimate parts, and memorable parts, and recite it.

8) Make it Clear That You’re Done

When you say your final words, it should be clear to everyone that you have ended. There should be no ambiguity or confusion in the mind of your audience. The audience members should know that this is the end.

Many speakers just allow their talks to wind down.

They say something with filler words like, “Well, that just about covers it. Thank you.”

This isn’t a good idea…

It’s not powerful…

It’s not an authoritative ending and thus detracts from your credibility and influence.

When you have concluded, discipline yourself to stand perfectly still. Select a friendly face in the audience and look straight at that person.

If it is appropriate, smile warmly at that person to signal that your speech has come to an end.

Resist the temptation to:

• Shuffle papers.
• Fidget with your clothes or microphone.
• Move forward, backward, or sideways.
• Do anything else except stand solidly, like a tree.

9) Let Them Applaud

When you have finished your talk, the audience members will want to applaud…

What they need from you is a clear signal that now is the time to begin clapping.

How do you signal this?

Some people will recognize sooner than others that you have concluded your remarks.

In many cases, when you make your concluding comments and stop talking, the audience members will be completely silent.

They may be unsure whether you are finished.

They may be processing your final remarks and thinking them over. They may not know what to do until someone else does something.

In a few seconds, which will often feel like several minutes, people will applaud.

First one…

Then another…

Then the entire audience will begin clapping.

When someone begins to applaud, look directly at that person, smile, and mouth the words thank you.

As more and more people applaud, sweep slowly from person to person, nodding, smiling and saying, “Thank You.”

Eventually, the whole room will be clapping.

There’s no better reward for overcoming your fear of public speaking than enjoying a round of applause.

BONUS TIP: How to Handle a Standing Ovation

If you have given a moving talk and really connected with your audience, someone will stand up and applaud. When this happens, encourage others by looking directly at the clapper and saying, “Thank you.”

This will often prompt other members of the audience to stand.

As people see others standing, they will stand as well, applauding the whole time.

It is not uncommon for a speaker to conclude his or her remarks, stand silently, and have the entire audience sit silently in response.

Stand Comfortably and Shake Hands

But as the speaker stands there comfortably, waiting for the audience to realize the talk is over, one by one people will begin to applaud and often stand up one by one.

If the first row of audience members is close in front of you, step or lean forward and shake that person’s hand when one of them stands up to applaud.

When you shake hands with one person in the audience, many other people in the audience feel that you are shaking their hands and congratulating them as well.

They will then stand up and applaud.

Soon the whole room will be standing and applauding.

Whether you receive a standing ovation or not, if your introducer comes back on to thank you on behalf of the audience, smile and shake their hand warmly.

If it’s appropriate, give the introducer a hug of thanks, wave in a friendly way to the audience, and then move aside and give the introducer the stage.

Follow these tips to get that standing ovation every time.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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Speech conclusions

The introduction and conclusion are essential to a speech. The audience will remember the main ideas even If the middle of the speech is a mess or nerves overtake the speaker. So if nothing else, get these parts down!

Conclusions

The speech is almost over and the audience needs closure. The conclusion needs to be a clincher (definitive end to the speech) – “That’s it” is not a conclusion.

Signal the ending

Just as the audience has been led through the speech, there must also be a signal to the end of the speech.

• Tone of voice
• My purpose was to make sure everyone knows how to make a better PB&J.

Logical conclusion

The main points and topic are brought together in a logical conclusion.

• Emphasize the thesis statement
• Soggy bread
• Sticky hands
• Starving children

Psychological conclusion

Psychologically the audience should walk away emotionally touched.

• Make a reference back to the introduction and the attention getter.
• Now that you know the secret to making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, go home and try this technique .
• If you want change, vote for Snoopy! Or Go out and collect 100 more signatures!
• Remember to savor each bite as the jelly remains safely in the sandwich and not on your hands.

As you decide which of these conclusion styles will work best with your speech, keep in mind your conclusion needs to restate your claim.       

• Especially important if there is a question and answer period

15 Powerful Speech Ending Lines (And Tips to Create Your Own)

Hitiksha jain.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

A powerful speech ending line helps you recapture the essence of your speech: your main points and the purpose of why you spoke.

Basically, it is a summary of your dominant points. 

The words you say at the beginning, and especially at the end of your talk will be remembered longer than any other part of your speech. (This doesn’t mean the body of your speech has no importance.)

The beginning of your speech needs to be strong because it grips the attention of your audience. If that falls apart, they might lose interest in your speech. To avoid such a situation, here’s an article on 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own) that you can refer to.

It has happened time after time- a speaker has concluded his speech with no conclusion or a simple “Thank you!” which made their impactful and amazing speech entirely fall apart.

An ineffective conclusion or no conclusion makes your speech lose its charm and the energy that has been created. This leaves your audience in a state of confusion and disappointment. 

Remember, the conclusion of your speech is NOT the time to introduce new points or new supporting evidence; doing so will all the more confuse the listeners. 

Instead, a conclusion is like tying a bow or ribbon to a box of your key ideas that your audience will be taking along with them. Meaning, it’s the final touch that makes your speech stand out and memorable.

So, how can you end your speech with a bang? To discover it, let’s jump in to the 15 powerful speech ending lines and ways to create your own:

1) Abraham Lincoln

Speech ending line: “And this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”

How to use The Rule Of Three to end your speech?

The Rule of Three is an effective technique that allows you to express your ideas more completely by emphasizing your points and increasing the memorability of your message.

Dale Carneige once said, 

“Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you just told them.”

Information when presented in a group of three sticks in our head better than say, groups of four or five.

The answer is simple! We humans are generally good at pattern recognition and three is the smallest number needed to make a pattern. When used at the end of a speech, you can create maximum impact, (obviously) if said in a proper tone of voice. 

Repeating your ideas can make your message more persuasive, memorable, and entertaining.

Since, the conclusion is your last chance as a speaker to drive home your ideas, you need to repeat and emphasize phrases, sentences and words to make others remember your key message. 

The repetition of phrases and sentences should be such that it creates a micro story of your entire speech. 

If you are trying to incorporate the rule of three in your speech and need guidance to do so. Here’s an article on The Power of the Rule of Three in Speech Writing that might help you!

2) Simon Sinek

Speech ending line: “Listen to politicians now, with their comprehensive 12-point plans. They’re not inspiring anybody. Because there are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us. Whether they’re individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves. And it’s those who start with “why” that have the ability to inspire those around them or find others who inspire them.”

How to mark an end of a speech with a story?

Telling stories can do wonders in making your speech a memorable one. Because we as humans relate to stories. 

Using an effective and persuasive story at the end can engage the audience, evoke empathy, increase trust and motivate action.

Your story should be crafted in such a way that it sums up your entire speech. But don’t forget, it needs to be short and sweet.

You can start your story by saying, “Let me tell you a story that illustrates what I have been talking about…”

To make your speech/story worth remembering, you can try these various storytelling approaches mentioned in this article- 9 Storytelling Approaches For Your Next Speech or Presentation .

3) Les Brown

Speech ending line: “If you want a thing bad enough To go out and fight for it, Work day and night for it, Give up your time and your peace and Your sleep for it

If only desire of it Makes you quite mad enough Never to tire of it, Makes you hold all other things tawdry And cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,

If gladly you’ll sweat for it, Fret for it, Plan for it, Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you’ll simply go after that thing that you want. With all your capacity, Strength and sagacity, Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold, poverty, famished and gaunt, Nor sickness nor pain Of body or brain Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it, You’ll get it.”

How to end a speech with a poem?

This works similar to the notion of storytelling. 

You can end your speech with a poem that summarizes your entire speech. To do this you can either make your own or select the one that works the best for your speech. If you select one, remember to cite the source.

While reciting a poem add emotions and drama to your words, raise your voice on a key line of the poem and pause whenever required.

Poetry is a powerful way to get your point across because it helps you create an impression in your audiences’ mind. If you are planning to tap into poetry for your next speech, we have written an article- Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking that you can review to get some tips on how to add a poem in your speech.

4) Sir Ken Robinson

Speech ending line: “There’s a wonderful quote from Benjamin Franklin. “There are three sorts of people in the world: Those who are immovable, people who don’t get it, or don’t want to do anything about it; there are people who are movable, people who see the need for change and are prepared to listen to it; and there are people who move, people who make things happen.” And if we can encourage more people, that will be a movement. And if the movement is strong enough, that’s, in the best sense of the word, a revolution. And that’s what we need.”

How to close a speech with a memorable quote?

Quotations are usually concise and memorable phrasing of an idea. (This is why we repeat and remember quotations, right?)

The sole reason to quote material is that it reinforces your ideas. A quotation offers a second voice echoing your claims which is more powerful than simply just repeating yourself.

So, your quote should be such that summarizes your main idea. You can quote words of an expert, a person who spoke before you at an event or something in your own words.

Tips for using quotations in your speech:

• Phrasing it correctly can help boost your credibility
• Don’t quote anything outside your context

Taking the above example of Sir Ken Robinson, the quoted words at the end of his speech summarized the heart of his speech.

5) Lera Boroditsky

Speech ending line: “It’s how the language that you speak shapes the way that you think. And that gives you the opportunity to ask, “Why do I think the way that I do?” “How could I think differently?” And also, “What thoughts do I wish to create?”

How to end a speech with a question?

You can try and engage your audience with questions that will get them thinking.

It is often effective to end with a rhetorical question that captures the message and leaves the audience thinking—especially one that directly ties in your CTA. For instance:

“What choice will you make when you leave here today? Will you ____(your key message), or will you go about your normal routine?”

See how Lera Boroditsky leaves her audience with a set of questions rattling around their minds.

6) Melissa Butler  

Speech ending line: “So I challenge each of you, when you go home today, look at yourself in the mirror, see all of you, look at all of your greatness that you embody, accept it, and love it. And finally, when you leave the house tomorrow, try to extend that same love and acceptance to someone who doesn’t look like you. Thank you.”

How to give a challenge close to your speech?

In the above example, Melissa Butler used a challenge close to force her audience to take action over something.

In this type of closing, you challenge your audience to apply whatever you spoke in your speech and engage them in thought or action.

A good way to do that is to make sure they know you’re aware of the challenges that exist, and that you have concrete and actionable solutions to it.

To do this, you can have a bit of a forceful tone of voice to make a failure process a learning one.

Do express your belief in them and focus on setting a high bar, but an achievable one.

7) Brian Kateman

Speech ending line: “You can change the world by ordering a smaller steak, or doing something more. But don’t just sit by and ignore what you already know. Consider eating less meat and be a reducetarian.

Save our planet, improve your health, and save a lot of animals.”

How to end a speech by giving a solution to a concern?

This type of closing is suitable for speeches where you talk about a problem and give a solution for the same.

First you introduce the problem and explain why the audience should be concerned about it.

While concluding, you provide a practical solution to the stated concern. 

Look at how Brian Kateman states a problem: The battle between vegans, vegetarians, and everyone else and ends up giving a pragmatic solution.

8) Anjelah Johnson

Speech ending line: “Really?! It’s funny because my finger didn’t do like that before I came in here.” “It’s okay honey, don’t worry. I’ll fix it for you, don’t worry.” (Imitates talking in Vietnamese) (Laughter) (Laughter) (Stops talking Vietnamese) “Oh, see? You look so pretty!” God bless, you guys.”

How to leave your audience with a good laugh?

Wouldn’t you love leaving your audience with a good laugh? Ending your speech with humor can help you to do so. 

But you need to use them with caution. Tell jokes that are related to your speech. And avoid telling offensive jokes.

You can add anecdotes and funny stories that have happened in real life since it’s easy to relate to and, if said in a correct manner, you can have your audience laughing while hitting your message home!

Tips to deliver a good humor:

• Surprise your audience by breaking their expectations with the help of a good setup and punchline. Setup creates a specific expectation in people’s minds and a punchline reveals the surprise. For instance, “I believe that each person can make a difference (setup), but it’s so slight that there’s basically no point (punch)”
• Try and impersonate your dialogues or the characters as it will make your listeners feel they are in the scene
• You can twist the literal meaning of a word. Example- Everybody looked up to me in college because I was the tallest of all
• You can also incorporate the rule of three that works similar to the setup and punchline technique i.e. setup, setup, punch. Take an example of Elicia Sanchez, “I was a super nerd when I was a kid. I liked video games, I liked comic books, I was the youngest mage in the D&D campaign I was part of with 30-year-olds at the Yardbirds in Centralia, Washington.”

Apart from this, always test and rehearse the humor that you are going to incorporate and ask for honest feedback. Also, make sure the jokes and stories you use add value to your point and are insightful

9) Yubing Zhang

Speech ending line: “As the words said high on the bungee platform, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”

How to end a speech using the circle theory?

Here, the idea is to take your audience on a journey and get them back to the place from where you started, making a circle.

Meaning, you refer back to what you started with (movie, words, quote).

Yubing Zhang begins her speech with- Life Begins at The Edge of Your Comfort Zone” and ends with the same. 

You can bookend your speech in different ways:

• You can end by referencing your opening
• Concluding words can contrast from your opening words.
• Open with a question and answer it at the end 

We have written an in-depth article on 7 Techniques to Bookending Your Speech: Guidelines and Examples . Review it for some inspiration!

10) BJ Miller

Speech ending line: “Parts of me died early on, and that’s something we can all say one way or another. I got to redesign my life around this fact, and I tell you it has been a liberation to realize you can always find a shock of beauty or meaning in what life you have left, like that snowball lasting for a perfect moment, all the while melting away. If we love such moments ferociously, then maybe we can learn to live well — not in spite of death, but because of it. Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination.”

How to close a speech with an inspiring note?

Okay, let’s be real here. We humans are dealing with problems, difficulties, challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and temporary failures.

Ending your speech with an uplifting talk that gives a ray of hope might encourage your audience.

“Inspiring your audience is all about helping them see their own vision, not yours.” Anonymous

If your hope is to inspire your audience then your material needs to be about them and ways on how they can grow .

To do so you can opt for stories or share your personal experiences to get your message alive, but you need to paint a picture of what your audiences’ vision is when it comes to themselves and how you can help them achieve that vision by your talk.

11) Dr. Shashi Tharoor

Speech ending line: “95% of our 12 year-olds across India can read and write. So the future looks good. And as far as the workforce is concerned, if we can get all these other pieces in place, we can say to the rest of the world, “We are coming.”

How to end your speech with facts?

Adding only facts in a speech can make it boring, right? Because there’s nothing entertaining about that.

Well, this wouldn’t be a case when you use the right facts in a proper way and at a proper time. 

Adding facts as a speech ending line can be a way through which you can re-engage your audience, leaving them mesmerized. 

Incorporate only those facts that are relevant to your topic because you don’t want to make them apathetic towards you.

Present your facts in a creative manner. For instance, asking a question after when you stated the fact, audience poll, or add humor.

Trying to add facts in your speech without making it sound boring? Here’s an article- 11 Steps to Add Facts in A Speech Without Making It Boring that can guide you. 

12) Cameron Russell

Speech ending line: “If there’s a takeaway to this talk, I hope it’s that we all feel more comfortable acknowledging the power of image in our perceived successes and our perceived failures.”  

How to leave your audience with a piece of advice?

This works similar to the fact concept.

Your advices should get your audience encouraged about something and not discourage them or make them feel incompetent.

Try to chunk your advice into simple steps that your audience can follow. Inject emotions, relate it to your own experience (if possible) and make it inspirational.

The sole purpose of giving advice is to help someone. Don’t forget that!

Because a lot of times the advice is created on the basis of expectation and not understanding others. To simplify it, you need to understand the problem that your audience is facing and then advise them keeping your expectations and judgements aside.

Look at how Cameron Russell makes people feel good about themselves by empowering them regardless of the topic.

13) Nora Mclnerny

Speech ending line: “But yes, absolutely, they’re going to move forward. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve moved on.”

How to use a title close to end your speech?

To give your speech a title close, your speech needs to have a provocative title that encapsulates your message memorably. 

Use the title of your speech as your closing words to stir your audience to think more fully about what they just heard, reinforcing the title of your speech mentioned earlier.

14) Alfred Chuang

Speech ending line: “A new world is on the horizon. And it will be more incredible than any of us can possibly imagine. Our greatest innovations are ahead of us, not behind. But we need great engineers to build that world for us. And that’s you. We need you to not give up. Ever. We need you to finish your projects. Done, done, done. We need you to leverage the power of an immigrant-rich workforce. And we need you all to be a little insane.”

How to make a direct call to action at the end of your speech?

A well constructed and presented speech is the one that changes people’s mind and ignites action.

The call to action comes right before the end of a persuasive speech. Here, you clearly tell the audience the role they can play after they leave your talk.

It serves as a road map that your listeners can follow after when they are thoroughly gripped to your idea. Because they exactly know what they need to do.

In the above example, you can see how Alfred Chuang delivered a powerful CTA, as he clearly explains what listeners can do to push his idea forward.

Barring this type of a CTA, the other forms include signing a petition, buying your product, visiting your website.

15) Barack Obama

Speech ending line: “So let’s get to work, people. Let’s bring this home. I love you, Philadelphia. Honk if you’re fired up, honk if you’re ready to go. Are you fired up?”

How to use an appeal to end your speech?

The most common closing for a persuasive speech can be an appeal for action.

You can shape your appeal according to who your intended audience is and the purpose of you talking to them.

One of the best ways to make an appeal is by tapping into their emotions in order to form a deeper connection with the listeners.

Avoid making your message too pushy. Instead, try and make your content relatable and valuable for them. This is when the audience is much more likely to pay attention to you.

Valuable reads: The Secret of Writing a Persuasive Speech 

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Final Thoughts

Depending on the type of speech you are presenting, you will be asking the audience for something. And that can be- asking them to act in a certain way, or to change their attitude towards a certain person or topic or simply make them understand what you’re trying to say.

Nonetheless, the conclusion of your speech is to leave the audience positively motivated towards you and the topic you have been presenting. 

Hopefully, these 15 examples will guide you to create your own speech ending line that is impactful.

Let us know in the comments below which one worked for you.

Still looking for inspiration? Check out this video we made on closing remarks:

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Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Writing the Conclusion of a Speech

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

One of the best ways to conclude a speech is to tie the conclusion into the introduction. For example, you might begin your speech by telling a suspenseful story that relates to your topic, but save the end of the story for the very end of your speech. Or refer back to the same quotation. Or refer to the joke that you told. Any of these strategies will give your speech a sense of connection and closure, and will leave the audience with a great final impression.

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, you might try a slightly different ending because your goal is not just to be remembered, it’s to inspire people to take action. One way to do this is to issue a call-to-action. This means that you specifically tell your audience what actions you expect them to take related to your speech. Another way to inspire action with the conclusion of your speech is to appeal to their emotions. If you create a desired emotion within your audience, and then leave them with that emotion, they will take that emotion with them. For example: If you leave them feeling guilty about not-recycling by painting a bleak picture about the state of the Earth that their grandchildren will live in, then they might recall that emotion the next time they choose not to recycle and alter their behavior.

Leaving a strong final impression is the most important aspect of the conclusion, but their are some other necessary steps as well:

• Making a smooth transition from the body of the speech to the conclusion is crucial. To do this, use a signpost known as a concluding statement. The most common concluding statements include: “in conclusion”, “I leave you with”, “finally today”, and other similarly obvious endings.
• Just as it is important to preview a speech in the introduction, it is important to summarize the speech in the conclusion. The more the audience hears your main points, the more likely they are to remember them. By previewing, discussing, and summarizing your main points your audience will be exposed to them at least three times during your speech.

A good conclusion should be about 5-10% of the total speech length. Anything shorter that 5% means that the ending has come too abruptly. Anything more that 10%, and the audience may become restless. This brings up another point: If it sounds like a conclusion, you need to finish your speech in a reasonable amount of time. The conclusion is not the place to add new material.

Effective ways to end a speech

• Summarize the main speech topics or main points.
• Repeat a few keywords or phrases by using the rhetorical figure of speech repetition.
• State how your points prove your general and specific goal.
• Restate and reinforce the central idea.
• Repeat the tie between the needs and interests of the listeners, and your thesis.
• Refer back to an anecdote or quotation in the introduction text.
• Offer a so-called moral of the story.
• Call them to act and offer them how-to-do-it steps.
• List the benefits or available applications; very effective ways to end a speech.
• Restate the problem and provide your solution in two sentences.
• Visualize the outcome of your call to action with a prop or visual aid.
• Transform your central idea or even the discourse title into an easy to remember slogan.
• Recite a couple of lines from songs, poems or citations and quotes from a historical presentation.
• End with a heart-felt human interest story in which all comes together.
• Finish with a clinching personal anecdote.
• Close with an illustrative design example.
• End with a joke or funny remark. Must say that only choose these ways to end a speech if it’s really funny.
• Connect your speech topics with the common grounds and thoughts of the public speaking audience. This way to end a speech brings the overall speech topic in their hearts and minds.
• Ask a rhetorical question and answer with an easy to remember oneliner.
• Give the ultimate answer on an important question you proposed earlier in your introduction.
• Surprise with a shocking fact or figure that empahizes the need for change.
• Draw the contours of the ideal situation you propose. Visualize that they will see paradise if they do, think or act as you want.

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Module 7: Refining your Speech

Writing and revising the conclusion, learning objectives.

Outline strategies to write and revise a strong conclusion.

The next step is now to ensure that your conclusion is as strong as it can be by carefully writing and revising it.

Question #1: How long is my conclusion?  Begin by ensuring that your conclusion is no longer than 5–10% of your total speech. That means that in a five-minute speech, your conclusion will last between 15 and 30 seconds. In a ten-minute speech, your conclusion will last between 30 and 60 seconds.

Question #2: Have I included any new ideas in my conclusion?  This is NOT the place for new ideas. If you have an important idea that was not discussed in your speech, decide which main point it supports and put it there.

Question #3: How easy is it to recall my review?  Review in the same order that each main point was presented and use the same names introduced in your introduction.

Question #4: Is the thesis of the speech clearly articulated?  Since time has passed since the audience first heard it, it is helpful to use the exact same language you used for your thesis in the introduction.

Question #5: Have I linked back to my attention-getting device?  A good speaker will leverage the power of the primary recency phenomenon by referencing the attention getting device in the conclusion. For example, the speaker could reference the protagonist from an anecdote, revisit the hypothetical scenario or current event, ask the rhetorical question again, and suggest how to view it in light of what the audience has learned from the speech. These links can reinforce a sense of familiarity in your audience for both the speaker and the speech.

Question #6: How effective is my lasting thought?  While a lower order concluding device may be sufficient, using a higher order device like a call to action or visualizing the future will relate more to your audience, and thus have a stronger impact.

Question #7: How well can I deliver my conclusion?  Since your conclusion is the shortest part of your speech, yet a very important one, it may be helpful to memorize it. You will want to ensure that you are maintaining eye contact and speaking emphatically, which means that you will want to avoid reading or glancing at your notecards.

• Muzoon Almellehan. Provided by : DFID - UK Department for International Development. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/JQx1dL . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Writing and Revising the Conclusion. Authored by : Anne Fleischer with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Speech Conclusion

Conventional wisdom in the realm of public speaking is that your opening statement and closing statement must be perfect. While I agree that it’s important to develop these two parts of your speech, I don’t think they are as important as others make them out to be — which is the other extreme.

The goals of an effective speech conclusion:

There are generally two goals for an effective conclusion. They are:

• To summarize the main points of your speech.
• To motivate the audience to take action.

Please note that “leaving the audience with a positive impression of your wit” isn’t there, nor is “win an award for best written speech conclusion.” All too often, people put too much pressure on themselves to find a way to close their speech. “Thank you” is the worst way to end a speech profess many well-intentioned but ill-informed public speaking experts (I’ve heard this dozens of times at Toastmasters clubs during speech evaluations). I don’t see the harm — it’s fine to thank the audience at the end of your talk, as long as it’s sincere. So let’s look at your real goals.

Summarizing your main points is pretty straightforward. Most speeches have three to five main points, so including each of these in your summary is important. I’ve found it helpful to state a memorable fact or two about each point to help the audience retain the things I’ve said about each point — and this critical for longer talks (30 minutes or longer). I typically do my question and answer session right before my conclusion, so I may make some impromptu references to some interesting or related points that came up during Q&A. I also provide a mini-outline of the main points of my talk as a handout for longer talks (I also use it as a marketing tool).

Your Closing Statement:

Now on to the great controversy: your closing statement. Your goal for the closing statement is to get the audience to take action. Depending on your speech and your goals for giving the speech, it can fall into one or more of the following actions:

• Think a certain way about the topic you presented.
• Purchase a product or service.
• Volunteer or sign up to do something.
• Promote your topic.
• Get others excited or interested in your topic.

Again, many people make this step overly difficult. Simply asking the audience in a sincere way to take the action is as effective as a well crafted conclusion. In fact, trying too hard to provide a memorable conclusion can sometimes turn off your audience. For example, if you’re selling a product and you conclude your pitch with:

So as you can see, our product has helped many people in your situation succeed. I hope you’ll give us the chance to help you succeed.

it’s quite different than:

Imagine your competition as tortoises, slowly trudging along the path to success with their blinders on, completely unaware that the resources they need for success are right at their finger tips. Then you, the hare, whiz by them at the speed light and all they feel a gentle breeze — this is the advantage to buying our product.

You can see that both are equally as effective even though the latter one is more descriptive and doesn’t really buy you anything. In fact, some people may find it corny.

So in summary, your conclusion should simply sum up the main points of your talk and encourage the audience to take action. My Dale Carnegie instructor and friend, Bob Arnold, once said that your closing statement can be as simple as something that reads like a newspaper headline. So don’t fret, just close.

And again, it’s perfectly acceptable in my book to thank the audience at the end of your speech.

James Feudo owns the Boston Web Design Agency JVF Solutions and loves blogging about personal development and communication in his spare time.

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2 thoughts on “ Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Speech Conclusion ”

Nice post, James, simplifying the sometimes overwrought task of writing a conclusion.

I completely agree with you about thanking the audience at the end, by the way. I’ve written about thanking the audience a couple of times (you might say I’m a little obsessed with the issue):

http://coachlisab.blogspot.com/2007/03/do-you-thank-your-audience.html http://coachlisab.blogspot.com/2007/08/when-not-to-say-thank-you.html http://coachlisab.blogspot.com/2008/02/two-minutes-of-thank-yous.html

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Introductions & Conclusions

Introductions.

• Get the audience’s attention with a story, quotation, personal experience, etc.
• Identify the topic and indicate why it is relevant, important, or interesting.
• Establish your credibility through words or behavior.
• Provide context, background, and definitions listeners might need.
• State your purpose, thesis, or research question.
• Preview the body of your speech.
• Make a transition to the first point in the body of the speech.
• Start with “um" or "OK.”
• Apologize for weaknesses in your content, preparation or speaking ability.
• Complain about food, accommodations, equipment, facilities or other speakers.
• Use “humor” that might disparage, offend or alienate your listeners.
• Use cheap tricks to get attention.
• Go on about how hard it was to choose a topic.

Conclusions

Conclusions should reinforce the message and give the speech unity and closure.

• Summarize the main points of your speech.
• Restate your purpose or thesis.
• Create closure, a sense of finality.
• In persuasive speeches, make a final call for commitment or action.
• Open new areas of discussion or argument.
• Change position or viewpoint.
• Resort to feeble closing phrases like “and that's all I have to say.”
• Say “thank you” just because the audience doesn't seem to realize that your speech is over.

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When you have completed constructing your thesis, developing and expanding your supporting points, and designing and writing your arguments, you will be ready to write your conclusion. You may select from a number of ways to conclude your paper (for example, a summary of points, a reiteration of your thesis, a synthesis of all your arguments). Your purpose is to bring your topic to a close. If you have done a good job of maintaining your direction and developing your claim(s), you will have arrived at your conclusion as a matter of course. One way to determine what to include in your conclusion is to reread your thesis. Ask yourself a few questions. What direction did you name or what claim(s) did you make in your thesis? What limitations did you set for your topic? What path did you choose when you developed your supporting points and wrote your arguments? Your conclusion is a good place to remind your reader where you were headed and how you got there.

Conclusions in student papers often are not used effectively. Do not presume your reader has followed your arguments and knows your conclusion. State it explicitly. If you have been careful to develop support and arguments for your thesis, do not shortchange yourself by brushing lightly over the conclusion. Avoid broad, sweeping statements or generalities; do not introduce new topics or new arguments. Stick to your topic and your direction or claim. Conclude your paper with a strong, deliberate ending that reinforces or clarifies what you have been writing about all along.

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How to Write a Conclusion to a Speech

Kori morgan.

Your speech may have an attention-grabbing introduction, solid research and convincing arguments, but your conclusion can make or break whether your audience walks away affected by your message. A strong speech conclusion provides closure by revisiting and reinforcing the main points and emphasizing the significance of your topic. Reviewing the purpose and objectives of your speech can help you compose a conclusion that challenges and resonates with listeners.

Explore this article

• Restate Your Thesis
• Provide Circular Closure
• Make Use of Signal Phrases
• Define the Topic's Significance

1 Restate Your Thesis

Just like in an essay, your speech's thesis statement determines its direction and purpose. Reviewing your thesis statement can reveal the major points your conclusion needs to address. Try isolating the primary claim your speech makes and how it sets the course for the evidence and examples you present later. Then, rephrase your thesis statement in the conclusion to remind audiences of where the speech began and where you've brought them. Don't assume the audience will remember your thesis statement or major points; briefly restating them reinforces the ideas in their minds.

2 Provide Circular Closure

Ideally, your speech's introduction captures your audiences attention using a statistic, story, quotation or rhetorical question. Revisiting that same tactic in the conclusion can signal that the speech is coming to a close as well as bring the content full circle for audiences. If your speech is about distracted driving, for example, your introduction might share that it caused 1 in 5 car accidents in 2011. You can mirror this introduction in your ending by reminding audiences to think twice before they drive inattentively, or they could be driving the 1 car in 5 that becomes a statistic.

3 Make Use of Signal Phrases

One way your conclusion brings closure to your speech is by using words that communicate to audiences that the message has come to its end. Phrases and words such as "finally," "in conclusion," "in summary" and "as we have seen" can direct listeners to pay attention to the final thoughts they should take away from the speech. Avoid using these phrases in any place other than the conclusion, since giving audiences a false impression of when the speech is over can distract them and cause them to miss important information.

4 Define the Topic's Significance

Ultimately, your speech's conclusion must answer the question "So what?"; it explains why audiences should care about the subject. The tactics you use to accomplish this vary according to the type of speech you're giving. If you're presenting an informational speech about musician Johnny Cash, you might show the topic's importance by offering examples of his continued influence on music. By contrast, a persuasive speech's conclusion should present a clear call to action. If your topic is animal abuse, for instance, you might urge audiences to adopt rescue animals instead of buying from pet stores or give to their local humane society.

• 1 Oregon State University School of Arts and Communication: Writing a Conclusion
• 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: Resources for Writers: Conclusion Strategies
• 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Distracted Driving
• 4 University of Florida IFAS Extension: Speech Writing and Types of Speeches

About the Author

Kori Morgan holds a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and has been crafting online and print educational materials since 2006. She taught creative writing and composition at West Virginia University and the University of Akron and her fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals.

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Conclusions

What this handout is about.

This handout will explain the functions of conclusions, offer strategies for writing effective ones, help you evaluate conclusions you’ve drafted, and suggest approaches to avoid.

About conclusions

Introductions and conclusions can be difficult to write, but they’re worth investing time in. They can have a significant influence on a reader’s experience of your paper.

Just as your introduction acts as a bridge that transports your readers from their own lives into the “place” of your analysis, your conclusion can provide a bridge to help your readers make the transition back to their daily lives. Such a conclusion will help them see why all your analysis and information should matter to them after they put the paper down.

Your conclusion is your chance to have the last word on the subject. The conclusion allows you to have the final say on the issues you have raised in your paper, to synthesize your thoughts, to demonstrate the importance of your ideas, and to propel your reader to a new view of the subject. It is also your opportunity to make a good final impression and to end on a positive note.

Your conclusion can go beyond the confines of the assignment. The conclusion pushes beyond the boundaries of the prompt and allows you to consider broader issues, make new connections, and elaborate on the significance of your findings.

Your conclusion should make your readers glad they read your paper. Your conclusion gives your reader something to take away that will help them see things differently or appreciate your topic in personally relevant ways. It can suggest broader implications that will not only interest your reader, but also enrich your reader’s life in some way. It is your gift to the reader.

Strategies for writing an effective conclusion

One or more of the following strategies may help you write an effective conclusion:

• Play the “So What” Game. If you’re stuck and feel like your conclusion isn’t saying anything new or interesting, ask a friend to read it with you. Whenever you make a statement from your conclusion, ask the friend to say, “So what?” or “Why should anybody care?” Then ponder that question and answer it. Here’s how it might go: You: Basically, I’m just saying that education was important to Douglass. Friend: So what? You: Well, it was important because it was a key to him feeling like a free and equal citizen. Friend: Why should anybody care? You: That’s important because plantation owners tried to keep slaves from being educated so that they could maintain control. When Douglass obtained an education, he undermined that control personally. You can also use this strategy on your own, asking yourself “So What?” as you develop your ideas or your draft.
• Return to the theme or themes in the introduction. This strategy brings the reader full circle. For example, if you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding. You may also refer to the introductory paragraph by using key words or parallel concepts and images that you also used in the introduction.
• Synthesize, don’t summarize. Include a brief summary of the paper’s main points, but don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together.
• Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper.
• Propose a course of action, a solution to an issue, or questions for further study. This can redirect your reader’s thought process and help them to apply your info and ideas to their own life or to see the broader implications.
• Point to broader implications. For example, if your paper examines the Greensboro sit-ins or another event in the Civil Rights Movement, you could point out its impact on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. A paper about the style of writer Virginia Woolf could point to her influence on other writers or on later feminists.

Strategies to avoid

• Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as “in conclusion,” “in summary,” or “in closing.” Although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as wooden and trite in writing.
• Stating the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion.
• Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion.
• Ending with a rephrased thesis statement without any substantive changes.
• Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of an analytical paper.
• Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper.

Four kinds of ineffective conclusions

• The “That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It” Conclusion. This conclusion just restates the thesis and is usually painfully short. It does not push the ideas forward. People write this kind of conclusion when they can’t think of anything else to say. Example: In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was, as we have seen, a pioneer in American education, proving that education was a major force for social change with regard to slavery.
• The “Sherlock Holmes” Conclusion. Sometimes writers will state the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. You might be tempted to use this strategy if you don’t want to give everything away too early in your paper. You may think it would be more dramatic to keep the reader in the dark until the end and then “wow” them with your main idea, as in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. The reader, however, does not expect a mystery, but an analytical discussion of your topic in an academic style, with the main argument (thesis) stated up front. Example: (After a paper that lists numerous incidents from the book but never says what these incidents reveal about Douglass and his views on education): So, as the evidence above demonstrates, Douglass saw education as a way to undermine the slaveholders’ power and also an important step toward freedom.
• The “America the Beautiful”/”I Am Woman”/”We Shall Overcome” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion usually draws on emotion to make its appeal, but while this emotion and even sentimentality may be very heartfelt, it is usually out of character with the rest of an analytical paper. A more sophisticated commentary, rather than emotional praise, would be a more fitting tribute to the topic. Example: Because of the efforts of fine Americans like Frederick Douglass, countless others have seen the shining beacon of light that is education. His example was a torch that lit the way for others. Frederick Douglass was truly an American hero.
• The “Grab Bag” Conclusion. This kind of conclusion includes extra information that the writer found or thought of but couldn’t integrate into the main paper. You may find it hard to leave out details that you discovered after hours of research and thought, but adding random facts and bits of evidence at the end of an otherwise-well-organized essay can just create confusion. Example: In addition to being an educational pioneer, Frederick Douglass provides an interesting case study for masculinity in the American South. He also offers historians an interesting glimpse into slave resistance when he confronts Covey, the overseer. His relationships with female relatives reveal the importance of family in the slave community.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Douglass, Frederick. 1995. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. New York: Dover.

Hamilton College. n.d. “Conclusions.” Writing Center. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://www.hamilton.edu//academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/conclusions .

Holewa, Randa. 2004. “Strategies for Writing a Conclusion.” LEO: Literacy Education Online. Last updated February 19, 2004. https://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/conclude.html.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Writing Speeches

Quick links, keeping focus: the central point, main supporting points, introductions, conclusions.

Writing a speech consists of composing the central point or thesis, the main-point sentences, the introduction and conclusion, and planning effective oral style.

Since the organization of a speech is critical to the writing process, consult our organization page.

The central point is the message you attempt to communicate to your audience. Keeping focus on the central point is fundamental to speech writing.

Sometimes the central point is a thesis; sometimes the central point is a hypothesis. Sometimes, there is no stated thesis or hypothesis, but there is always a central idea and purpose that keeps you and your audience focused.

The Student Resources information on purpose is useful if you’re unsure about the central point.

For an additional resource related to writing for speeches, use The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , especially the “What’s your purpose?” section.

A thesis is a concise statement of your central point, normally included in the introduction and conclusion of a speech. However, your speech doesn’t have to be an argumentative to include a thesis statement.

A purpose statement is a clear statement about the objective you hope to accomplish. Whenever you write a speech, you have a purpose statement, although the purpose statement isn’t always explicitly stated—and it can get confused with a thesis statement. For help with the differences between a thesis and a purpose statement, we recommend “Thesis and Purpose Statements” by The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

If a thesis is necessary, the thesis section of the thesis section of the written rhetoric page may help as well.

There is no formula for success, but this video covers the essentials on speech thesis sentences.

The thesis is what you argue, and the main points are how you argue it. Because they’re so intertwined, you should carefully consider the main supporting points as you write your thesis. In other words, figure out what you intend to say before you try to capture it in a thesis.

Below are a few suggestions that experienced speech writers use when writing thesis statements:

• Use a declarative sentence; not a question.
• Use a complete sentence.
• General thesis : “We honor Elie Wiesel for his noble characteristics and his campaign against ethnic oppression.”
• Specific thesis : “We honor Elie Wiesel for his determination, consistency, and for his faithfulness to Yahweh throughout his life-long campaign against ethnic oppression.”
• General : Foreign policies in the Middle East.
• Focused : An analysis of the ways the United States has reacted to economic changes due to the oil industry in the Middle East.
• Example 1: If you’re speaking to elementary schoolers, it would be inappropriate to use graduate level vocabulary.
• Example 2: If you’re talking about architecture at an electrical engineering conference, use the thesis to connect the expected topic to the unexpected topic.

Here are a few high quality thesis examples (though possibly obscure topics):

• “The process the United States would go through to use a nuclear weapon can be broken down into two stages: the command from the president, and the official launch of the nuclear warhead by the crew.”
• “We honor Elie Wiesel for his determination, consistency, and for his faithfulness to Yahweh throughout his life-long campaign against ethnic oppression.”
• “Salvador Dali’s surrealist artwork can be identified through its focus on illogical scenes and exploration of the unconscious.”

For further direction, we recommend the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) as an extra resource.

The main points support your thesis. The thesis is what you argue, the main points are how you argue it. Here are a few suggestions for writing main supporting point sentences:

• If any of your main points don’t argue in favor of the thesis, either the main point or the thesis needs to be changed.
• A main point should convey the purpose and focus of its respective section.
• Use declarative statements and complete sentences to announce main supporting points.
• Limit the number of main points for the audience’s sake. If you have more than four it will be hard for the audience to remember.

To reiterate, the main points of a speech are crafted as supporting evidence for the thesis .

If your thesis is: Typical characteristics of 1960’s Latin American fiction include non-linear narratives and magical elements.

The following would be satisfactory main point sentences:

• Magical elements often appear in 1960s Latin American fiction.
• Non-linear narratives characterize magical realism in 1960s Latin American fiction.

Additional resources related to main supporting points

• University of Hawai'i Maui Community College Speech Department : general guidelines related to main points and other supporting material.
• Calvin University—What Not to Do : a document about what not to do with speech main points.
• Lumen Learning : a variety of topics relating to main points, from how many should you have to how to highlight them as main points. Start about half way down the page at the “How Many Main Points?” section. While Lumen Learning also covers different ways to organize your main points, we recommend using our organization page first.

It will help you to prepare the introduction after preparing the main points. Just consider how challenging it is to introduce a speech if you don’t know what the main ideas of your speech are.

The introduction has two main purposes: to capture the audience’s attention and to state your thesis. Introductions also preview the speech so that the audience knows where it’s headed.

There are many ways to capture the audience’s attention: quotes, statistics, examples, a short story, a fascinating topic, a gracious mention of the event that brings you together, or even a question.

Once you have the audience’s attention, state your thesis. Stating your thesis will inform the audience of the speech’s direction and will focus their attention throughout the speech.

For tips regarding introductions, we recommend the Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College . The tips are short, helpful, and if applied, will improve your introductions.

Finally, it’s also critical throughout the introduction to establish your credibility. For this reason, your introduction should be well practiced and should allow you to communicate confidence. In addition, if you have any expertise on the subject material that you believe your audience needs to know, inform them without being snooty.

Conclusions are the final remarks your audience will hear, so they’re the part that’s most likely to be remembered. So make sure you take the time to craft a clear and memorable conclusion.

In general, a conclusion should restate your central point, though in a new way. This is important because in speeches the audience can’t reread your message; they simply have to rely on memory. Restating your central point—and, depending on what your professor wants, reviewing your main supporting points--will help your message to stick.

Another way to make your speech stick is to use the conclusion to reemphasize your purpose. For example, in a persuasive speech, call people to action. In other words, be blunt about what you want them to do. If you want them to vote, tell them how they can register. If you want them to pick up painting as a hobby, then show them where they can buy painting materials.

Try to make your conclusion memorable.

By this, we mean it’s important to carefully consider your final remark to make sure it concludes on a strong note that fits your purpose. Speakers often trail off in the end, undermining their earlier work.

As a foundational resource, we recommend the Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College .

Style refers to the way words, sentences, and groups of sentences create tone and personality.

How is speech writing different than writing a paper?

Though they share many principles (ex: the preference for active voice verbs), they have different principles of style: people perceive style differently when listening than when reading.

The differences arise because the formats are different: written word and spoken word. For an analysis of the key differences between spoken and written language, we recommend the Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College .

This handout by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program contains fundamental public speaking tips. Luckily, it also contains an encompassing look at the basics of an eloquent oral style. Read the section titled “Writing for Speaking”; the list will be useful when creating sentences that sound better in oral rhetoric.

The following stylistic choices are particularly helpful with the spoken word :

• Brevity. Be as brief as possible. This article by Judith Kilborn (The Write Place, St. Cloud State University) provides a few ways to reduce wordiness.
• Prefer shorter sentences to longer ones. Long sentences are harder to follow.
• First person pronouns are widely accepted in speeches.
• Repetition helps the audience remember (ex: think of the repetition in King’s “I Have a Dream.” In a paper the audience can go back and reread; they can’t do that when listening to a speech, so repetition helps the audience connect ideas and follow the argument.
• The audience doesn’t have a dictionary with them; use words that are more tuned for the vernacular ear.
• Make sure you can pronounce every word you plan on using.
• Use transitions or “ signposts ” to announce, signal, and recap. This allows the audience to know where you’re and what to expect.
• Abstract : There are several possible outcomes that this decision can lead to.
• Concrete : Our choice to intervene in the Middle East can lead to destabilized elections, political turmoil, and religious conflict.
• Dry sentence : A family member was hit by an animal.
• Descriptive sentence : Grandma got run over by a reindeer.
• The use of contractions is generally preferred in public speaking; contractions are more conversational, which tends to be preferred in public speaking. Say these two sentences aloud and you’ll agree: “I do not think that is a good idea” or “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
• Parallelism and alliteration create rhythm in a speech; use them wisely.
• Use inclusive language .

For further style advice, though not specifically for the spoken word, use our written style resource.

For further direction, please stop in the Rhetoric Center.

Additional resources and tips related to oral style

• Stand up, Speak out (University of Michigan Libraries) : An extensive and comprehensive resource on effective oral communication. Pay particular attention to the following sections: “Imagery,” “Rhythm,” “Parallelism,” “Alliteration,” and “Assonance.”
• Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College : A list of phrases to avoid for various reasons in oral rhetoric.
• Oral Communication Center, Hamilton College : A list of characteristics that help make every speech successful. Warning: the article uses language to make it sound like a checklist for an A on every speech; this is not the case. However, the list is helpful nonetheless.
• Oxford Dictionaries Blog, Avoid cliches : Evoking images for an audience helps them to understand and remember your speech, but using a cliché allows the audience to listen without visualizing. A creative example of effective imagery was when on the campaign trail Bill Clinton said “I will be with you until the last dog dies.”
• Contrast, figures of speech, examples, and triads : How Winston Churchill spoke.

In the speech “Bridges should be beautiful,” Ian Firth demonstrates an awareness of oral style. For starters, his sentences are short and easy to follow. His opening is the perfect example, “The world needs bridges.”

Look at the following excerpt from Firth’s speech:

“In this case, this is in Peru. This is using grass which grows locally and is woven into ropes to build these bridges. And do you know they rebuild this every year? Because of course grass is not a durable material. So this bridge is unchanged since Inca times.”

This could’ve very well been two or three sentences in a written text, but Firth uses five short sentences. This makes him easy to follow. However, it’s not perfect. The phrase “In this case, this is in Peru,” could be shortened to simply “This is in Peru.”

At the same time, he limits the speech to three main points: bridges should be functional, safe, and beautiful. This ensures the audience won’t get lost.

Firth carefully chooses his words. He uses descriptive language to paint pictures for the audience: “Or sometimes up in the mountains, people would build these suspension bridges, often across some dizzy canyon, using a vine .” He also uses alliteration in an effective manner: “Or Robert Maillart's Salginatobel Bridge in the mountains in Switzerland —absolutely sublime .”

And he is able to easily pronounce the words he uses, even foreign phrases like “Pont Du Gard.”

Since Firth is an engineer who has designed bridges for years, this speech could’ve used highly technical language, but Firth used the vernacular to adapt to his more general audience. On occasion, when technical language was inevitable, Firth swiftly defined the technical terms.

In addition, Firth uses first person pronouns (“I firmly believe”). This makes him more conversational and personable.

This next example, a Boise State University commencement address, is more of a mixed result than Firth’s speech: it embodies both good and bad oral style.

Let’s start with what Tiara Thompson does well. In the beginning, she uses descriptive language that invokes images. The following are examples: “As my fingers fly over the keys,” and “spacebar still blinking.” She also uses parallelism, as you can clearly hear around 3:25.

However, the style can be improved (amongst other aspects of speech writing).

Towards the end of the speech, she uses more abstract language and seldomly gives examples. The speech would’ve been more effective if she kept using descriptive language and if more examples were used towards the end. Her language becomes vague and abstract when she thanks the teachers for their hard work, not recognizing any one of them individually. As an alternative, consider: how much more effective would it have been if she gave an example of a teacher working hard and afterhours to help her succeed on an assignment ? After that example, she could’ve generalized it to include all the teachers at her college.

In addition, the language she uses at the end of the speech gradually becomes more and more clichéd. For example, at 5:08, she says, “make this moment last” and “we are so fortunate to be where we are.” Clichés make imagery harder, as we mentioned in the oral style section.

Though not necessarily related to oral style, this speech focuses on the speaker more than the average commencement. If she focused on something else, her audience would’ve been able to connect with her more. (What works better: a political speech with a politician rambling on about themself or one where the politician identifies with problems larger than themselves, such as a Detroit congressperson sympathizing with the victims of the Flint water crisis?)

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So much is at stake in writing a conclusion. This is, after all, your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon them as a writer and thinker. And the impression you create in your conclusion will shape the impression that stays with your readers after they've finished the essay.

The end of an essay should therefore convey a sense of completeness and closure as well as a sense of the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger meaning, its implications: the final paragraph should close the discussion without closing it off.

To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase you used at the beginning.
• Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help create an effect of understated drama.
• Conclude with a sentence that's compound or parallel in structure; such sentences can establish a sense of balance or order that may feel just right at the end of a complex discussion.

To close the discussion without closing it off, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a primary or secondary source, one that amplifies your main point or puts it in a different perspective. A quotation from, say, the novel or poem you're writing about can add texture and specificity to your discussion; a critic or scholar can help confirm or complicate your final point. For example, you might conclude an essay on the idea of home in James Joyce's short story collection,  Dubliners , with information about Joyce's own complex feelings towards Dublin, his home. Or you might end with a biographer's statement about Joyce's attitude toward Dublin, which could illuminate his characters' responses to the city. Just be cautious, especially about using secondary material: make sure that you get the last word.
• Conclude by setting your discussion into a different, perhaps larger, context. For example, you might end an essay on nineteenth-century muckraking journalism by linking it to a current news magazine program like  60 Minutes .
• Conclude by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. For example, an essay on Marx's treatment of the conflict between wage labor and capital might begin with Marx's claim that the "capitalist economy is . . . a gigantic enterprise of dehumanization "; the essay might end by suggesting that Marxist analysis is itself dehumanizing because it construes everything in economic -- rather than moral or ethical-- terms.
• Conclude by considering the implications of your argument (or analysis or discussion). What does your argument imply, or involve, or suggest? For example, an essay on the novel  Ambiguous Adventure , by the Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, might open with the idea that the protagonist's development suggests Kane's belief in the need to integrate Western materialism and Sufi spirituality in modern Senegal. The conclusion might make the new but related point that the novel on the whole suggests that such an integration is (or isn't) possible.

Finally, some advice on how not to end an essay:

• Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long--more than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a restatement of your main ideas.
• Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in summary," and "to sum up." These phrases can be useful--even welcome--in oral presentations. But readers can see, by the tell-tale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your audience if you belabor the obvious.
• Resist the urge to apologize. If you've immersed yourself in your subject, you now know a good deal more about it than you can possibly include in a five- or ten- or 20-page essay. As a result, by the time you've finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you've produced. (And if you haven't immersed yourself in your subject, you may be feeling even more doubtful about your essay as you approach the conclusion.) Repress those doubts. Don't undercut your authority by saying things like, "this is just one approach to the subject; there may be other, better approaches. . ."

Copyright 1998, Pat Bellanca, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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A Guide to Writing a Conclusion for a Speech

Table of Contents

A quality speech or presentation is comparable to a quality play, film, or song. It begins by grabbing the listener’s attention, develops little by little, and then comes to a powerful conclusion.

The truth is that if you don’t know how to end a speech, your main points might not be clear, and your overall point won’t be persuasive. The opening and closing sentences of your address, in particular, are frequently the most potent passages and will be stuck in listeners’ minds for much longer than almost any other part.

The final words of some of the greatest speeches in history have left an indelible impression on listeners. In today’s guide, we’ll look at the best way to write a conclusion for a speech. Sounds exciting? Well then, keep reading until the end!

Why Conclusion of a Speech in Important?

The speech is framed and has a distinct beginning and end, thanks to the introductions and conclusions. They enable the audience to mentally get ready for the speech’s conclusion by letting them know what will happen next in the address.

Your speech’s conclusion restates its leading ideas and intended audience impact while summarizing its main points . The conclusion is just as crucial for leaving a lasting impression on the audience as your introduction is for grabbing their attention.

The conclusion allows you to make a final statement about the topics you’ve discussed in your paper, summarize your ideas, highlight their significance, and nudge your audience toward a fresh understanding of the subject. Additionally, it gives you a chance to leave a good impression and start on the right foot.

Writing a Conclusion for a Speech!

Including a link between the conclusion and the introduction is among the best ways to end a speech. You could, for instance, begin your address by relating a suspenseful tale to your subject but save the conclusion until the end.

Alternatively, return to the first quote. You could also mention the joke you told. Any of these strategies will make your speech seem connected and conclusive, making a good impression on the audience.

If you’re giving a persuasive speech, you might try a slightly different conclusion because your goal is to move people to action rather than leave them with a good memory. One method for achieving this is by issuing a call to action. This implies that you make it clear to your audience what steps you anticipate them to take in connection with your speech. Invoking their emotions at the end of your address is another strategy for getting them to take action.

You can make your audience feel something you want them to handle, and if you leave them feeling that way, they will carry that feeling. As an illustration, if you make them feel guilty about not recycling by painting a sad picture of the world their grandchildren will inherit, they might think back to that feeling the next time they decide not to recycle and change their behavior.

A firm conclusion should be 5 and 10% of the speech’s overall length. Any percentage below 5% indicates that you delivered the ending too quickly. If more than 10%, the audience might start to feel restless. This raises another issue: If it sounds like a conclusion, you must complete your speech promptly. You should refrain from introducing new information in the conclusion.

More Tips on Writing a Conclusion for a Speech

Write a brief synopsis of the speech’s main points or topics. Use the rhetorical device of repetition to repeatedly say a few words or phrases. Describe how your arguments support your broad and detailed objectives.

Reiterate and emphasize the central concept. Reiterate how your thesis relates to your audience’s wants and needs. In the essay’s body, bring up a story or quote from the introduction. Describe the story’s alleged lesson. Remember, you are demanding action from them while guiding them through the process. List the advantages or potential uses; this is a powerful way to conclude a speech. Give a brief description of the issue and offer a two-sentence solution.

Use a prop or visual aid to help you imagine how your call to action will turn out. Make your main point—or even the title of your argument—into a memorable slogan. Say a few verses from a song, a poem, or some citations and quotes from a historical presentation. Finish with an emotional human interest tale where everything is resolved. Add a compelling personal anecdote to close.

Finish with an illustration of a design. Finish with a humorous joke or observation. You should only use these techniques to end a speech if it is genuinely funny. Integrate the commonalities and viewpoints of the audience with your speech topics. This method of concluding a speech leaves the audience with thoughts and feelings about the subject at large. Ask a rhetorical question and provide a brief, memorable response.

Give a conclusive response to the vital question you raised in your introduction. Shock your audience with a startling statistic or fact that emphasizes the urgency of change. It would be best if you outlined the ideal scenario you suggest. Imagine that they will see paradise if they behave, think, or feel the way you want them to.

The conclusion to a speech is the last sentence or two. It’s the wrap-up sentence that summarizes the main idea of the speech . More importantly, it leaves the audience understanding the speech’s purpose and the outcome you sought to achieve. This is the place to convey the central point of the speech and bring the audience to a unified understanding.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Speech Writing

• Updated on  
• Jan 16, 2024

The power of good, inspiring, motivating, and thought-provoking speeches can never be overlooked. If we retrospect, a good speech has not only won people’s hearts but also has been a verbal tool to conquer nations. For centuries, many leaders have used this instrument to charm audiences with their powerful speeches. Apart from vocalizing your speech perfectly, the words you choose in a speech carry immense weight, and practising speech writing begins with our school life. Speech writing is an important part of the English syllabus for Class 12th, Class 11th, and Class 8th to 10th. This blog brings you the Speech Writing format, samples, examples, tips, and tricks!

This Blog Includes:

What is speech writing, speech in english language writing, how do you begin an english-language speech, introduction, how to write a speech, speech writing samples, example of a great speech, english speech topics, practice time.

Must Read: Story Writing Format for Class 9 & 10

Speech writing is the art of using proper grammar and expression to convey a thought or message to a reader. Speech writing isn’t all that distinct from other types of narrative writing. However, students should be aware of certain distinct punctuation and writing style techniques. While writing the ideal speech might be challenging, sticking to the appropriate speech writing structure will ensure that you never fall short.

“There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.”- Alexander Gregg

The English language includes eight parts of speech i.e. nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives 410 , adverbs , prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

• Noun- A noun is a word that describes anything, such as an animal, a person, a place, or an emotion. Nouns are the building blocks for most sentences.
• Pronoun – Pronouns are words that can be used in place of nouns. They are used so that we don’t have to repeat words. This makes our writing and speaking much more natural.
• Verb – A verb is a term that implies activity or ‘doing.’ These are very vital for your children’s grammar studies, as a sentence cannot be complete without a verb.
• Adjective – An adjective is a term that describes something. An adjective is frequently used before a noun to add extra information or description.
• Prepositions- A preposition is a term that expresses the location or timing of something in relation to something else.
• Conjunction- Because every language has its own set of conjunctions, English conjunctions differ from those found in other languages. They’re typically used as a connecting word between two statements, concepts, or ideas.
• Interjections- Interjections are words that are used to describe a strong emotion or a sudden feeling.

Relevant Read: Speech on the Importance of English

The way you start your English speech can set the tone for the remainder of it. This semester, there are a variety of options for you to begin presentations in your classes. For example, try some of these engaging speech in English language starters.

• Rhetorical questions : A rhetorical question is a figure of speech that uses a question to convey a point rather than asking for a response. The answer to a rhetorical question may be clear, yet the questioner asks it to emphasize the point. Rhetorical questions may be a good method for students to start their English speeches. This method of introducing your material might be appealing to the viewers and encourage them to consider how they personally relate to your issue.
• Statistics: When making an instructive or persuasive speech in an English class, statistics can help to strengthen the speaker’s authority and understanding of the subject. To get your point over quickly and create an emotional response, try using an unexpected statistic or fact that will resonate with the audience.
• Set up an imaginary scene: Create an imaginary situation in your audience’s thoughts if you want to persuade them to agree with you with your speech. This method of starting your speech assists each member of the audience in visualizing a fantastic scenario that you wish to see come true.

Relevant Read: Reported Speech Rules With Exercises

Format of Speech Writing

Here is the format of Speech Writing:

• Introduction : Greet the audience, tell them about yourself and further introduce the topic.
• Body : Present the topic in an elaborate way, explaining its key features, pros and cons, if any and the like.
• Conclusion : Summary of your speech, wrap up the topic and leave your audience with a compelling reminder to think about!

Let’s further understand each element of the format of Speech Writing in further detail:

After the greetings, the Introduction has to be attention-getting. Quickly get people’s attention. The goal of a speech is to engage the audience and persuade them to think or act in your favour. The introduction must effectively include: 

• A brief preview of your topic. 
• Define the outlines of your speech. (For example, I’ll be talking about…First..Second…Third)
• Begin with a story, quote, fact, joke, or observation in the room. It shouldn’t be longer than 3-4 lines. (For Example: “Mahatma Gandhi said once…”, or “This topic reminds me of an incident/story…”)

This part is also important because that’s when your audience decides if the speech is worth their time. Keep your introduction factual, interesting, and convincing.

It is the most important part of any speech. You should provide a number of reasons and arguments to convince the audience to agree with you.

Handling objections is an important aspect of speech composition. There is no time for questions or concerns since a speech is a monologue. Any concerns that may occur during the speech will be addressed by a powerful speech. As a result, you’ll be able to respond to questions as they come in from the crowd. To make speech simpler you can prepare a flow chart of the details in a systematic way.

For example: If your speech is about waste management; distribute information and arrange it according to subparagraphs for your reference. It could include:

• What is Waste Management?
• Major techniques used to manage waste
• Advantages of Waste Management  
• Importance of Waste Management 

The conclusion should be something that the audience takes with them. It could be a reminder, a collective call to action, a summary of your speech, or a story. For example: “It is upon us to choose the fate of our home, the earth by choosing to begin waste management at our personal spaces.”

After concluding, add a few lines of gratitude to the audience for their time.

For example: “Thank you for being a wonderful audience and lending me your time. Hope this speech gave you something to take away.”

Practice Your Speech Writing with these English Speech topics for students !

A good speech is well-timed, informative, and thought-provoking. Here are the tips for writing a good school speech:

Speech Sandwich of Public Speaking

The introduction and conclusion must be crisp. People psychologically follow the primacy effect (tendency to remember the first part of the list/speech) and recency effect (tendency to recall the last part of the list/speech). 

Use Concrete Facts

Make sure you thoroughly research your topic. Including facts appeals to the audience and makes your speech stronger. How much waste is managed? Give names of organisations and provide numerical data in one line.

Use Rhetorical Strategies and Humour

Include one or two open-ended or thought-provoking questions.  For Example: “Would we want our future generation to face trouble due to global warming?” Also, make good use of humour and convenient jokes that engages your audience and keeps them listening.

Check Out: Message Writing

Know your Audience and Plan Accordingly

This is essential before writing your speech. To whom is it directed? The categorised audience on the basis of –

• Knowledge of the Topic (familiar or unfamiliar)

Use the information to formulate the speech accordingly, use information that they will understand, and a sentence that they can retain.

Timing Yourself is Important

An important aspect of your speech is to time yourself.  Don’t write a speech that exceeds your word limit. Here’s how can decide the right timing for your speech writing:

• A one-minute speech roughly requires around 130-150 words
• A two-minute speech requires roughly around 250-300 words

Recommended Read: Letter Writing

Speech Writing Examples

Here are some examples to help you understand how to write a good speech. Read these to prepare for your next speech:

Write a speech to be delivered in the school assembly as Rahul/ Rubaina of Delhi Public School emphasises the importance of cleanliness, implying that the level of cleanliness represents the character of its residents. (150-200 words)

“Cleanliness is next to godliness,” said the great John Wesley. Hello, respected principal, instructors, and good friends. Today, I, Rahul/Rubaina, stand in front of you all to emphasise the significance of cleanliness.

Cleanliness is the condition or attribute of being or remaining clean. Everyone must learn about cleaning, hygiene, sanitation, and the different diseases that are produced by unsanitary circumstances. It is essential for physical well-being and the maintenance of a healthy atmosphere at home and at school. A filthy atmosphere invites a large number of mosquitos to grow and spread dangerous diseases. On the other side, poor personal cleanliness causes a variety of skin disorders as well as lowered immunity.

Habits formed at a young age become ingrained in one’s personality. Even if we teach our children to wash their hands before and after meals, brush their teeth and bathe on a regular basis, we are unconcerned about keeping public places clean. On October 2, 2014, the Indian Prime Minister began the “Swachh Bharat” programme to offer sanitation amenities to every family, including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village cleanliness, and safe and appropriate drinking water supplies. Teachers and children in schools are actively participating in the ‘Clean India Campaign’ with zeal and excitement.

Good health ensures a healthy mind, which leads to better overall productivity, higher living standards, and economic development. It will improve India’s international standing. As a result, a clean environment is a green environment with fewer illnesses. Thus, cleanliness is defined as a symbol of mental purity.

Thank you very much.

Relevant Read: Speech on Corruption

You are Sahil/Sanya, the school’s Head Girl/Head Boy. You are greatly troubled by the increasing instances of aggressive behaviour among your students. You decide to speak about it during the morning assembly. Create a speech about “School Discipline.” (150 – 200 words)

INDISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS,

It has been reported that the frequency of fights and incidences of bullying in our school has increased dramatically in the previous several months. Good morning to everyone present. Today, I, Sahil/Sanya, your head boy/girl, am here to shed light on the serious topic of “Increased Indiscipline in Schools.”

It has come to light that instructor disobedience, bullying, confrontations with students, truancy, and insults are becoming more widespread. Furthermore, there have been reports of parents noticing a shift in their children’s attitudes. As a result, many children are suffering emotionally, psychologically, and physically. The impact of this mindset on children at a young age is devastating and irreversible.

Not to mention the harm done to the school’s property. Theft of chalk, scribbling on desks, walls and lavatory doors, destruction of CCTV cameras and so forth. We are merely depriving ourselves of the comforts granted to us by doing so.

Following numerous meetings, it was determined that the main reasons for the problem were a lack of sufficient guidance, excessive use of social media, and peer pressure. The council is working to make things better. Everyone is required to take life skills classes. Counselling, motivating, and instilling friendly ideals will be part of the curriculum. Seminars for parents and students will be held on a regular basis.

A counsellor is being made available to help you all discuss your sentiments, grudges, and personal problems. We are doing everything we can and expect you to do the same.

So, let us work together to create an environment in which we encourage, motivate, assist, and be nice to one another because we are good and civilised humans capable of a great deal of love.

Relevant Read: How to Write a Speech on Discipline?

The current increase in incidences of violent student misbehaviour is cause for alarm for everyone. Students who learn how to manage their anger can help to alleviate the situation. Write a 150-200-word speech about the topic to be delivered at the school’s morning assembly. (10)

HOW TO CONTROL ANGER

Honourable Principal, Respected Teachers, and Dear Friends, I’d like to share a few “Ways to Manage Anger” with you today.

The growing intolerance among the younger generation, which is resulting in violence against teachers, is cause for severe concern. The guru-shishya parampara is losing its lustre. Aggressive behaviour in students can be provoked by a variety of factors, including self-defence, stressful circumstance, over-stimulation, or a lack of adult supervision.

It has become imperative to address the situation. Life skills workshops will be included in the curriculum. Teachers should be trained to deal with such stubborn and confrontational behaviours. Meditation and deep breathing are very beneficial and should be practised every morning. Students should be taught to count to ten before reacting angrily. Sessions on anger control and its importance must also be held.

Remember that Anger is one letter away from danger. It becomes much more crucial to be able to control one’s rage. It’s never too late to start, as a wise man once said.

“Every minute you stay angry, you lose sixty seconds of peace of mind.”

Relevant Read: English Speech Topics for Students

Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have A Dream’ is one of his most famous speeches. Its impact has lasted through generations. The speech is written by utilising the techniques above. Here are some examples:

“still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” – emotive Language

“In a sense, we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check” – personalising the speech

“to stand up for freedom together” – a call to action.

Importantly, this is an example of how the listener comes first while drafting a speech. The language chosen appeals to a specific sort of audience and was widely utilised in 1963 when the speech was delivered.

• The Best Day of My Life
• Social Media: Bane or Boon?
• Pros and Cons of Online Learning
• Benefits of Yoga
• If I had a Superpower
• I wish I were ______
• Environment Conservation
• Women Should Rule the World!
• The Best Lesson I Have Learned
• Paperbacks vs E-books
• How to Tackle a Bad Habit?
• My Favorite Pastime/Hobby
• Understanding Feminism
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Is it real or not?
• Importance of Reading
• Importance of Books in Our Life
• My Favorite Fictional Character
• Introverts vs Extroverts
• Lessons to Learn from Sports
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Also Read: How to Ace IELTS Writing Section?

Ans. Speech writing is the process of communicating a notion or message to a reader by employing proper punctuation and expression. Speech writing is similar to other types of narrative writing. However, students should be aware of some different punctuation and writing structure techniques.

Ans. Before beginning with the speech, choose an important topic. Create an outline; rehearse your speech, and adjust the outline based on comments from the rehearsal. This five-step strategy for speech planning serves as the foundation for both lessons and learning activities.

Ans. Writing down a speech is vital since it helps you better comprehend the issue, organises your thoughts, prevents errors in your speech, allows you to get more comfortable with it, and improves its overall quality.

Speech writing and public speaking are effective and influential. Hope this blog helped you know the various tips for writing the speech people would want to hear. If you need help in making the right career choices at any phase of your academic and professional journey, our Leverage Edu experts are here to guide you. Sign up for a free session now!

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How to Give an Award Acceptance Speech (With Examples)

• The Speaker Lab
• May 9, 2024

Table of Contents

If you’ve recently won an award — congratulations! There’s a good chance that a lot of hard work and blood, sweat, and tears went into the recognition you’re about to receive. Now, your biggest task is nailing the perfect award acceptance speed. After all, it’s important to show gratitude for the honor while also ensuring that your words will touch hearts and minds and hopefully inspire others to follow in your footsteps. But have no fear — we’re here to help.

From heartfelt gratitude to powerful storytelling, these examples showcase the key elements that make an acceptance speech unforgettable. No matter whether you’re leading a company, launching startups, writing books, teaching students, coaching teams, or giving advice as a consultant—there’s plenty for you to learn when it comes to crafting the perfect acceptance speech.

How to Give A Pitch-Perfect Award Acceptance Speech

Your award is a huge accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. But before you start popping the champagne, there’s one more thing you need to do: prepare your acceptance speech.

While you could just say thanks and be done with it, doing so is a disservice to those who helped you get where you are. After all, an acceptance speech is so much more than just a simple thank you. It’s an opportunity to not just express your genuine gratitude, but also to acknowledge why the award is important and share the glory with those who helped you along the way.

Express Genuine Gratitude and Emotion

First and foremost, an acceptance speech is a chance to express your heartfelt appreciation for the honor you’ve received. This isn’t the time to be modest or downplay your achievements. Let your emotions shine through and show how much the award means to you.

Take a cue from Sandra Bullock’s acceptance speech at the 2010 Oscars. She was visibly moved as she thanked her mother, Helga B., along with all “the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from.”

Acknowledge Why It Is Important

Beyond expressing gratitude, your acceptance speech should also acknowledge why the award is significant. What does it represent? Explain how the award is a reflection of your personal principles or highlights where you would like make changes professionally.

For example, when Malala Yousafzai accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, she used her acceptance speech to highlight the importance of education and the ongoing fight for women’s rights. “This award is not just for me,” she said. “It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”

Share the Glory

Finally, a great acceptance speech shares the spotlight with those who helped make your success possible. This could be your family, your team, your mentors, or even your fans.

When Taylor Swift won Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammys, she made sure to thank her collaborators and supporters. “I want to thank the fans for the last ten years and the recording academy for giving us this unbelievable honor,” she said. “I want to thank all of my collaborators that you see on this stage.”

So as you’re crafting your own award acceptance speech, remember to express genuine gratitude, acknowledge the significance of the honor, and share the glory with those who helped you along the way. With these elements in place, you’ll deliver a speech that not only thanks the right people but inspires and uplifts your audience as well.

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Writing Your Acceptance Speech

You’ve just been honored with a prestigious award and now it’s time to give your acceptance speech. It’s crunch time to create a moment that sticks and sparks motivation in everyone. But where do you even begin?

Crafting an excellent award acceptance speech takes some planning and preparation. You want to strike the right tone, share a meaningful message, and of course, express your heartfelt gratitude. Let’s walk through crafting an acceptance speech that’ll definitely make a mark.

Brainstorm Ideas

Before you start jotting down your speech, take some time to reflect on what this award means to you. Why is it significant? What does it represent in terms of your journey, your values, or your aspirations? Brainstorm some key themes or stories you might want to touch on.

In addition, ask yourself: “What challenges did you overcome? Who helped you along the way? What lessons did you learn? What impact do you hope to make with this recognition?” Your answers to these questions will form the bulk of your acceptance speech.

Write Your Speech

With your brainstorming done, it’s time to start putting pen to paper. Begin with a strong opening line that will grab your audience’s attention. You might share a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or even a touch of humor.

As you write the body of your speech, keep in mind the time constraint you’re working with. Most acceptance speeches are fairly short, so you’ll need to be selective about what you include. Focus on a few key points or anecdotes that support your central theme.

Be Specific in Your Speech

When it comes to expressing your gratitude, it’s important to be specific. Don’t just rattle off a generic list of thank-yous. Take the time to acknowledge the individuals or organizations that have played a significant role in your success.

For example, in her Golden Globes acceptance speech , Oprah Winfrey specifically thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as well as several other key individuals by name.

The Power of Storytelling in Your Acceptance Speech

One of the most effective ways to make your acceptance speech memorable is by incorporating storytelling. Share a personal anecdote or experience that relates to your journey or the significance of the award.

Again, consider Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes acceptance speech. In it, she opens with a story from her childhood, when she sat on the floor watching Sidney Poitier become the first African American to ever win a Golden Globe. As she states in her speech, “I have tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl…and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award.” With the power of storytelling, Winfrey highlights the men and women who have sought truth and justice no matter the personal cost.

As you craft your award acceptance speech, remember to brainstorm ideas, be specific in your gratitude, and harness the power of storytelling. Remember, just like the acceptance speech examples we’ve looked at, your words have the power to touch hearts and spark change in those listening.

Preparing to Deliver Your Speech

You’ve written a fantastic award acceptance speech, filled with heartfelt gratitude and inspiring stories. Now, it’s showtime. However, public speaking can be nerve-wracking, even for the most seasoned professionals. That’s why the key to a successful speech delivery is preparation. You want to be confident, polished, and engaging when you step up to the podium. Here are some tips to help you get ready for your big moment.

Rehearsing Your Speech

One of the best ways to calm your nerves and boost your confidence is by practicing your speech beforehand. Read it out loud several times, paying attention to your pacing, tone, body language , and emphasis. Consider practicing in front of a mirror or recording yourself so you can see and hear how you come across. In addition, grabbing a buddy or work pal to listen in can provide you feedback for improvement. Remember, the more familiar you are with your speech, the more natural and effortless it will feel when you deliver it for real.

Making Your Speech Memorable

When it comes to making your speech memorable, it’s all about connecting with your audience. Use eye contact, facial expressions, and gestures to engage them and convey your emotions.

You might also consider incorporating a memorable phrase or tagline that encapsulates your message. For example, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. repeated the phrase “I have a dream” eight times, driving home his vision for a more just and equal society.

Respecting the Audience and the Clock

When delivering your acceptance speech, it’s important to be mindful of your audience and the time allotted. Express your gratitude sincerely, but avoid gushing or going overboard with your thank-yous. Similarly, respect the time limit you’ve been given. A short award acceptance speech is often more impactful than a long, rambling one. Aim to deliver your message concisely and powerfully, leaving your audience wanting more.

As you prepare to deliver your award acceptance speech, remember to rehearse thoroughly, focus on making it memorable, and respect your audience and the clock. With this game plan ready, stepping up to speak will feel a lot less daunting.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in an Acceptance Speech

As you’ve seen from the examples above, a great award acceptance speech has the power to move and inspire an audience. But what goes into crafting and delivering a truly impactful speech? Here are a few final tips to keep in mind as you prepare for your big moment.

General Guidelines

While it’s important to express your gratitude and share your story, there are a few common pitfalls to avoid in your acceptance speech:

• Don’t ramble or go off-topic. Stay focused on your central message.
• Avoid clichés or generic platitudes. Be specific and authentic in your language.
• Don’t forget to thank the important people, but keep your list of thank-yous concise.
• Avoid inside jokes or references that may not resonate with your entire audience.

By steering clear of these pitfalls, you’ll ensure that your speech is clear, meaningful, and memorable.

Avoid Going Overboard with Emotions in Your Speech

When that award is finally in your hands, feeling a rush of emotions isn’t just common; it’s expected. This is particularly true if the honor marks a major highlight in either your work or personal journey. However, it’s important to strike a balance between showing genuine emotion and maintaining your composure.

While a few tears or a quavering voice can be powerful, going overboard with your emotions may distract from your message or make your audience uncomfortable. Aim to express your feelings in a way that is authentic but still allows you to deliver your speech effectively.

Remember, your award acceptance speech is an opportunity to share your gratitude, your story, and your vision with the world. By avoiding common pitfalls and finding the right emotional balance, you’ll be able to deliver a speech that truly resonates with your audience and leaves a lasting impact.

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Examples of Inspiring Award Acceptance Speeches

Need some inspiration as you craft your own award acceptance speech? Look no further than these powerful examples from some of the world’s most influential figures.

Literature Award Acceptance Speech Example

In his 1962 Nobel Prize acceptance speech , writer John Steinbeck used the opportunity to discuss the purpose of literature. He says, “[A writer] is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement.”

Best Actress Award Acceptance Speech Example

When Emma Stone won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2024 ,  she used her speech to pay tribute to her fellow actors and the power of cinema. “It’s not about me,” she said. “It’s about a team that came together to make something better than the sum of its parts. And that’s the best part about making movies.”

Distinguished Service Award Acceptance Speech Example

In her acceptance speech for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award , Angelina Jolie spoke about the importance of giving back and making a difference in the world. “I have never understood why some people are lucky enough to be born with the chance that I had,” she said, “to have this path in life and why across the world, there’s a woman just like me, the same abilities, the same desires, same work ethic and love for her family, who would most likely make better films and better speeches—only she sits in a refugee camp.”

These are just a few examples of the many inspiring award acceptance speeches out there. When the spotlight hits you for advancing science, creating art masterpieces, or bettering lives, that moment is more than just applause—it’s a platform. Use it wisely; light a fire under others to follow suit and make waves of their own.

FAQs on Award Acceptance Speeches

What do you say in an acceptance speech.

Start by thanking the giver, mention key people who helped along the way, and highlight what this award means to you.

What is an example short award acceptance speech?

“Thank you to everyone who played a part in this award. This honor isn’t just mine; it belongs to all who stood by me. Let’s keep pushing forward.”

How do you format an acceptance speech?

Kick off with thanks, weave in personal stories or a nod to your team, then wrap up on a hopeful note.

What do you say when accepting an award at work?

Acknowledge the recognition with gratitude, shout out those who supported you, and express excitement for future challenges and opportunities.

Crafting an impactful acceptance speech is an art that requires genuine emotion, storytelling, and a touch of inspiration. Through these examples of amazing award acceptance speeches, we’ve shared some great tips on how to say thanks, share your story, and make an impact on your audience.

Remember, your big moment with that microphone isn’t just for saying thanks for the trophy. It’s also about shouting out those that helped you get there and inspiring anyone listening to follow their own path towards success. So, when it’s your turn to shine, make sure you give a speech that’ll stick in people’s minds for years.

• Last Updated: May 8, 2024

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