14 min
Spellbinding Speech Endings The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show
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- Management
It is rare to see a presentation completed well, be it inside the organization, to the client or to a larger audience. The energy often quickly drops away, the voice just fades right out and there is no clear signal that this is the end. The audience is unsure whether to applaud or if there is more coming. Everyone is stuck in limbo wondering what to do next. The narrative arc seems to go missing in action at the final stage and the subsequent silence becomes strained. It sometimes reminds me of classical music performances, when I am not sure if this is the time to applaud or not.
First and last impressions are critical in business and in life, so why leave these to random chance? We need to strategise how we will end, how we will ensure our key messages linger in the minds of the listeners and how we will have the audience firmly enthralled, as our permanent fan base.
Endings are critical pieces of the presentation puzzle and usually that means two endings not just one. These days, it is rare that we don’t go straight into some form of Q&A session, once the main body of the talk has been completed. So we need an ending for the presentation just given and we need another ending after the Q&A. Why the second one, why not just let it end with the final question?
The pro never lets that happen. Even the most knee quivering, voice choking, collar perspiration drenched, meltdown of a speaker is in 100% control while they have the floor. The audience usually let’s them speak without denunciation or persistent interruption. Life changes though once we throw the floor open to take questions. At that point speaker control is out the window and the street fight begins. Now most Japanese audiences don’t go after the speaker, they are too reserved and polite. Western audiences are less docile and big bosses ask difficult and potentially embarrassing questions.
When we get to the Q&A, the members of the audience are able to ask rude, indignant questions, challenging everything you hold to be true. They can denounce you as a charlatan, scoundrel, dilettante and unabashed poseur. Sometimes, they even launch forth into their own mini-speech, usually unrelated to whatever it was you were talking about. Or they move the conversation off to a new place, which has nothing to do with your keynote content. Suddenly your message is lost.
The original topic of your talk is now a distant memory. That is why the pros ensure they bring it all back together with a final close to the proceedings. Let the masses wander hither and thither with their questions, the pro never worries. After the last question is done, the last word is now with the speaker, not some provocateur who happened to turn up to the event. Surprisingly, many speakers don’t claim this right and allow the last question from the audience member to set the tone for the whole proceedings. Don’t ever let that happen.
There are a number of ways of bringing the speech home. In the first close, before the Q&A, we might harken back to something we said in our opening, to neatly tie the beginning and end together. Or we might restate the key messages we wish to get across. Another alternative is a summary of the key points to refresh everyone’s recollection of what we were saying. We might end with a memorable story that will linger in the minds of the audience, that encapsulates all that we wanted to say. Storytelling is such a powerful medium for increasing the memory of what has been said, you would expect more speakers would use it.
When we do this wrap-up, we should be picking out key words to emphasise, either by ramping our vocal power up or taking it down in strength to differentiate from the rest of what we are saying. Speaking with the same vocal power throughout just equates the messages together. The messaging is not clear enough and makes it hard for the audience to buy what we are selling, Bland doe
It is rare to see a presentation completed well, be it inside the organization, to the client or to a larger audience. The energy often quickly drops away, the voice just fades right out and there is no clear signal that this is the end. The audience is unsure whether to applaud or if there is more coming. Everyone is stuck in limbo wondering what to do next. The narrative arc seems to go missing in action at the final stage and the subsequent silence becomes strained. It sometimes reminds me of classical music performances, when I am not sure if this is the time to applaud or not.
First and last impressions are critical in business and in life, so why leave these to random chance? We need to strategise how we will end, how we will ensure our key messages linger in the minds of the listeners and how we will have the audience firmly enthralled, as our permanent fan base.
Endings are critical pieces of the presentation puzzle and usually that means two endings not just one. These days, it is rare that we don’t go straight into some form of Q&A session, once the main body of the talk has been completed. So we need an ending for the presentation just given and we need another ending after the Q&A. Why the second one, why not just let it end with the final question?
The pro never lets that happen. Even the most knee quivering, voice choking, collar perspiration drenched, meltdown of a speaker is in 100% control while they have the floor. The audience usually let’s them speak without denunciation or persistent interruption. Life changes though once we throw the floor open to take questions. At that point speaker control is out the window and the street fight begins. Now most Japanese audiences don’t go after the speaker, they are too reserved and polite. Western audiences are less docile and big bosses ask difficult and potentially embarrassing questions.
When we get to the Q&A, the members of the audience are able to ask rude, indignant questions, challenging everything you hold to be true. They can denounce you as a charlatan, scoundrel, dilettante and unabashed poseur. Sometimes, they even launch forth into their own mini-speech, usually unrelated to whatever it was you were talking about. Or they move the conversation off to a new place, which has nothing to do with your keynote content. Suddenly your message is lost.
The original topic of your talk is now a distant memory. That is why the pros ensure they bring it all back together with a final close to the proceedings. Let the masses wander hither and thither with their questions, the pro never worries. After the last question is done, the last word is now with the speaker, not some provocateur who happened to turn up to the event. Surprisingly, many speakers don’t claim this right and allow the last question from the audience member to set the tone for the whole proceedings. Don’t ever let that happen.
There are a number of ways of bringing the speech home. In the first close, before the Q&A, we might harken back to something we said in our opening, to neatly tie the beginning and end together. Or we might restate the key messages we wish to get across. Another alternative is a summary of the key points to refresh everyone’s recollection of what we were saying. We might end with a memorable story that will linger in the minds of the audience, that encapsulates all that we wanted to say. Storytelling is such a powerful medium for increasing the memory of what has been said, you would expect more speakers would use it.
When we do this wrap-up, we should be picking out key words to emphasise, either by ramping our vocal power up or taking it down in strength to differentiate from the rest of what we are saying. Speaking with the same vocal power throughout just equates the messages together. The messaging is not clear enough and makes it hard for the audience to buy what we are selling, Bland doe
14 min