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How to Close Your Presentation in English Powerfully

May 9, 2018 | Business Professional English , Presentations in English

What to Include in the Conclusion of Your Presentation in English

This lesson has been updated from its original posting in 2016.

You’re giving your presentation in English. You have just two minutes left. And it’s time for the conclusion …

Did you know most people only remember the first and last things you tell them? It’s true.

If you are giving a presentation in English, then you definitely want people to remember what you say at the end. And this means your closing must be powerful!

You’ve worked hard on your presentation. You searched for information online. You couldn’t sleep at night. You felt nervous about making mistakes. You spent hours preparing. You reviewed the grammar and vocabulary. You worried about someone asking a question. You practiced and practiced and practiced.

And now it’s the last two minutes. This is the last opportunity for your audience to hear your key points. It is the last chance you have to help your audience remember your comments.

A closing in a presentation should be short and clear. It should summarize your key points. And, most importantly, it should be powerful.

In today’s lesson, you’re going to learn about 3 ways to make your closing more powerful. Plus you’ll learn useful key expressions you can use in your presentation.

3 steps to a powerful closing in your presentation.

Lesson by Annemarie

3 Strategies to Close Your Presentation Powerfully

Use these 3 strategies in your conclusion to:

One: Include a Call to Action (CTA)

Is there something you want your audience to do or think after your presentation. Do you want them to take action? Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do with a Call to Action.

Here’s my example:

“ After you finish today’s lesson, please take 2 minutes to leave a comment about your experience with presentations. You can share your thoughts or ask questions in the comments section at the bottom of this lesson – it’s the perfect place to join a discussion on this topic.”

A couple useful expressions to help you introduce your CTA is:

Two: End with a Powerful/Inspirational Quote

Is there one thing you really want your audience to remember? Or is there a specific feeling you want your audience to have after your presentation?

Using a powerful quote can help you do that. You could introduce a great quote or interesting statistic with:

Here are some example quotes that might help people be prepared to take action or to think differently. But remember! Always match the quote or statistic to your topic:

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Three: Add a Surprising Fact or Statistic

Is there something you’d love for your audience to think about after your presentation? Is there a statistic or fact that will help someone remember your key points?

A surprising fact can also help re-engage your audience, it will snap their attention back to you.

For example:

Did you know that the human brain’s capacity is limitless – that’s great new right? BUT … did you also know that a person is likely to remember only 25% of a presentation after 24 hours?

Uh oh. That is why it’s SO important to have a powerful ending! Remember: the key is to find a statistic or fact that connects directly to your topic.

Useful Language to Close Your Presentation

Summarize Your Key Points & Close Your Presentation

Thank Your Audience

Take Questions

Provide Next Steps or Contact Information

Get the complete Presentations in English Series:

Part 1: How to Prepare for Your Presentation in English

Part 2: How to Start with a Great Introduction in Your Presentation

Part 3: How to Organize Your Presentation in English

Part 4: How to End Your Presentation Powerfully

After you’ve watched the video and reviewed the lesson, I’d love to hear from you!

Tell me about the best presentation you ever heard. Who gave the presentation? And why do you remember it? Share what you remember in the comments section below.

And for the bonus question!! Have you given a presentation in English? What tips or advice would you like to share with others? You can add your advice in the comments section.

Thank you so much for joining me!

~ Annemarie

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This helped a lot. Thank you so much <3

I accidentally found your page while working on my English video presentation. It’s really helpful. Thanks soooo much 🙂

I’m very glad to know it was helpful!

Hi! I found your page very insightful. Thank you very much!

I’m glad to hear it!

great video series. thank you so much. you mentioned that you had a downloadable checklist in the final video. where could I find this thanks?

Hi Ellie, I’m glad the series was helpful.

When you visit the lesson, there should be an image that pops up with an opportunity to get the download. If you don’t see it, please let me know so I can fix it.

Helped a lot! Thank you very much <33

thank you so much

I love your method

Hello, I have a 5 minute oral presentation of a fictional book, w/the main focus on the leadership traits of the characters. I enjoyed the book, and suspect others might, so to that end, is it OK to NOT share the ending? Thank you

Thanks for your help 🙂

Great website. I found a typo in on the presentation closings page “Useful Langauge to Close Your Presentation”.

Good eyes! Thanks so much for the note. We’ve fixed the typo.

Dear Annemarie, thank you so much for sharing.

Dear Annemarie, thank you so much for sharing. I learned so much from your 4 videos and I will work on improving my presentation skills. Love your spirit of excellence. For me as a presenter, its important i am passionate about the topic i share and audience will be able to apply some of the learnings in their life. Thank you Annemarie. I love your voice too. Stay blessed.

I watch continuously watched ur 4 videos and U r a great teacher.Thanks for making such purposeful videos.

I am so happy , I have more form you thank you very much

You are absolutely wonderful and your website is extremely useful and also quit impressive i habe my english A-levels in December i copied this text i sinisterly appreciate that i have had this opportunity to present to you and i also add something * it was a honor for me so thank you ☺️

Thanks, Jasmin! I’m so glad to know my lessons are helpful to you.

hey Annemarie could you help me in ending my presentation on mental health. it is a school presentation for MUN

If you’d like editing help, please see our options for 1:1 classes .

You are my favorite speaker. ☺

Hi Anna, that’s so kind of you. Thank you. 🙂

It’s so useful to us…… I’m so happy by this

I’m glad it was helpful to you, Kalpana.

I was holistically stuck about how to give my first ever presentation, but this gave me an impetus and confidence. Thanks a lot for this exquisite info

Awesome. I’m glad this helped you to move forward.

Thank YOU for tour tips. They are really inspiring. I Will try to put them into practise.

Hi Nancy, Wonderful! I’m glad they’re helpful to you!

It’s so useful to us…… I’m so happy by this

do you have Presentation course

Hi Hammad, I don’t at this time but it’s definitely something I’m thinking about.

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6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style (& Tools to Use)

Written by: Ashish Arora

Looking for ways to end your presentation with style?

Here are some ways to achieve that:

In this article, we'll take a look at six different ways to close a presentation or speech, along with examples. Let’s see them in more detail.

6 Ways to Close Your Presentation With Style

There’s no question grabbing your audience’s attention at the very beginning of your presentation is important. But how you end can make all the difference in your presentation’s overall impact.

Here are some ways to ensure you end powerfully:

Way #1: Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

Way #2: Don't End With a Q&A

Way #3: End With a Memorable Quote

Way #4: Close With a Story

Way #5: Drive Your Main Points Home

Way #6: Thank and Acknowledge

how to end a presentation visme infographic

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1. Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

If you’re a business owner, the primary purpose of your presentation is to inspire the audience to action. Don’t assume they will take it, move them to it.

Use powerful words that are definitive and instructional. Calls-to-action like “Begin the journey” or “Join the fight” are to-the-point and let the audience know what to do.

2. Don’t End with a Q&A

You’ve just spent 20-30 minutes wowing your audience and now you’re going to let your presentation fizzle out with a Q&A? Beyond the fact that you are never in full control of what questions you will be asked, Q&As are just not memorable.

So how do you end a presentation with a bang? It is better to take questions throughout the presentation. This way the questions asked are relevant to the particular information being shared and you can ensure your audience is keeping up with you.

If you have been forced to structure your presentation so that questions are taken at the end, make sure to allow yourself a minute or two after the Q&A. Use this time to close the presentation with your final takeaways and messages of inspiration.

3. End with a Memorable Quote

Sometimes, if you can’t find the perfect words to end with, use someone else’s words.

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” –Charles Swindoll

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” –John Lennon

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” –Steve Jobs

These are pretty powerful words, no? Use quotes like these when you wrap up your presentation, or add them in your final slide to leave a strong impression.

4. Close with a Story

If opening with a compelling story works, there’s a very good chance that closing with one will as well. While a story at the beginning was an effective lead-in to your message, a story at the end can creatively sum up the information you have shared.

A word of caution: don’t end with a case study. Many business owners do this. Case studies are great for the middle of your presentation. But for the conclusion, you want a meaningful story that affects your audience emotionally and causes them to remember your message for a long, long time.

5. Drive Your Main Points Home

Your audience will appreciate some form of summation at the end that will act as a linear representation of what they’ve just heard. There is a simple summary formula that many professional speakers use:

You can simply say something like, “Before I leave you with my final thoughts about XYZ, let me briefly restate my main takeaways…” Don’t just list your key points but show the audience how each links to the other points.

Giving a successful presentation takes a lot of work and commitment. By creating a powerful opening and closing, you will ensure that your message is not only fully received but impactful as well.

6. Thank and Acknowledge

If you're finding it hard to signal to your audience that your presentation has ended and it's time to applaud, thanking them can be a great way to do so.

At the end of your presentation, you can also acknowledge any companies or people who helped you put together your presentation, such as a website you used as a data source.

Tools to Help You Create a Presentation

Now that you know how to end a presentation effectively, let's find out how you can create one that speaks for itself.

A well-designed slide deck can not only help you better convey your message, it can also make you feel more confident about your presentation.

Here are four tools you can use to create stunning and effective presentations.

Visme is an all-in-one content creation tool that also lets you create stunning presentations using 1,000+ premade slides and templates.

The drag-and-drop presentation maker lets you fully customize each slide by changing colors and fonts, uploading your own brand assets, adding free visual images, creating charts and graphs , and more.

You can get started at zero cost with our free presentation software , or upgrade to a Business plan to access team collaboration and brand management features.

The master of non-linear presentations, Prezi, lets you create slide decks that are bound to stand out from others.

While the learning curve of Prezi can be steep for some people, it's worth it if you're looking to get creative with your presentations.

3. Slidebean

If the most important thing to you when making a presentation is saving time, Slidebean might be a great fit.

The best thing about this tool is it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you create stunning layouts for your content.

Slidebean is ideal if you're not looking for extensive customizability; just ease of use and time-saving features like templates and content blocks.

4. Google Slides

Sometimes, the most basic tools are enough for creating a great presentation, especially if the industry you're operating in requires simplicity and seriousness.

The best part about Google Slides is that you can use it from anywhere and from any device. For example you can create your entire presentation on your phone using the mobile application.

Presentations made in Google Slides can also be opened with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote, which makes it quite a versatile tool.

Bonus 1: How to Start a Presentation

According to bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell, in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking , "Snap judgments are ... enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience."

In other words: first impressions are real, and they happen really quickly. Think about those presentations you have sat in the audience for.

How quickly did you sum a presenter up when they took the stage? Did you judge them on their posture? What they were wearing? How they addressed the audience? What their voice sounded like?

Most likely, you took all of these factors into account and quickly decided whether you were going to give them your full attention or think about what you should make for dinner.

As a presenter, you must understand that your audience members will make a snap decision about you within the first few moments after taking that stage. Your job at the very beginning of your presentation is to grab their attention.

Here are some ways you can start your presentation strong.

how to start a presentation visme infographic

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1. Make a Bold Claim

Imagine being in the audience when a presenter opens his mouth and the first words out are, “When I’ve finished here today, you will have the knowledge to increase your revenue by 200% this year.” Um… would you sit forward in your chair and listen to every single word? You bet you would!

You have been asked to speak because you are an expert in your field and have valuable information to share. So why be shy about it? Start your presentation with a bold claim, and then overdeliver.

2. Give Them the Unexpected

Another powerful way to grab attention right up top is to contradict audience expectations. Some people refer to this as "applied unpredictability principle."

Giving people what they expect is not very exciting. Imagine a roller coaster that had no sudden drops or turns. It wouldn’t thrill you. Well the same can be said for presentations. The unexpected hooks the audience instantly.

Here’s an example. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting , starts off her presentation by scanning the audience and then saying, “Okay, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar! Also the person to your left is a liar.”

Well, the audience laughs, getting her intended joke, but you can tell that this unexpected statement has hooked them, and they are ready to give their full attention.

3. Pique Curiosity

Humans like to have their curiosity piqued. We love the feeling of being presented with information that makes us curious and wonder about something. Research actually shows that curiosity prepares our brain to learn something new. How does it do this?

Well, when we are curious about something, we give that something our full attention. We look for clues and assess situations. This is how we operate and it’s how our ancestors stayed alive.

If you want to grab the audience’s attention right off the bat, ask a question or pose an idea that piques their curiosity. You’ll see many Ted Talk presenters do this by “confessing” they have to share a secret or an apology.

Speaker Dan Pink does this in his famous T e d Talk when he says:

“I need to make a confession, at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I am not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wished no one would ever know, but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school.”

The minute someone says they have something to confess, we HAVE to know what it is, and so we are forced to pay attention.

4. Ask Questions

This technique is an oldie but a goodie. By posing a thoughtful question to your audience, their brain is forced to THINK about the answer. You have engaged them from second one. The key is to make the question one that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but rather one that plants the seed of an idea.

“What scares you the most?”

“How do human beings constantly reach goals we all believe can never be reached?”

“When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel powerful?”

5. Tell a Story

“When I was nine, I met a homeless man who said he could see my entire future. He told me that when I turned 12, I would die. And I did.”

Okay, I am FULLY listening.

Stories are powerful. The human brain seems to have been wired to listen to stories. No matter how old we get, when someone starts to tell us a story, we instantly become 5-years-old, wide-eyed, ready to go on an adventure.

The story you tell can be personal or professional, just make sure it ties into your overall message.

Bonus 2: Top Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

If we’re going to discuss a presentation success formula, we’ve got to first tackle some of the biggest public speaking mistakes that guarantee your presentation is unsuccessful. Are you guilty of any of these?

top common mistakes make in presentations infographic visme

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1. not being prepared.

We’ve all seen those presenters who make it look so effortless. Steve Jobs was like that. He seemed to glide onto the stage, open his mouth and instantly captivate everyone.

But the truth is, even Steve Jobs had to prepare.

Thoughtful preparation is essential for any level of public speaker. Doing the work ahead of time will not only help you feel and sound more confident, it will ensure you deliver the right message to the right audience.

2. Being Robotic

Beyond being comfortable with your material, you must be comfortable in your own body. Have you seen presenters who just stand in one spot and barely move at all? While they’re not very good at exciting their audience, they do have a keen knack for lulling listeners to sleep.

Granted, there may be those rare situations where, because of a lack of robust technology, you have no choice but to stand behind a podium. But even then, be sure to use gestures to punctuate your message. Gestures communicate on a level that words don’t. Don’t be flamboyant but try and use natural gestures as much as you can – you’ll seem human instead of machine-like.

And, when technology does allow you free movement, by all means move around that stage. Steve Jobs was great with using movement purposefully during his presentations.

3. Avoiding Eye Contact

We can’t talk about body language and not mention one of the biggest mistakes that many speakers make, and that is avoiding eye contact. How many presentations have you seen where the speaker spent the entire time staring at her notes or PowerPoint presentation? How did you feel? Perhaps invisible?

Meeting a person’s gaze establishes a real connection and keeps listeners engaged. If you audience is small enough, try to make eye contact with everyone at least once. If the audience is too large, do your best to scan each section of the audience, landing on a few people. This will give everyone a general impression that you are doing your best to connect.

4. Starting and Ending Weak

If there is one no-no a presenter can make, this is it.

You should think of your presentation as a delicious meal you have painstakingly prepared for your guests. What do you remember most about a great meal? If you’re like most people, you remember the appetizers and the dessert – everything in between is kind of a good-tasting blur.

When you begin and end your presentation strong, you gain the audience’s attention quickly and leave a positive and lasting impression. These are two skills that cannot be emphasized enough.

Let’s look at some of the ways you can ensure you start your presentation strong:

Ready to Level-Up Your Presentation?

Whether it's a business presentation or a motivational speech, knowing how to give a closing statement and ending your talk on a high note is important.

The last thing you say in front of a crowd can help you leave a memorable impression, whether it's a recap of your presentation content or a rhetorical question.

If you're ready to take your presentations to the next level, use Visme's presentation software to put together engaging and interactive slides.

Which of these expert tips on how to end a presentation have you tried lately or plan on using in your upcoming talk? Let us know in the comments section below.

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About the Author

Ashish Arora is the Co-Founder of SketchBubble.com , a leading provider of result-driven, professionally built presentation templates. Travelling the world to gather new creative ideas, he has been working in the digital marketing space since 2007 and has a passion for designing presentations. You can also find him on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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Having a strong presentation conclusion will leave your audience with a focused, positive view of your message and a good signal to the end is key to starting it well. Let us know of any ideas you have in the comment areas below. Want more on presenting with impact? Click here .

FOR MORE INFORMATION

This is a really important point Matt – and again it is often forgotten.

To give even more emphasis to your ending, raise / lower your voice or make a change to your voice to wake up the audience – but don’t shout!

Something like:

OK! (with a bit more volume) SO! (with a rise and then a fall in your voice) Right! (with a clap of your hands – if appropriate – and a rise in your voice)

Now your audience is awake, you can finish with a bang using one of the sentences above from Matt.

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6 Stylish ways to close your presentation

Emily Bartlett Feb 1, 2022 1:56:54 PM

All good things must come to an end, including your presentation. The way you close will affect how your audience responds and remembers.

A weak ending will leave them unenthused and uninspired, within a few hours they may even have forgotten your message.

But a strong ending will fire them up. A strong ending motivates and empowers. A strong ending encourages people to take action.

So how do you end on a high? Here are 6 tips to ensure you go out with a bang.

1. Call your audience to action

It's not enough to assume your message will inspire people to take action. You need to actually tell them to take action.

I asked Dee Clayton, motivational speaker, public speaking trainer and author of Taming Your Public Speaking Monkeys to share her insight and experience. The call-to-action is Dee's preferred method of closing a speech.

"Summing up the action you want your audience to take is a great way to finish up. To do this, it's best to use a two-pronged approach:

Dee stresses the importance of following this pattern.

Always give the negative first, followed by the positive. You'll end on a motivating high and will maximize your chances of inspiring the audience into action.

2. Refer back to the opening message

Closing a presentation with a look back at the opening message is a popular technique. It's a neat way to round off your message, whilst simultaneously summing up the entire speech.

There are a few ways to approach this technique:

Do you know who's really good at this technique? Stand up comedians. They often make jokes early in the set that they unexpectedly refer back to (in a different context) at the end.

This is known as callback comedy and it often generates the biggest laugh of the night. It's a powerful move because it creates a feeling of familiarity and camaraderie with the audience, making them feel like they're in on the joke.

3. Practice the rule of three

The rule of three is a simple yet powerful and effective method of communication. We use it in written and spoken communications all the time (did you notice I used it just then?).

The rule of three is the understanding that ideas, concepts and beliefs are more memorable and interesting when presented in threes. It's a very persuasive number, three.

Here are three excellent real-world examples of the rule of three.

First, Winston Churchill: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Now, Julius Caesar: "Veni, vidi, vici"

And Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

4. Close with a summary

"If you've already explained your content well and in an engaging way, there is no need to summarize the content again at the end," Dee Clayton says.

She's right. There are far more powerful ways to end your presentation. However, it might be necessary if your message is particularly complicated or your speech is a long one.

Summarizing content can be a little dry – both for you and your audience. Make your summary more palatable with humor, a fascinating anecdote or interesting linguistic devices (like repetition, rhyming, and the rule of three).

5. Don't end with questions

If Dee has one absolute speechwriting no-no, it's this:

"Never end with the questions. Too many people make this mistake. If you get a negative question, you've dulled the whole presentation and the audience leave on a negative note. Always do the questions before the wrap up."

Too many people end with questions and it often goes off track. This is memorable for no one. By the time you've answered a handful of semi-relevant questions, the audience have forgotten most of what you've told them.

Take questions throughout your presentation so they remain pertinent to the content.

6) Make it clear that you've finished

Nothing is more uncomfortable than the deafening silence of an audience working out if you've finished.

Your closing words should make it very clear that it's the end of the presentation. The audience should be able to read this immediately, and respond (hopefully with applause).

If the applause isn't forthcoming, stand confidently and wait. Don't fidget and certainly don't eke out a half-hearted, 'And that just about covers it. Thank you'.

Dee used her two-prong approach to explain the importance of making your ending clear:

"If you don't spend some time considering how to end your presentation, you may find yourself floundering at the end. You may wonder why few people actually action what you suggest and why there's no reassuring applause! But when you do put a bit of thought, planning and practice into your ending, you will look confident, inspire the audience into action and be able to leave the stage with your head held high."

And isn't that all we really want from our presentations?

SpeakUp resources

How to end a presentation in english: methods and examples.

By Matthew Jones

Naturally, the way you end a presentation will depend on the setting and subject matter. Are you pitching an idea to your boss? Are you participating in a group presentation at school? Or are you presenting a business idea to potential investors? No matter the context, you’ll want to have a stellar ending that satisfies your audience and reinforces your goals.

So, do you want to learn how to end a presentation with style? Wondering how to end an informative speech? Or do you want to know how to conclude a Powerpoint presentation with impact? We’re here to help you learn how to end a presentation and make a great impression!

How to End a Presentation: 3 Effective Methods

Every presentation needs a great beginning, middle, and end. In this guide, we will focus on crafting the perfect conclusion. However, if you’d like to make sure that your presentation sounds good from start to finish, you should also check out our guide on starting a presentation in English .

Though there are many ways to end a presentation, the most effective strategies focus on making a lasting impression on your audience and reinforcing your goals. So, let’s take a look at three effective ways to end a presentation:

1. Summarize the Key Takeaways

Most presenters either make an argument (i.e. they want to convince their audience to adopt their view) or present new or interesting information (i.e. they want to educate their audience). In either case, the presentation will likely consist of important facts and figures. The conclusion gives you the opportunity to reiterate the most important information to your audience.

This doesn’t mean that you should simply restate everything from your presentation a second time. Instead, you should identify the most important parts of your presentation and briefly summarize them.

2. End with a CTA (Call-To-Action)

Ending with a Call-To-Action is one of the best ways to increase audience engagement (participation) with your presentation. A CTA is simply a request or invitation to perform a specific action. This technique is frequently used in sales or marketing presentations, though it can be used in many different situations.

For example, let’s say that you’re giving an informational presentation about the importance of hygiene in the workplace. Since your goal is to educate your audience, you may think that there’s no place for a CTA.

On the contrary, informational presentations are perfect for CTA’s. Rather than simply ending your presentation, you can direct your audience to seek out more information on the subject from authorities. In this case, you might encourage listeners to learn more from an authoritative medical organization, like the World Health Organization (WHO).

3. Use a Relevant Quote

It may sound cliche, but using quotes in your closing speech is both memorable and effective. However, not just any quote will do. You should always make sure that your quote is relevant to the topic. If you’re making an argument, you might want to include a quote that either directly or indirectly reinforces your main point.

Let’s say that you’re conducting a presentation about your company’s mission statement. You might present the information with a Powerpoint presentation, in which case your last slide could include an inspirational quote. The quote can either refer to the mission statement or somehow reinforce the ideas covered in the presentation.

Formatting Your Conclusion

While these 3 strategies should give you some inspiration, they won’t help you format your conclusion. You might know that you want to end your presentation with a Call-To-Action, but how should you “start” your conclusion? How long should you make your conclusion? Finally, what are some good phrases to use for ending a presentation?<br>

Examples of a Good Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that we can increase our annual revenue this year. We can do this with a combination of increased efficiency in our production process and a more dynamic approach to lead generation. If we implement these changes, I estimate that annual revenue will increase by as much as 15%.

The example above shows a good conclusion for a business presentation. However, some people believe that the term in conclusion is overused. Here’s how to end a presentation using transition words similar to in conclusion .

Transition words help your audience know that your presentation is ending. Try starting your conclusion with one of these phrases:

To summarize

However, transition words aren’t always necessary. Here are a few good ways to end a presentation using a different approach.

As you can see, your conclusion does not need to be very long. In fact, a conclusion should be short and to the point. This way, you can effectively end your presentation without rambling or adding extraneous (irrelevant) information.

How to End a Presentation in English with Common Phrases

Finally, there are a few generic phrases that people frequently use to wrap up presentations. While we encourage you to think about how to end a presentation using a unique final statement, there’s nothing wrong with using these common closing phrases:

We hope this guide helps you better understand how to end a presentation ! If you’d like to find out more about how to end a presentation in English effectively, visit Magoosh Speaking today!

Matthew Jones

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Different Ways to End a Presentation or Speech

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Different Ways to End a Presentation or Speech

November 06, 2017 - dom barnard.

The beginning and ending of your presentation are the most important. The beginning is where you grab the audience’s attention and ensure they listen to the rest of your speech. The conclusion gives you a chance to leave a lasting impression that listeners take away with them.

Studies show that when people are tasked with recalling information, they "best performance at the beginning and end". It’s therefore essential you leave an impact with your closing statement. A strong ending motivates, empowers and encourages people to take action.

The power of three

The rule of three is a simple yet powerful method of communication and we use it often in both written and verbal communication. Using information in patterns of three makes it more memorable for the audience.

Examples of the power of three being used:

A compelling story

Ending your presentation on a short story, especially if that story is personal or illustrates how the content presented affects others is the best way to conclude.

If you want to talk about a customer experience or successful case study, think about how you can turn it into a meaningful story which the audience will remember and even relate to. Creating empathy with your audience and tying the story back to points made throughout the presentation ensures your presentation will be well received by the audience.

A surprising fact

A surprising fact has the power to re-engage the audience's attention, which is most likely to wane by the end of a presentation. Facts with statistical numbers in them work well – you can easily search online for facts related to your speech topic. Just make use you remember the source for the fact in case you are questioned about it.

A running clock

Marketing and advertising executive Dietmar Dahmen ends his Create Your Own Change talk with a running clock to accompany his last statement. "Users rule," he says, "so stop waiting and start doing. And you have to do that now because time is running out."

If you're delivering a time-sensitive message, where you want to urge your listeners to move quickly, you can have a background slide with a running timer to add emphasis to your last statement.

Example of a running timer or clock for ending a presentation

Acknowledging people or companies

There are times when it's appropriate to thank people publicly for helping you – such as

You can even use the PowerPoint credits feature for additional ‘wow’ factor.

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A short, memorable sentence

A sound bite is an attention magnet. It cuts to the core of your central message and is one of the most memorable takeaways for today's Twitter-sized attention spans. Consider Steve Jobs' famous last line at his commencement address at Stanford University: "Stay hungry, stay foolish."

Think about how you can distil your message down to a crisp, memorable statement. Does it represent your authentic voice? Does it accurately condense what your core message is about? Listeners, especially business audiences, have a radar that quickly spots an effort to impress rather than to genuinely communicate an important message.

An interesting quote

A relatively easy way to end your speech is by using a quote. For this to be effective, however, the quote needs to be one that has not been heard so often that it has become cliché.

To access fresh quotes, consider searching current personalities rather than historical figures. For example, a quote on failing from J.K. Rowling: "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."

You need to figure out what resonates with your audience, and choose a quote that fits the presentation theme. If you’re up to it, you can round off the quote with your own thoughts as well.

A visual image

Make use of this power by ending your presentation with a riveting visual that ties to your take-home message. Leave this slide on when you finish your presentation to give the audience something to look at and think about for the next few minutes.

Use a summary slide instead of a ‘thank you’ slide

‘Thank You’ slides don’t really help the audience. You should be verbally saying ‘Thank you’, with a smile and with positive eye contact, putting it on a slide removes the sentiment.

Instead of a ‘Thank You’ slide, you can use a summary slide showing all the key points you have made along with your call to action. It can also show your name and contact details.

This slide is the only slide you use that can contain a lot of text, use bullet points to separate the text. Having all this information visible during the Q&A session will also help the audience think of questions to ask you. They may also choose to take photos of this slide with their phone to take home as a summary of your talk and to have your contact details.

Example summary slide for a presentaiton or speech

Repeat something from the opening

Closing a presentation with a look back at the opening message is a popular technique. It's a great way to round off your message, whilst simultaneously summing up the entire speech and creating a feeling of familiarity for the audience. Comedians do this well when they tie an earlier joke to a later one.

Doing this will signal to the audience that you are coming to the end of your talk. It completes the circle - you end up back where you started.

There are a few ways to approach this technique:

Link the main points to the key message

At the beginning of your talk, it’s important to map out the main ideas you will talk about. An audience that doesn’t know the stages of the journey you are about to take them on will be less at ease than one that knows what lies ahead. At the end of your talk, take them back over what you’ve spoken about but don’t just list the different ideas you developed, show how they are related and how they support your main argument.

Finish with enthusiasm

It’s only natural that you’ll feel tired when you get to the end of your talk. The adrenaline that was racing through your body at the beginning has now worn off.

It’s crucial that the audience feels that you are enthusiastic and open for questions. If you’re not enthusiastic about the presentation, why should the audience be?

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Don’t end with audience questions

When the Q&A session is over, stand up, get their attention and close the presentation. In your closing give your main argument again, your call to action and deal with any doubts or criticisms that out in the Q&A.

A closing is more or less a condensed version of your conclusions and an improvised summary of the Q&A. It’s important that the audience goes home remembering the key points of the speech, not with a memory of a Q&A that may or may not have gone well or may have been dominated by someone other than you.

If possible, try and take questions throughout your presentation so they remain pertinent to the content.

Getting rid of the "questions?" slide

To start, let's talk about what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't end a presentation with a slide that asks "Questions?" Everyone does and there is nothing memorable about this approach.

Ideally, you should take questions throughout the presentation so that the question asked and the answer given is relevant to the content presented. If you choose to take questions at the end of your presentation, end instead with a strong image that relates to your presentation's content.

Worried about no audience questions?

If you’re afraid of not getting any questions, then you can arrange for a friend in the audience to ask one. The ‘plant’ is a good way to get questions started if you fear silence.

Chances are that people do want to ask questions, but no one wants to be the first to ask a question. If you don’t have a ‘plant’, you might need to get the ball rolling yourself. A good way to do this is for you to ask am open question to the audience. Ask the most confident looking person in the room for their opinion, or get the audience to discuss the question with the person sitting beside them.

A cartoon or animation

In his TED talk on The Paradox of Choice , Barry Schwartz ends his presentation with a cartoon of a fishbowl with the caption, "You can be anything you want to be - no limits." He says, "If you shatter the fishbowl, so that everything is possible, you don't have freedom, you have paralysis ... Everybody needs a fishbowl” This is a brilliant ending that combines visuals, humour and a metaphor. Consider ending your presentation with a relevant cartoon to make your message memorable.

Ask a rhetoric question

So, for example, if you’re finishing up a talk on the future of engineering, you might say, "I'd like to end by asking you the future of manufacturing, will it be completely taken over by robots in the next 30 years?"

The minute you ask a question , listeners are generally drawn into thinking about an answer. It's even more engaging when the question is provocative, or when it touches potentially sensitive areas of our lives

Thank the audience

The simplest way to end a speech, after you’ve finished delivering the content, is to say, "thank you." That has the benefit of being understood by everyone.

It's the great way for anyone to signal to the audience that it’s time to applaud and then head home.

Call your audience to action and make it clear

It's not enough to assume your message will inspire people to take action. You need to actually tell them to take action. Your call to action should be clear and specific. Your audience should be left with no doubt about what it is you're asking.

Use the last few minutes of the presentation to reinforce the call to action you seek. Examples of strong calls to actions include:

Make it clear that you've finished

Nothing is more uncomfortable than the silence of an audience working out if you've finished or not.

Your closing words should make it very clear that it's the end of the presentation. The audience should be able to read this immediately, and respond. As we mentioned previously, saying "thank you" is a good way to finish.

If the applause isn't forthcoming, stand confidently and wait. Don't fidget and certainly don't eke out a half-hearted, 'And that just about covers it. Thank you'.

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5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation

By Paola Pascual on Feb 7, 2022 5:15:00 AM

You just gave a great presentation in English… And it’s time to conclude.

If you think all the work is done –watch out! Did you know that the beginning and the end of your presentation are the most important parts? This is what your audience will remember best, so it’s important to make those parts as memorable as possible.

The last few minutes of your presentation are your best opportunity to make a long-lasting impression on your audience. This last part will help your audience remember the key points and help you get across the main idea.

In this article, you will learn 5 strategies to end your presentation in a powerful way. You’ll also learn useful expressions you can use to transition from one point to the next. One great tip is to prepare both the beginning and the end of your presentation:

Prepare your presentation - Quote by Sonya Hamlin

5 effective strategies to close your presentation

Choosing the right strategies to conclude your presentation will help you bring your audience back to the main point. We all get distracted sometimes, and our attention span keeps getting shorter.

The goal is for you to connect with your audience and make them feel connected to your topic. Your presentation should always be about them –not you. Make it easy for them to remember key points and bring their attention back to them.

Download this great effective presentations checklist and check the strategies below. Pick the ones you feel most comfortable with and dare to combine them –some of them work great together!

How to end a presentation - Talaera Blog

1. Restate your main idea 🔁

The most effective way to make your key points stick? Repeat them. Once again. And again.

You may feel that restating your key message throughout the presentation can be repetitive. However, adding recaps after each section and summarizing your main points in your conclusion will really make it stick in the minds of your audience members.

When you restate your main idea, make sure you paraphrase the points in a slightly new and refined way. You can change the word category, use synonyms, or use a simpler version.

Use these closing words and summarize your key points:

2. Include a Call To Action or next steps ➡️

Your presentation has a goal and some next steps. When you give a speech, you expect something else to happen. Whether that may be for your audience to provide feedback, for them to buy your product, for you to send them a brochure…

What are your future actions? It’s what we call our “ Next ” in our WHAT-WHY-NEXT framework. This should be one of the first things should consider when preparing your presentation. What do you want your audience to do after your speech? Do they need to take action or will you follow up with them?

Clearly tell your audience what they need to do after your presentation –or what they can expect.

Introduce your Call To Action and present how your findings will impact the future:

3. Close the loop ⏺️

The "Loop Technique" is a popular technique in which you return to the subject you opened with at the start of your presentation. It’s especially effective because it creates a perfect circle and a satisfying sense of completion. Skillful speakers often build up audience anticipation at the beginning of their talk and then keep them in suspense until the end when they finally finish their story, give the punchline to their joke or answer the question they posed right at the start.

Closing a presentation referring back to your opening message is a very common speech structure in many TED Talks . It is a great way to round off your story and remind your audience why they were there in the first place. It is also commonly used in comedy and marketing.

To approach this technique, you can finish a story or an anecdote you started or set up a question at the beginning of your talk and wait until the end to answer it.

4. End with an inspirational quote or surprising statistic 📊

I must be honest with you –quotes are not my favorite way of ending a presentation, but I see how it can work in some contexts.

If you want to make your audience feel in a particular way or there is something you want your audience to remember, a quote or a surprising fact can be your best ally. It is an effective way to reengage your audience and help them remember your main point.

Always remember to add a quote or statistic that is related to your topic.

Oh, an impactful image could work just as well!

Use these phrases to introduce great quotes or statistics:

5. Thank your audience 💙

Before you go, remember to always thank your audience. After all, they’ve stayed until the end, right? A simple sentence will suffice, and it will make a difference by making you more likable.

Phrases to thank your audience:

Keep improving your presentation skills

Continue improving your communication skills for professional situations with our free resources . If you are serious about improving your business English skills, get in touch with Talaera . We will help you take your professional English communication skills to the next level.

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COMMENTS

How to Close Your Presentation in English Powerfully
That brings us to the end of the presentation. I'd like to summarize by saying … · And on that final note, that concludes my presentation. ; I
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A signal to the end is a one sentence phrase that is designed to show your audience that you are going to start your presentation conclusion
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Tips for ending a speech · Avoid ending with a Q&A session · Use a summary or contact slide instead of a "thank you" slide · Make it clear that the
How to End a Presentation: 5 Ways to End a Presentation
Use the end of your presentation to clearly convey what you consider to be the most important idea of your talk. Use your final moments to recap
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1. Call your audience to action · 2. Refer back to the opening message · 3. Practice the rule of three · 4. Close with a summary · 5. Don't end with
How to End a Presentation in English: Methods and Examples
How to End a Presentation in English with Common Phrases · Thank you for your time. · I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today. · I'll now answer any
Different Ways to End a Presentation or Speech
The power of three · A compelling story · A surprising fact · A running clock · Acknowledging people or companies · A short, memorable sentence · An
How to end a presentation
How you end a presentation is just as important as how you start it. Follow our tips on how to end a presentation so that you leave a
5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation
5 effective strategies to close your presentation · 1. Restate your main idea · 2. Include a Call To Action or next steps ➡️ · 3. Close the