Begin middle End

William Penn recommends an end to your speech

July 29, 2013 | Presentations, Verbal communication

The two most important parts of our speech are the start and finish. But most of us spend a lot more time concentrating on how to kick-off our speech rather than how to end it.
That’s a mistake because the end of our speech is a chance to give audience members something to walk away with.
One of the people who offered insight about how to properly end a speech is the great William Penn, a man who gave innumerable speeches during his lifetime. If you’re like most Americans, William Penn is probably a name you remember from school but would be hard-pressed to explain the role he played in our nation’s history.
For the record, Penn was a real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker and founder of the province of Pennsylvania, which became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the U.S. Constitution.
Here’s what William Penn had to say about ending a speech: “Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly, for the end of a speech is not ostentation but to be understood.”
In other words, don’t try to be showy or flowery. Don’t get abstract or overly metaphorical. Instead, focus on directness and clarity. People respond far better to directness and clarity at this stage of a presentation. Get too flowery or metaphorical and our message is likely to be misinterpreted or watered down.
So we should carefully consider our parting message. What’s appropriate? We might want to:

• Reiterate our key message
• Echo something we said at the start of the speech, so we bring audience members full circle and give them a sense of completeness
• Present a call to action, if we’re asking or expecting audience members to act on what we have said
• Contribute money to a cause
• Change their behavior

In any case, William Penn’s advice is sound — to articulate our closing thoughts with directness and unmistakable clarity.