Strong Conclusion That Help Remember The Gist Of Your Speech

The foundation for the rest of your speech. The opening can be a thought-provoking quote, a short story or a joke. Whatever device you choose to use, it should grab the audience’s attention and make them want to hear the rest of your message. Then you need to lay out the points you will cover in your speech. 

Next, fill in the blanks using your subpoints as guides to articulate your points. In the process of writing these points and subpoints, you have unwittingly written your speech. At this point, you just need to add color and life by adding stories, examples, facts or explanations. Don’t get bogged down in writing these thoughts word for word. You know how to express these ideas. You just need to know where in the speech you will make the point and have an idea about how you will express it. 

Finally, craft a conclusion. The conclusion should neatly wrap up the points you made in the body of your speech. The conclusion is an opportunity to eloquently summarize the point of your speech. You can also use the conclusion to challenge your audience to take action on your idea. This is your chance to stick your proverbial landing and exit gracefully. Take advantage of it. People may forget your individual points, but a strong conclusion will help them remember the gist of your speech. 

To add more texture, work a theme throughout your speech from beginning to end. Go back to the first piece of scrap paper where you wrote down all your thoughts on the topic. One of those words or phrases described why this topic interested you enough to make it a speech topic in the first place. That word or phrase can serve as your theme. Work the theme into your introduction and your conclusion. The body of your speech will most likely have some elements of the theme in it already. If it doesn’t, you can edit the points in your speech to work smoothly with your chosen theme. 


Preparing to Speak 
I suggest writing an outline complete with topic, points and subpoints. Write out the first few lines of your introduction and conclusion and commit them to memory. Know your points and subpoints so that you can freely talk about those points without being tethered to your notes. 

Practice your speech a couple of times the night before you deliver it in front of an audience. You will find that your subconscious will rehearse the speech while you are sleeping. You might wake up the next morning with a few ideas to liven up portions of your speech. 

Practice your speech again a couple of times on the day you give it. You can do it in your car on the way to work or while you get dressed in the morning. Moments before your speech, read over your outline and be sure to have your opening and closing down cold. 

When the moment comes, deliver your speech with passion and confidence. Don’t dwell on specific words in the body of your speech. The audience doesn’t know what you wrote. They accept what you are saying as if it is exactly as you meant to say it, so deliver your speech with confidence. 

When your speech is over and the audience is applauding, you will remember why you were excited about being a Toastmaster. You have expressed yourself in a way that only you could. Your speech was organized, and the audience received a gift that only you could give. Delivering great speeches is why we are Toastmasters.