Concluding a speech is like landing a plane filled with passengers. How skillfully it's done makes a world of difference to all concerned!
More Than Just An End
Your conclusion is much more that simply an end to your speech. It is a critical part of your speech, perhaps the most important part of it. Why? For your speech to have a lasting effect on others, they have to remember it afterwards. What is stated last is often remembered longest.
Therefore, you should craft your conclusion carefully to create a lasting impact on your audience. It should drive home the overall point of your entire discussion.
What Is The Point?
This forces you to examine your objective, or the purpose of your discussion. While developing your presentation, no doubt you had an objective in mind, and that objective helped you to decide what material to use and what to omit. It guided you in your selection of your main points. Don't change horses in mid-stream, stick to that objective.
So, the paramount question is still: What do you want to accomplish by means of this speech? If your objective is to move the audience to take action, your conclusion should strongly urge them to take that action, in no uncertain terms. It should answer the question beginning to take shape in the minds of your listeners: "Based on what you've said thus far, what should I do?"
A Compelling Conclusion
A compelling conclusion uses both reason and emotional appeal. Its appeal to reason is found in the fact that the main points in the body of your discussion point directly to what you offer or urge in the conclusion. The conclusion is therefore the culmination of a logical progression of thoughts. It summarizes the main points and presents them again to your audience, for maximum impact.
However, logical reasoning does not always move people to action. For that, an emotional component is needed. This could be supplied by highlighting the benefits of acting as you suggest and coupling this with an earnest appeal to the audience to act in their own best interests. The conviction and earnestness you express here is essential.
To Compel, Convince!
This means, of course, that you have to sincerely believe what you advocate. That sincerity will help you to be enthusiastic, and to transfer your enthusiasm to the audience. Enthusiasm is both contagious and convincing.
Using a conclusion which employs convincing reasoning, and which skillfully appeals to your audience's desire to act in their own best interests, will be very compelling. Your objective will have been achieved and your speech will be a success!
