5 Ways To Close Your Presentation - Business English Presentations

Summary

In this Business English presentation lesson, Derek teaches how to end presentations effectively to capture the audience's attention and reinforce key points. He covers five techniques: call to action, rhetorical questions, coming full circle, finishing with a quote, and clear signposting. Each technique is explained with practical examples to help professionals enhance their presentation skills. Derek emphasizes the importance of passion and enthusiasm in delivering conclusions and encourages viewers to explore more lessons on his channel.

Takeaways

• 😀 Ending a presentation effectively is crucial to capturing audience attention and ensuring they remember key points.
• 📚 Summarizing key points, closing the presentation, and thanking the audience are standard steps in concluding a presentation.
• 📢 A Call to Action (CTA) is a powerful technique to motivate the audience to take action based on the information shared.
• 🔍 CTAs should be relevant, convincing, and use active verbs to encourage action, such as visiting a website or starting a dialogue.
• 🚫 Negative motivation can be used to first highlight the consequences of inaction before presenting the positive benefits of the CTA.
• 📑 Placing the CTA on the last slide of a presentation can serve as a strong visual reminder for the audience.
• ❓ Rhetorical questions can be used to engage the audience, provoke thought, or create a dramatic effect at the end of a presentation.
• 🔁 Coming full circle involves returning to a point or question introduced at the beginning of the presentation, providing a sense of completion.
• 📖 Telling a story that begins at the start and concludes at the end of the presentation can be a compelling way to maintain audience interest.
• 💬 Finishing with a relevant and memorable quote can leave a lasting impression and reinforce the main point of the presentation.
• 🏁 Using clear signposting phrases and a passionate conclusion helps signal the end of the presentation and leaves a strong final impression.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the lesson described in the script?

The main purpose of the lesson is to teach how to end a business presentation effectively, capturing the audience's attention and helping them remember key points.

What does 'CTA' stand for, and why is it important?

CTA stands for 'call to action.' It is important because it encourages the audience to take action based on the information shared during the presentation.

What are some examples of effective CTAs provided in the lesson?

Examples of effective CTAs include: 'Visit our website, download our free guide and start implementing our tips today,' 'Start a dialogue with your team and ask them how they can help us to achieve these goals,' and 'Choose us as your partner and we'll help you to increase turnover by 10%.'

What technique involves asking questions that don't require immediate answers?

The technique involving asking questions that don't require immediate answers is called using rhetorical questions.

How can 'coming full circle' be used to end a presentation?

Coming full circle can be used to end a presentation by returning to a question or story introduced at the beginning. This gives the presentation a sense of completion.

Can you give an example of 'coming full circle' using a question?

An example of 'coming full circle' using a question is: 'Let me come back to the question I asked you at the start of my presentation: How can we increase productivity among our employees? Well, the three main things we need to do are...'

Why is it beneficial to use a quote to end a presentation?

Using a quote to end a presentation is beneficial because it can be memorable and reinforce the main point of the presentation. It also adds a sense of closure.

What should be considered when selecting a quote for the end of a presentation?

When selecting a quote for the end of a presentation, it is important to ensure that the quote is relevant to the main point and memorable.

What are some sign-posting phrases that indicate the end of a presentation?

Some sign-posting phrases that indicate the end of a presentation include: 'And that brings me to the end of my talk,' and 'So that covers everything I wanted to talk about today.'

Why is it important to end a presentation with passion and enthusiasm?

Ending a presentation with passion and enthusiasm is important because it helps to emphasize the importance of the topic and makes it more likely that the audience will remember it.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 How to End Your Presentation Effectively

The lesson begins by welcoming viewers and introduces the topic of ending business presentations effectively. Five techniques for closing presentations will be discussed, along with useful examples for each technique. The structure of a typical presentation conclusion is summarized: recapping key points, closing the presentation, and thanking the audience.

05:01

📢 Technique 1: Call to Action (CTA)

The first technique, Call to Action (CTA), is introduced. It involves motivating the audience to take action based on the information presented. The key to a successful CTA is providing relevant and convincing information, followed by using active verbs to prompt action. Examples of CTAs are given, such as visiting a website, starting a dialogue with a team, and choosing a partnership.

❓ Technique 2: Rhetorical Questions

This technique involves using rhetorical questions to engage the audience and provoke thought. These questions don't require answers but are meant to create a dramatic effect and make the audience think about the topic. Examples include questions about contributing to a plan, comparing success with competitors, and ensuring job satisfaction among staff.

🔄 Technique 3: Coming Full Circle

Coming full circle means returning to the point where the presentation began, giving it a sense of completion. This can be done by asking a question at the start and answering it at the end, or by starting and finishing a story. Examples include revisiting a question about increasing productivity and telling the outcome of a story introduced at the beginning.

💬 Technique 4: Finishing with a Quote

Using a quote to finish a presentation can be very effective if the quote is relevant and memorable. The quote can be spoken or displayed on the final slide. Examples of how to introduce a quote are provided, as well as famous quotes from Bill Gates and Nelson Mandela. The key is to ensure the presentation has a clear ending and to use signposting phrases to signal the conclusion.

👋 Clear Conclusion and Final Tips

The final part of the presentation emphasizes the importance of a clear and passionate conclusion. This can involve summing up key points, making a short conclusion, and thanking the audience. Viewers are encouraged to deliver their conclusion with enthusiasm. The video ends with a call to action to subscribe to the channel, join the email list, and a final thank you.

Keywords

💡Presentation

A presentation is a formal talk or discourse in which information is shared with an audience. In the context of this video, the focus is on how to effectively end a business presentation. The script discusses various techniques to conclude a presentation in a way that leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

💡Call to Action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt designed to encourage the audience to take a specific action. In the video, it is suggested that after sharing information, the presenter should motivate the audience to act on that information. Examples given include visiting a website, starting a dialogue, or choosing a partnership.

💡Active Verbs

Active verbs are verbs that express an action being performed by the subject. The script emphasizes using active verbs to encourage audience action, such as 'visit', 'download', and 'start', which are used to create a sense of urgency and engagement.

💡Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical questions are questions asked without expecting an answer, often used to provoke thought or create a dramatic effect. In the video, rhetorical questions are suggested as a technique to end a presentation by getting the audience thinking or emphasizing a point, such as 'How can we all contribute to this ambitious plan?'

💡Coming Full Circle

Coming full circle refers to returning to the starting point, often used to create a sense of completeness in a presentation. The script suggests techniques like answering a question posed at the beginning or finishing a story told at the start to achieve this effect.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of narrating a story, which can be used in presentations to engage the audience and make a point more memorable. The script mentions starting a story at the beginning of a presentation and concluding it at the end, as a way to come full circle.

💡Quote

A quote is a group of words taken from a speech or text and used to convey a message or highlight a point. The video suggests ending a presentation with a relevant and memorable quote to leave a lasting impression, such as quotes from Bill Gates or Nelson Mandela.

💡Sign Posting

Sign posting in a presentation refers to using phrases that signal to the audience that the presentation is nearing its end. This helps in managing audience expectations and preparing them for the conclusion. Phrases like 'That brings me to the end of my talk' are used in the script as examples.

💡Passion and Enthusiasm

Passion and enthusiasm are emotions that can be conveyed through the tone and delivery of a presentation. The script emphasizes the importance of ending a presentation with these emotions, especially if the topic is important, to ensure the audience remembers the message.

💡Business English

Business English refers to the specific vocabulary, grammar, and style used in business communication. The video is part of a series on 'English for Professionals', focusing on how to use English effectively in business presentations, which is crucial for professionals in the business world.

Highlights

Introduction to ending presentations effectively with five techniques.

Summarizing key points, closing the presentation, and thanking the audience are essential steps.

CTA stands for Call to Action and motivates the audience to take specific actions.

Use active verbs to encourage action, such as 'visit our website' or 'choose us as your partner.'

Negative motivation can precede a CTA to highlight the importance of taking action.

Rhetorical questions create dramatic effects and engage the audience, like 'Do we want to stand by and see our competitors be more successful?'

Coming full circle gives a presentation a sense of completion by returning to the starting point.

Plan to use the 'coming full circle' technique by asking a question at the start and answering it at the end.

Use storytelling to come full circle, finishing the story at the end of the presentation.

Ending with a quote can be impactful, but ensure it's relevant and memorable.

Introduce quotes effectively with phrases like 'I'd like to leave you with a fantastic quote from...'

Famous quotes include 'Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning' by Bill Gates.

Signpost the end of your presentation clearly with phrases like 'That brings me to the end of my talk.'

Summarize key points and conclude with passion and enthusiasm to make your presentation memorable.

Simple phrases like 'Thank you' can effectively signal the end of a presentation.

Transcripts

hello and welcome back to english for

professionals i'm derek and i'm here

with another short lesson for you busy

people in this business english

presentations lesson i'm going to show

you how to end your presentation

effectively

[Music]

so how can you end your presentation in

such a way that gets your audience's

attention and helps them to remember

your key points i'm going to show you

five different techniques and for each

one i'll share some useful examples are

you ready

let's get started

so once we've covered the main part of

our presentation we normally summarize

the key points close the presentation

and thank the audience

then depending on the type of

presentation you may invite the audience

to ask questions or maybe they've

already asked questions during the

presentation to end the presentation

effectively we need to do that in the

closing part so between summarizing the

key points and thanking the audience

let's take a look at our first technique

first of all what is a cta

well

stands for call to action

you've shared information with your

audience and now you want them to do

something with that information you want

them to take action

but how can we motivate them to do that

well first of all the information you

share needs to be relevant and

convincing

once you've managed that use active

verbs to encourage the audience to take

action and here are some examples

before we finish there's something i

want you to do after the presentation

visit our website

download our free guide and start

implementing our tips today

or

so now it's your turn

start a dialogue with your team and ask

them how they can help us to achieve

these goals

and one more example

choose us as your partner and we'll help

you to increase turnover by 10

another thing you can do before you call

your audience to action is to start with

a negative motivation what i mean by

this is to start by telling or showing

them the negative side of not doing what

you want them to do and to follow this

with the positive motivation the call to

action and the benefits of taking that

action and one final tip for this

technique if you're using slides put

your cta on the last slide

another useful tip is to use rhetorical

questions

these are questions that we ask but

don't expect to be answered now this is

often because the answer is obvious or

because we just want to get the audience

thinking or we want to create a dramatic

effect

let's look at some examples

so before we leave this room today i'd

like to ask you something

how can we all contribute to this

ambitious plan and become carbon neutral

by the end of the decade

example two

do we want to stand by and see our

competitors be more successful than us

do we really want to be second best

example three

so after all you've heard here today i'd

like you to consider this question are

we really doing enough to ensure a high

level of job satisfaction among our

staff

the next technique i'd like to talk

about is coming full circle

so what does this mean well when you

come first circle you come back to the

point where you began and this can

really give your presentation a sense of

completion

how do we do that if you want to use

this technique you have to plan it from

the beginning

one way you can do that is to ask a

question at the start of your

presentation and answer it at the end

let's look at two examples

let me come back to the question i asked

you at the start of my presentation how

can we increase productivity among our

employees

well the three main things we need to do

are

and our second example

i'd like to bring you back to that

question i asked at the beginning

why is this the right time to expand the

business

well the answer is quite simple

this is the right time because

another way to come full circle is to

tell a story

start the story at the beginning of your

presentation and finish the story at the

end of your presentation

let's look at an example

so whatever happened to that young

ambitious software developer i told you

about at the beginning

well today he's running his own

successful i.t company and is one of the

most admired leaders in the sector

and here are some other ways to signal

that you're coming full circle and

ending a story

remember the story about

or

so how did paul's story end

well

or

i bet you're wondering what happened too

well

the next technique we're going to look

at is finishing your presentation with a

quote now you shouldn't just pick any

quote you have to be very careful when

selecting it the most important thing is

that it's relevant to the main point

you're trying to get across and that

it's memorable

you can either say the quote at the end

of your presentation or have it written

on your last slide you could also do

both

here are some examples of how to

introduce the quote

and before we go i'd like to leave you

with a fantastic or brilliant or

memorable quote from and then mention

the person's name followed by the quote

or

and finally i'd like to share this great

or famous or interesting quote from

you can also say as include the name of

the person once said

and here are a couple of examples of

famous quotes

your most unhappy customers are your

greatest source of learning from bill

gates

and it always seems impossible until

it's done by nelson mandela

and my final tip is

whether you're using one of these

techniques or not

always make sure your presentation has a

clear ending

use sign posting phrase to signal that

you're coming to the end

and that brings me to the end of my talk

or

so that covers everything i wanted to

talk about today

then you can sum up the key points and

make a short conclusion try to end your

presentation with passion and enthusiasm

now i know this can sometimes be

difficult depending on the topic but if

it's important and you want your

audience to remember it try to deliver

it with passion and enthusiasm

and once you've done that a very simple

way to signal that you're finished is to

say thank you

if you'd like to learn more about

presentations check out my other

presentation lessons here on youtube

you'll find a link in the description

below

that brings us to the end of another

lesson i hope you liked it and i hope

you found it helpful if you did please

hit the like button and share with your

friends and colleagues subscribe to my

channel if you haven't done that and

join my email list every two weeks i

send out my free vocabulary email with

additional business english words from

the news and everyday english for you to

learn the link is in the description

below

thanks a lot for watching and see you

soon