How can you end your speech memorably?

It helps if the callback seems insignificant at first, but then builds importance as the story goes on. This technique is also used while writing novels and it's called "planting a promise".

Callbacks are great ways to end your talks. I look at talks like a book, you have a beginning, middle, and end. When you can tie everything together it makes the talk more memorable for you audience. There are other strong ways to end, but this is one of the best.

When a Master Teacher knows their disciples, teaching not giving a speech is done & a teacher will always end the teaching by helping the disciple to look inside of themselves, to ponder their own thoughts & deeds & to be introspective & to discover what the light that was taught was to them. Through a Master Teacher's questioning of the listeners own hearts will a teaching accomplish it's goals of knowledge & understanding & growth. Self-reflection of the hearer is needed for the teaching to accomplish it goals of growth within the hearts & minds of the listeners. Teachers know how to speak & how the disciples/listeners hear. Many hearts/minds are hard soil & need gentle rain on them to soften them up for hearing. Love Pastor Deborah

A callback is such an important part of closing a presentation or speech. I love to help the audience identify with 1-3 aspects that resonated with them, so I believe a recap or summary is always a great way to bring attention to a specific point. It's a time to become even more deliberate with your words, so talk slow and canvas the eyes of your audience. Leave them with an opportunity to ponder on the ideas, lessons and experiences you shared. A great callback will allow the listeners to see themselves in our story and hopefully provide the motivation and courage necessary to take next steps.

One of the things I like to do with a story or joke that I started the speech with is to NOT complete it in the opening. Then, when I finish up the speech, I can finish up the story, joke, etc. and make it feel full circle. Just like you rarely know the result of a mystery story a few pages in, a speech can and should be likewise. For those times where I do not use either, I use a motivational quote and a call to action. (These can be used in tandem with the above story/joke idea, but sometimes it depends on the flow and purpose of your speech).

A call to action is more effective when it connects with an emotional appeal that resonates with the audience. There are lots of way to do this, e.g., be inspirational, guilt trip, tug at heart strings, create bonds of belonging to a group or a cause, etc.

Depending on the talk, you may incorporate a call to action. I love CTA's especially when they are straight forward, let your audience lean into your talk, then leave them with a call to action, don't feel the need to rush to get here, let the talk breathe...the proceed.

Call to actions can be a great way to motivate a listener into doing something. However, most speech givers have to be aware of the limitations of what happens after someone leaves the room. Giving simple and effective calls to action are what really sets apart a great speech. Do you have them like a Facebook page or fill out a survey link that they get right then? Easy! Volunteer at an event three months down the road? Less easy. Determining the audience you are presenting to ahead of time will be crucial to figuring out if you can give a call to action and what type.

Quotes are great and they are helpful, but as you progress as a speaker you want to quote others less, and become the one people quote.

Great quotes can help you bookend a great speech. They can help set the tone and help showcase that other great minds are in sync with what you are going to say as well. Make sure that it's easy to see the transition from their quote to your speech. Make sure to remind people of that quote and how you got started as you end. The more similarities people can see between you and someone they know/respect, the easier it is to get your points across.

Food for thought is always good. It keeps the conversation going. A speaker shouldn’t think of a talk as just a finite discussion, but an introduction to further dialogue. Call to actions are awesome, but word it in a way to keep them talking ??

Think of two actions you might ask your audience to take - one easy and one ambitious. The contrast will make it memorable and giving people options makes them more likely to take your advice… and remember your speech as they take that action!

I almost always end with a story because I want people to end in their hearts, not in their heads. Stories are a universal connector, and I know that I am most alive when I'm telling stories. I'm preparing for my first TEDx talk this weekend, and I'm starting and ending with stories and sprinkling them throughout. Sometimes, the second to the last thing I do is tell a story and then I end with some powerful declarations to drive home the key things I want them to take away, and I deliver them with passion and intention and in a way that's like a rally cry, and I find that people respond to that well!

As a speaker stories have to be embedded into your DNA, our talks are about the people, our clients. We use story to convey information, to turn data into a rainy Wednesday afternoon, to show empathy through the mother and daughter dealing with loss. We use story to show our humanity, story is how we connect to our audience. If you can properly utilize story you have a positive impact on your audience.

Using a story can be crucial to your audience connecting with you and the speech you are delivering. People will connect in the raw moments, moments of vulnerability and in the moments of both loss and success. It brings a human element to what you are delivering. A great storyteller is someone who the audience will hang onto every word. Practice your craft at every opportunity so when it comes time to delivering an important speech it just flows naturally.

How you deliver your last words make a huge difference. Make sure you deliver them with power. Often people are starting to slink off and it can drift quieter or be rushed.

Share the Stage with the Audience. 1. Ask them to join you in closing the talk. 2. Then ask them to repeat a few uplifting words that neatly summarise your keynote or presentation in no more than three sentences. I find this technique powerful for in person events. It also makes the transition to Q&As a lot easier, given that they have all used their voice a few seconds ago ?

Follow Martin Luther King's formula of simplicity and relevancy: "The ability to communicate a simple message crafted to suit the chosen audience, not only through words but through the fusion of the character of the speaker and the message itself. The authenticity of that matching of speaker and message decides its success or failure."

Summarize what we've "learned" today: i would finish my speech with a maximum of 3 bullet points of the items that we have "learned" today. I find this particularly useful in events when the speech is about teaching the audience about a topic.