You're running out of time during your presentation. How do you smoothly conclude without rushing?

When time is running against you , you should quickly deliver your presentation's gist and conclude with a panache. If the audience thinks "Who was he"?. Then, well, despite your best efforts the results most likely won't favour you. Thus put succinctly whenever short of time during a presentation- prioritize, summarise and conclude with an impact.

When you find yourself running out of time during a presentation, it's crucial to conclude smoothly and effectively. Here’s how I handle it: "Let's wrap this up efficiently. I’ll summarize the key points we’ve covered." I briefly highlight the main takeaways, ensuring the audience gets the essence of the message. Then, I offer to follow up with detailed information via email or a one-on-one discussion. This keeps the presentation focused and leaves room for further engagement.

The best will be to practice, practice ( practice makes perfect) so we don't have to get to this stage, but life happens and we need to have plan B, C - Z. In this case if you notice the presentation is ending I will suggest to ask open ended questions in that way people can reflect, you invite them to wonder regarding your enquiry and leave them with a final quote for people to take action. Action matters, make your presentation a memorable moment but also leave a legacy behind ( the legacy is what your audience can act immediately )

No one knows exactly what you had planned to say, so if you miss something out to hit your mark without rushing, it's all ok. If you have slides to get through, a brief overview rather than your planned in-depth discussion of them is also OK. It is better to glide over them and end on your last slide with time to recap, than to rush through every single point you had planned to make and be a flustered hot mess by the end. People remember how you came across, not every single word you said, so it's worth trying to stay at the same pace even if inside you are panicking.

If you're sharing a presentation after the talk then prioritize just the quick hitters you want to convey and remind folks that the presentation and more materials will be provided to them afterward.

The Ultimate goal for speakers is to impact the audience with their words. And as people tend to remember the final part of any speech/presentation more than other parts, that's why engaging audience will help to save the situation without rushing so fast & make your image shows as if you didn't practice well on the timing. Give the floor to your audience using engaging questions, reflecting pictures, or storytelling approach. Turn the content into a two-way communication. It's very important to know that it's not about the quantity of points you covered, but the quality of engaging the audience with your points. So, don't turn the formula to time vs. content. However, make the primary question how to give the audience the best experience.

When running out of time during a presentation I believe that “final thoughts” are very important. Not everyone is going to remember what you said at the beginning or in the middle of your presentation but most will remember how you conclude a speech. One way to improve your final thoughts is to emphasize your voice intonation and be creative by involving your audience to participate at the end. Sometimes I will ask a question and hand out a few gifts to refocus everyone at the end of a presentation and that is when I introduce my call to action.

You can speak a concluding message like this - As we approach the end of our time together, I want to briefly recap the key points we've covered. We explored [main topic] and delved into [key aspects or highlights]. It's clear that [insight or takeaway] will play a pivotal role moving forward. Although we couldn't dive into every detail, I encourage you to reach out with any questions or for further discussion. Thank you for your attention and engagement today.