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The way that you end your speech will resonate with your audience long after your presentation has ended. By using advanced presentation skills when you close your speech, you can deliver a speech conclusion that will set you apart as an expert orator. Here are some quick tips to ensure that you hit them with a grand finale!

1. Don’t Quit; Close

Your entire speech is a journey that you are undertaking with your audience. Don’t leave them disappointed that you quit right before the culmination. Work the group to a conclusion that you come to together. If you have delivered your speech effectively, you should know exactly what they are thinking in that moment. Now you can engage them one last time by asking them for a response that will cause them to self-reflect and take action.

Some good endings to consider:

“Now that you know the problem, can we count on you to help with the solution?”

“How will your contributions help us get to our goal?”

“I ask you, are you up for the challenge?”

2. Preparation Is Key

Think of your speech like a Broadway performance. The actors don’t just step on stage opening night without any practice, do they? They have long rehearsals daily, they know every step they will make on stage, and they memorize the script inside and out. By the time performance night comes, they could run on autopilot. The same applies to your speech closing. You should know every nuance of your closing, including how much time it will take to deliver it with the biggest impact. Practice your closing until you can do it in your sleep.

3. Expect The Unexpected

Not everything goes according to plan, which is why you should be able to conclude from anywhere in your speech. Nothing is worse than getting the “5 minutes” signal and realizing that you still have 15 minutes left in your speech. Developing a transition from any segment of your talk to your wrap-up can save you from fumbling and trying to decide which information to include and leave out. Practice your transitions from any part of the speech so it flows smoothly.

4. Add A Final Touch

One of the advanced presentation skills that will set you apart could be including a succinct quote that summarizes your viewpoint, or even a piece of poetry to leave them in the mood you established. While touches like these aren’t vital, they add class and impact.

Choosing presents is like a competition. Some people are brilliant, displaying Olympian levels of ingenuity and originality. And others? Well, it’s the thought that counts, isn’t it? But there are ways to turn yourself into a gold medal present-giver, even if you’re one of life’s last-to-be-picked for the team when it comes to present ideas.

It was all so easy in the days when a box of chocolates or a bunch of flowers were all anyone ever gave. No-one questioned your taste because ‘style’ had still to be invented.

Nowadays there’s almost too much choice. Hi-tech gadgets, silken fripperies, lotions, potions and perfumes, all turn present buying into a fraught activity. Will they like it? Have you misjudged their taste? Have you misjudged your own? Will they be impressed by your accurate assessment of their personality, or wonder why you and they are actually friends?

So, how to avoid misfires and wow everyone with your brilliant present ideas? Rule number one is never to buy something just because you like it. It’s their likes and dislikes that count. And, in order to work out what the recipient might like, there really is nothing for it but to note down their “I wish I had that’s”, all year round, keep in a safe place, and look up when necessary.

This process, by the way, doesn’t just mean buying what they don’t already have. The keen cook may actually enjoy chopping and slicing and not want the process smoothed with a food processor. The woman who doesn’t have pierced ears may not be waiting for the perfect pair of earrings. And the Chanel No 5 lady won’t want a bottle of new scent (but might be thrilled with a scented candle). Whatever you do buy, always, always make it a treat because the best present ideas of all are indulgent.

If you really are stuck for present ideas then don’t buy classics but sneak in an original twist. Instead of a bunch of flowers, give a perfect pink palaeonopsis orchid. Instead of ordinary chocs give a box of hand-made truffles by a cult chocolatier. Make bubblebath chic by adding a bar of heavenly scented soap, a loofah and body oil, then tie up the lot in a hamman towel.

And don’t forget that the perfect present idea may actually be an obvious one. A friend of mine loves nothing more than candles – for her, any candle is gratefully received, no matter how lowly its pedigree. But, whatever the present, always wrap it beautifully because even the humblest gift looks special tied with generous lengths of velvet ribbon.

They do say that it is better to give than to receive. That’s nonsense, of course. But it can be a lot of fun.

At a workshop recently I heard someone giving a talk which was really interesting and I took away some valuable points from it. So it got me thinking about what makes a good presentation. Now, I’ve designed a lot of PowerPoint presentations in my time but I’ve delivered very few of them. Like a lot of people, the thought of standing up in front of a group makes me nervous. However, others can stand up for an hour and speak off the cuff about their subject, and make it interesting and memorable. How do they do it? OK, there are a few people who are natural public speakers, but for most of us, it takes a lot of preparation to stand up and speak clearly and concisely about our subject.

So from my experience of both creating and listening to presentations, I’ve put together some tips of what I think can make or break a presentation.

Do

• Rehearse your speech and ideally get someone to listen to you or record yourself.
• Use humour and a personal story to open the presentation but be appropriate.
• Know the message you are trying to get across and stick to the key points.
• Keep the colour scheme simple and ensure the text is readable against the background.
• Have the same slide design throughout the whole presentation.
• Put your company branding and logo on the presentation to make it look professional and help build a relationship with your brand and the audience.
• Keep animations and transitions to a minimum so they don’t confuse and distract the audience.
• Use creative ways of presenting your information eg, pictures, charts, and animations which will grab people’s attention.

Don’t

• Speak without any preparation or notes unless you’ve done it successfully before.
• Start the presentation without checking that everyone can hear you.
• Don’t wander off the subject, and if you do, ensure the audience knows why and quickly come back to it.
• Use technical language, acronyms or jargon unless it is relevant for your audience.
• Read from a script – it can sound stilted and prevents you from making eye contact with the audience.
• Put everything you want to say on the PowerPoint slide and then just read it out.
• Overload the slide with too much graphics or animation. They should be used to make the message clearer not confuse the audience.
• Use different formatting and colour schemes on each slide.

Perhaps you have other tips to add to the list? However, it’s important to remember that a clearly delivered and well-designed presentation will promote you and your business professionally and effectively to your audience.