Should I have a concluding summary?

The worse the presentation, the more important the concluding summary! If you've used Headlining, you've begun with the summary, the overview, and then added details and explanations.

If at the end you need to summarize what you've been trying to say all the time, then something is very wrong. In this case, a summary would be unnecessarily obvious.

But if your proposal has been modified during the presentation or discussion, then a summary of what you are in agreement about can be worthwhile – but this is a different matter.

In The Overnight Guide to Public Speaking, Ed Wolmuth wrote that he is often asked why he shuns the advice of most experts, and recommends that a presenter not repeat the main argument in conclusion.

- "My answer is that if you haven't made your central point by now,

you'll never get it across.

Repetition means only that you haven't done your job properly"

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How should I end?

When you're out of time or when you don't have anything more to say!
Whichever happens first decides! If you use Headlining you can always edit from
the bottom up just as editors do!

Mark Twain was once asked to be judge of a manuscripts submitted in competition.

It is said that he commented upon the winning paper:

"It has the very rare merit of stopping when it is finished"

We have already said that you don't need a concluding summary – but you can end with a "point" or "twist", especially if you are a guest lecturer!

Finding a good "point" or "twist" isn't always easy. Visit a library and look through a book of quotations. It can be a gold mine for useful endings.

The only time it is permissible to read verbatim is when you are citing someone or are reading a poem.

Professor Ralph Proodian, of Brooklyn College, supposedly said:

"By keeping your material to 15 or 20 minutes,

your listeners will want to hear more.

It is true compliment if people say after a speech

that you should have talked more.

At the end people should feel sorry that you stopped"

Exactly. Stopping in time can be a wise move. When the audience realizes that you are knowledgeable and see the problem from their perspective, they'll ask questions. Usually before time is up, or they'll contact you later. And when they meet you again, they'll pay attention and listen with interest.

This is a pretty good start! A person who has learned to summarize and who speaks plainly and briefly tends to achieve what I call "natural authority," a person that others listen to – especially if this person demonstrates a willingness to adapt to their listeners.

I've heard numerous speakers who started out careful and boring but who ended with a fabulous final sentence – a sentence that it was a shame they didn't use to begin with! Make sure you don't make the same mistake! Start with the Bottom Line!

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Should I repeat the important points?

Repetition is important, but it depends on how you do it! In order for your listeners to receive your message,it has to contain something new, or create order among things they already know. Sometimes it's enough if the listener can see that she/he and the speaker agree or disagree. But if none of these conditions are met, then it's difficult to capture the listener's attention for more than a moment – after which she/he isn't listening.

If you plan to repeat what you've said, it should be from a different perspective otherwise you won't be interesting! The purpose of repetition is to reinforce memory and/or understanding. Again, the way you present it is crucial.

If you start with an overview and move to details, you'll continually be repeating the main message. With this type of structure, it will be easier for listeners to find their way back than with a presentation using the Logical-Historical model.

If we use my pages on Internet as an example, you have undoubtedly noticed that the main message has been repeated on numerous occasions. The general message, repeated throughout the book, is that we have to change your manner of presentation so that we make our points in the order of their interest to the listener, and that we must always be more interesting than the listener's own thoughts. We must prepare better and differently, and constantly be prepared to change. Repetition then becomes an integral part of our presentation and not something separate.

@ My Internet page's and my book's format with questions and answers has placed some points, and even some sentences, in several places. Arguably, these repetitions could be removed, but this presupposes that a book is always read in the order of presentation.

In reality, many readers flip through the pages and stop when they come across an interesting question. The answer should be understandable even if the reader hasn't read or doesn't remember what appeared on earlier pages.

If learning acquired behavior is the goal, repetition will be necessary. Then, "practice makes perfect" applies, so that you can do what you want - without having to think about it!

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