Perfect Pitch: No thank you!

Whether you’re speaking in private to one client, or to a larger
group in a formal presentation, all good things must come to an
end. Sooner or later you will need to wrap it all up and stop talking. 

Just as what you say first is important, what you say last may be
even more essential. So what should it be? And what should it not be?

First off, don’t use “thank you” as a substitute for powerful closing phrase. It’s impossible to imagine Steve Jobs ending a presentation with “thank you.” The idea of Abraham Lincoln or Theodore Roosevelt doing so is positively laughable. Instead, think of a phase that summarizes your message in the fewest possible words – something that will stay in the head of your listener at least for the time it takes to reach the parking lot, and maybe even for a long time to come. Close with that phrase. Your listeners will be thankful that you did that, so don’t worry about thanking them.

Just as you shouldn’t start a business conversation with an apology, don’t end with one either.  “I guess I’ve rambled on long enough.” “I don’t know if I’ve made this clear, but I’ll stop now.” “I hope I haven’t bored you too much.” There are hundreds of these apologetic phrases floating around. On the surface, they seem to be charmingly self-deprecating – but they’re really “humble bragging,” a way speakers congratulate themselves for their own humility. They’re also an attempt to disarm any criticism from listeners by beating them to the punch.

Don’t make your windup disproportionately long. Don’t introduce a whole new idea in the final thirty seconds of your meeting. Stay on message. Be careful not to burden your conclusion with ideas or messages that you didn’t even mention in your presentation. That runs the risk of confusing your listener and obscuring your original message.

What you should be creating at the end is a summary, a conclusion, and a very concise call to action. This call to action should be congruent in both tone and content with all that you’ve said before. It should be clear and specific. Your listeners should be left with no doubt about what you're asking or recommending, and the reason to act should be framed in what matters to them. What big problem are you showing them how to solve? Why are you the one who’s best qualified to do that? Show how this conversation can translate into tangible benefits, and how your call to action serves their interests.

And again, don’t say thank you. If you’ve presented yourself correcting, they’ll be the ones doing the thanking.