Episode #27: Speaker Final Impressions

Final impressions at the end of a speech are what determine our memory of the person. Life is throwing so much information at us and at such a manic pace we are easily overwhelmed. We are unlikely to recall too much of the detail of the talk, because there are so many other details in business and life competing for our brain space. I remember reading that Albert Einstein didn’t bother remembering his own phone number. He said he wanted to apply his available memory space for more higher order items. I like that excuse for why I can’t remember a lot of stuff! Anyway, as an audience we may be similarly picky about what we choose to recall. Yet, we will retain an overall impression of the speaker, for good or otherwise, forever. We can let that be a random selection event or we can plan to have the final impression the one we have chosen in advance.

It is a bit like a restaurant we may visit. Unless you are like my wife, you are unlikely to remember every meal you have ever eaten, but you will come away with an impression of the quality and taste of the food, the service levels and the atmosphere. We will either record that as a place to revisit or we will determine to drop that one off the list of the many choices we have facing us. The same with speakers. If we are left with favourable impression, then we will look forward to spending time with them and hearing from them again.

I attended a recent presentation. The speaker was rather casually dressed for the occasion and frankly it didn’t look promising. It was one of the best presentations I have attended in a long time. I can’t remember every detail, but that speaker is right up there in my mind as someone I would look forward to hearing from again. The delivery was competent and the information was super well presented and highly relevant. Another speaker here in Tokyo always draws a huge capacity crowd whenever he speaks. He has a unique style, but he has combined his content and delivery faculties well and is now a go to guy to have speak. The final impression is “that was a very valuable use of my time to sit there and listen to him speak and I want to hear more from this guy”.

Now your talk may not even get off to a brilliant start, but it better have a brilliant finish. The idea of recency is that we tend to remember more of what we heard last, than what we heard first. The details of the talk's key points and the evidence backing it up are lost, as the content quantity builds, each point overlaying the last. The speaker we remember yes, but the details no. We have to therefore really work on how we leave the audience. Will we have a call to action, a rallying cry to do something that will grip the audience’s imagination and inspire them to make a change to what they have always been doing?

Will we leave them with a pithy quote that really gets them thinking about their view of the world and their place in it? Will the ending reheat the one key point we want them to remember? There are so any ways to end a talk, but the key is to plan it well from the very beginning.

The ending is where we should commence our design process. That sounds a bit counterintuitive doesn’t it. Normally we think we should start at the start, that is the opening of the speech and then we flesh out what will be the key points and finally we design the wrap up at the end. That is the technique of the rank amateur. Actually the order is the other way around. We start with the end, then design the key points we will raise and finally we design how we will open it up.

Designing the ending is no small thing. To get a long argument of a 30-40 minute speech chunked down to a single sentence is hard work. This is the professional skill of the copywriter and few of us have that training or expertise. Yet we have to come up with the equivalent of a killer line that encompasses the entire talk and encapsulates the key message for the audience. A take away for the audience that resonates well after the lights had been turned out and the doors locked at the venue.

If we can do that, then the last impression will be positive. If we can inspire the audience to take action, then we will have made a real contribution to the business and they will thank us for it. If we changed their view or widened their vision of how they see the world, they will feel richer than when they arrived for the talk. We want the audience to mentally thank us for adding something to their business or their life. That exchange of their time for greater value is what raises our value in their minds. This should be our aim and how we finish the talk is the tool to deliver that outcome.

Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

About The Author

In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.

A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcast “THE Leadership Japan Series”, he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.

Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.