In the previous blog, we talked about how to craft a great opening, one of the 2 most important parts of your presentation, whether you’re in front of 2 or 2000. Do you know the second most important part? The ending. In this blog, I’ll show you how to craft an effective ending, and what to put in the middle, too.
A Middle that Educates your ‘Audience’ to your Point of View
In the middle of your presentation, add those stories, statistics, and visuals that support your point of view. By the way, as you create that presentation, jot down your point of view. If you’re doing a presentation to sellers, one of the major objectives of your presentation is to persuade them to your listing price point of view.
The Power of the Visual
There are two reasons to use visuals in your presentation:
We believe what we see
We retain the information much longer
As you organize your presentation, ask yourself:
What are the main, and frequently, unspoken objections my ‘audience’ will have? How do I educate them to show them the reasoning behind my point of view?
Retention is Key
Have you ever met with sellers or buyers, given them lots of information—and then had them question you about it a few days later—as if they never heard you—or heard you backwards? That’s because people don’t hear and retain very well. Look at the statistics:
Three days later:
We retain 10% of the information when we hear it
We retain 65% of the information when we hear and see it
So, use visuals to prove your points, not to merely show pretty pictures of houses (or whatever your topic is).
The Ending: Take your Audience Back to the Beginning
Have you thought about your wrap-up? Or, like many presenters, does your ending sound like this?
Well, that’s all. What do you think?
We’re out of time. Thank you. I hope you’ll list with me
I don’t have time to close.
I couldn’t get to much of the material, but you can read it
In fact, even the most professional presenters frequently have trouble with their endings. One of the main reasons is that they run out of time. Another is that they haven’t thought the ending through.
How to Do a Stunning Ending
Crafting an effecting ending is the second most important part of your presentation. (The first is the opening). To craft a great ending,
Go back to your beginning opening theme
Summarize the benefits of going ahead with you/take action
Motivate your ‘audience’ to take action
A Great Presentation is Crafted like a Pop Song
As a musician, I know that all pop tunes are constructed with this format:
theme—variation—theme
This is known in the music business as the ABA format. Think of your favorite pop tune: Hum the beginning. Think of the end. They’re alike, right? It’s the middle—known as the ‘bridge’—that is the humdinger. It wanders all around. Your persuasive presentation should be crafted like that pop tune:
A A compelling start (think Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, etc.)
B An interesting, developed middle, with stories, statistics
A Back to that theme, with a motivating ending
Now, you’re all set to craft a great listing or buyer presentation, great recruiting meeting or sales meeting, or awesome product/service presentation to any audience.
P. S. Practice, practice, practice!
Many more tips on presentations and presentation skills are in my new resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make your Best Presentation Ever. 
Whether you’re doing listing and buyer presentations, or sales meetings, or 3-minute ‘get in front of them to sell your services’, you’ll love this resource.
