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. (like a listing presentation) 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.

Why am I writing this? I had the opportunity to sit in on several ‘affiliate’ presentations to a real estate company. Unfortunately, not one of the presenters had been trained to craft and give a ‘persuasive presentation’. The result: Disjoined, meaningless, time-wasting factoid dumps….and I’m being kind!

{See a description of my presentation to teach how to craft and give a persuasive presentation here.}

A Middle Should Educate 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.

Key: Don’t rely on just your words. Use visuals to support your claims–and visuals from trusted sources.

The Power of the Visual

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.

Does your company ask their reps to do presentations? Are your reps trained, confident, and professional at them? I can help! Check out my presentation, where I teach you how to craft a great persuasive presentation. I offer this to local, regional, and national affiliates and trainers. See it here.