how to transition to conclusion in speech

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Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Writing the Conclusion of a Speech

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

One of the best ways to conclude a speech is to tie the conclusion into the introduction. For example, you might begin your speech by telling a suspenseful story that relates to your topic, but save the end of the story for the very end of your speech. Or refer back to the same quotation. Or refer to the joke that you told. Any of these strategies will give your speech a sense of connection and closure, and will leave the audience with a great final impression.

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, you might try a slightly different ending because your goal is not just to be remembered, it’s to inspire people to take action. One way to do this is to issue a call-to-action. This means that you specifically tell your audience what actions you expect them to take related to your speech. Another way to inspire action with the conclusion of your speech is to appeal to their emotions. If you create a desired emotion within your audience, and then leave them with that emotion, they will take that emotion with them. For example: If you leave them feeling guilty about not-recycling by painting a bleak picture about the state of the Earth that their grandchildren will live in, then they might recall that emotion the next time they choose not to recycle and alter their behavior.

Leaving a strong final impression is the most important aspect of the conclusion, but their are some other necessary steps as well:

• Making a smooth transition from the body of the speech to the conclusion is crucial. To do this, use a signpost known as a concluding statement. The most common concluding statements include: “in conclusion”, “I leave you with”, “finally today”, and other similarly obvious endings.
• Just as it is important to preview a speech in the introduction, it is important to summarize the speech in the conclusion. The more the audience hears your main points, the more likely they are to remember them. By previewing, discussing, and summarizing your main points your audience will be exposed to them at least three times during your speech.

A good conclusion should be about 5-10% of the total speech length. Anything shorter that 5% means that the ending has come too abruptly. Anything more that 10%, and the audience may become restless. This brings up another point: If it sounds like a conclusion, you need to finish your speech in a reasonable amount of time. The conclusion is not the place to add new material.

Effective ways to end a speech

• Summarize the main speech topics or main points.
• Repeat a few keywords or phrases by using the rhetorical figure of speech repetition.
• State how your points prove your general and specific goal.
• Restate and reinforce the central idea.
• Repeat the tie between the needs and interests of the listeners, and your thesis.
• Refer back to an anecdote or quotation in the introduction text.
• Offer a so-called moral of the story.
• Call them to act and offer them how-to-do-it steps.
• List the benefits or available applications; very effective ways to end a speech.
• Restate the problem and provide your solution in two sentences.
• Visualize the outcome of your call to action with a prop or visual aid.
• Transform your central idea or even the discourse title into an easy to remember slogan.
• Recite a couple of lines from songs, poems or citations and quotes from a historical presentation.
• End with a heart-felt human interest story in which all comes together.
• Finish with a clinching personal anecdote.
• Close with an illustrative design example.
• End with a joke or funny remark. Must say that only choose these ways to end a speech if it’s really funny.
• Connect your speech topics with the common grounds and thoughts of the public speaking audience. This way to end a speech brings the overall speech topic in their hearts and minds.
• Ask a rhetorical question and answer with an easy to remember oneliner.
• Give the ultimate answer on an important question you proposed earlier in your introduction.
• Surprise with a shocking fact or figure that empahizes the need for change.
• Draw the contours of the ideal situation you propose. Visualize that they will see paradise if they do, think or act as you want.

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Speech transitions: words and phrases to connect your ideas

June 28, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant.

This can be done using speech transitions because these act as signposts to the audience – signalling the relationship between points and ideas. This article explores how to use speech transitions in presentations.

What are speech transitions?

Speech transitions are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

This makes it easier for the audience to understand your argument and without transitions the  audience may be confused  as to how one point relates to another and they may think you’re randomly jumping between points.

Types of transitions

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different types, here are a few:

Introduction

Introduce your topic:

• We will be looking at/identifying/investigating the effects of…
• Today I will be discussing…

Presentation outline

Inform the audience of the structure of your presentation:

• There are three key points I’ll be discussing…
• I want to begin by…, and then I’ll move on to…
• We’ll be covering… from two points of view…
• This presentation is divided into four parts…

Move from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shift between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Shift between disagreeing points

You may have to introduce conflicting ideas – bridging words and phrases are especially good for this:

• Conversely…
• Despite this…
• However…
• On the contrary…
• Now let’s consider…
• Even so…
• Nonetheless…
• We can’t ignore…
• On the other hand…

Transition to a significant issue

• Fundamentally…
• A major issue is…
• The crux of the matter…
• A significant concern is…

Referring to previous points

You may have to refer to something that you’ve already spoken about because, for example, there may have been a break or a fire alarm etc:

• Let’s return to…
• We briefly spoke about X earlier; let’s look at it in more depth now…
• Let’s revisit…
• Let’s go back to…
• Do you recall when I mentioned…

This can be also be useful to introduce a new point because adults learn better when new information builds on previously learned information.

Introducing an aside note

You may want to introduce a digression:

• I’d just like to mention…
• That reminds me…
• Incidentally…

Physical movement

You can  move your body  and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Emphasising importance

You need to ensure that the audience get the message by informing them why something is important:

• More importantly…
• This is essential…
• Primarily…
• Mainly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Cause and effect

You will have to transition to show relationships between factors:

• Therefore…
• Thus…
• Consequently…
• As a result…
• This is significant because…
• Hence…

Elaboration

• Also…
• Besides…
• What’s more…
• In addition/additionally…
• Moreover…
• Furthermore…

Point-by-point or steps of a process

• First/firstly/The first one is…
• Second/Secondly/The second one is…
• Third/Thirdly/The third one is…
• Last/Lastly/Finally/The fourth one is…

Introduce an example

• This is demonstrated by…
• For instance…
• Take the case of…
• For example…
• You may be asking whether this happens in X? The answer is yes…
• To show/illustrate/highlight this…
• Let me illustrate this by…

Transition to a demonstration

• Now that we’ve covered the theory, let’s practically apply it…
• I’ll conduct an experiment to show you this in action…
• Let me demonstrate this…
• I’ll now show you this…

Introducing a quotation

• X was a supporter of this thinking because he said…
• There is a lot of support for this, for example, X said…

Transition to another speaker

In a  group presentation  you must transition to other speakers:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Gayle will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Gayle”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Simon.”

From these examples, you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

You can  tell personal stories  or share the experiences of others to introduce a point. Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long.

Using questions

You can transition through your speech by asking questions and these questions also have the benefit of engaging your audience more. There are three different types of questions:

Direct questions require an answer: “What is the capital of Italy?” These are mentally stimulating for the audience.

Rhetorical questions  do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: “Is the Pope catholic?

Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask “Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?”.

The audience will generally answer that they’re happy. After receiving the answers you could then say “Actually it’s because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc.”

Transition to a visual aid

If you are going to introduce a visual aid you must prepare the audience with what they’re going to see, for example, you might be leading into a diagram that supports your statement. Also, before you  show the visual aid , explain why you’re going to show it, for example, “This graph is a significant piece of evidence supporting X”.

When the graphic is on display get the audience to focus on it:

• The table indicates…
• As you can see…
• I’d like to direct your attention to…

Explain what the visual is showing:

• You can see that there has been a reduction in…
• The diagram is comparing the…

Using a visual aid to transition

Visual aids can also be used as transitions and they have the benefit of being stimulating and breaking-up vocal transitions.

You might have a slide with just a picture on it to signify to the audience that you’re moving on to a new point – ensure that this image is relevant to the point. Many speakers like to use cartoons for this purpose but ensure its suitable for your audience.

Always summarise your key points first in the conclusion:

• Let’s recap on what we’ve spoken about today…
• Let me briefly summarise the main points…

And then conclude:

If you have a shorter speech you may choose to  end your presentation  with one statement:

• In short…
• To sum up…
• In a nutshell…
• To summarise…
• In conclusion…

However, using statements such as “To conclude” may cause the audience to stop listening. It’s better to say:

• I’d like to leave you with this…
• What you should take away from this is…
• Finally, I want to say…

Call to action

Requesting the audience to do something at the end of the presentation:

• You may be thinking how can I help in this matter? Well…
• My aim is to encourage you to go further and…
• What I’m requesting of you is…

Common mistakes

When transitions are used poorly you can annoy and confuse the audience. Avoid:

• Using transitions that are too short – transitions are a key part of ensuring the audience understands your presentation so spend sufficient time linking to your next idea.
• Too many tangents – any digressions should still be relevant to the topic and help the audience with their understanding, otherwise cut them out.
• Incompatible transitions – for example, if you’re about to introduce an example that supports your statement you wouldn’t introduce this by saying “but”. Use transitions that signify the relationship between points.
• Over-using the same transition because this is boring for the audience to hear repeatedly. Ensure that there is variety with your transitions, consider including visual transitions.
• Miscounting your transitions – for example, don’t say “first point”, “second point”, “next point” – refer to your points consistently.

Speech transitions are useful for unifying and connecting your presentation. The audience are more likely to remain engaged since they’ll be able to follow your points. But remember that it’s important to practice your transitions beforehand and not just the content of your arguments because you risk looking unprofessional and confusing the audience if the presentation does not flow smoothly.

Conclusion transition words: Phrases for summarizing and ending

Transition words help us structure our thoughts and guide the reader or listener through what we are saying. When it’s time to summarize your message or end a paragraph, conclusion transition words let you signal this closing.

It’s good to know some synonyms for ‘in conclusion’ and ‘to conclude’, because although these are good examples of concluding words, they can get repetitive.

Our comprehensive list of transition words for conclusion and summary should give you all the inspiration you need, whether you are writing an essay or speech, or just want to become more confident forming an argument. These signal words can also be helpful for restating ideas, drawing attention to key points as you conclude.

We have included plenty of examples of how you can use these transition words for concluding paragraphs or sentences, so by the end of this article, you should be clear on how to use them properly.

Conclusion transition words with examples

We have grouped these summarizing and concluding transition words according to how and where they can be used. For example, some should only be used when forming a final conclusion, whereas others can be used to summarize sections mid-way through your speech or writing.

First, let’s be clear about the difference between a summary and a conclusion .

Summary vs conclusion

A conclusion comes at the end of a speech, chapter, or piece of text, and it brings together all of the points mentioned. A summary, however, can be placed anywhere (even at the beginning). A summary gives a brief outline of the main points but is not as in-depth as a conclusion.

If you are giving a presentation or writing a blog, you may wish to summarize the main points in your introduction so that people know what you are going to cover. You could also summarize a section part-way through before moving on to another angle or topic.

In contrast, the conclusion always comes at the end, and you should only use specific conclusion transition words as you are drawing to a close.

Transition words for conclusion paragraphs

Let’s begin with some discourse markers that signal you are moving to the concluding paragraph in your presentation, speech, essay, or paper. These can all be used to start a conclusion paragraph.

• In conclusion
• To conclude
• We can conclude that
• Given these points
• In the final analysis
• As can be seen
• In the long run
• When all is said and done
• I’ll end by
• As we draw to a close

The last three on this list, the ‘closing’ transition words, would generally only be used in spoken discourse.

Some transition words for order and sequencing should also help with structuring what you want to say, including the ending.

Example conclusion sentences

The following sentences show how to use conclusion words correctly:

• In conclusion , we can say that plan A will be of greater benefit to the company.
• When all is said and done , it’s clear that we should steer clear of this investment strategy.
• Given these points , I believe the trial was a great success.
• I’ll end by reminding you all that this experiment was just the beginning of a much larger project.
• To wrap up , let’s look at how this learning can be applied.
• In the long run , we will make more profit by investing heavily in new machinery.
• Having analyzed seven of our competitors in detail, we can conclude that our content marketing strategy should be updated.

Transition words for summary

The following summary transition words may be used as part of a conclusion paragraph, but they are especially helpful for concisely drawing together several points.

• To summarize
• On the whole
• Generally speaking
• All things considered
• In a nutshell (informal)
• In any case

Note that although you can insert summary transition words anywhere, the specific phrases ‘In summary’, ‘To summarize’ and ‘To sum up’ are generally only used at the end, similar to conclusion phrases.

Example summary sentences

• In brief , this presentation is going to cover the pros and cons of the device and how we can apply this to our own product development.
• This new technology is, in a word , revolutionary.
• All things considered , we found that Berlin was a great city for a weekend break.
• To summarize , we can say that Shakespeare’s writing continues to have a global influence.
• We can say that the combustion engine was, on the whole , a good invention.
• In any case , we should put the necessary precautions in place.
• Generally speaking , girls are more thoughtful than boys.

Transition words to end a paragraph

You may wish to add ending transition words in the final sentence of a paragraph to conclude the ideas in that section of text, before moving on to another point.

Here are some transition words to conclude a paragraph:

• This means that
• With this in mind
• By and large
• For the most part

Note that some of these could equally be used to begin a new paragraph, so long as that paragraph is summarizing the points previously mentioned.

Cause and effect transition words could also be helpful in this context.

Examples of transition words for the end of a paragraph

• Jamie is a vegan and Sheryl has a lot of allergies. This means that we should be careful which restaurant we choose.
• The weather forecast said it would rain this afternoon. With this in mind , should we postpone our hike?
• Each of the students has their own opinion about where to go for the field trip. Ultimately , though, it’s the teacher who will decide.

Restating points as you conclude

Conclusion transition words can also signal that you are restating a point you mentioned earlier. This is common practice in both writing and speaking as it draws the reader or listener’s attention back to something you want them to keep in mind. These are, therefore, also examples of transition words for emphasizing a point .

Here are some helpful transition words for concluding or summarizing by restating points:

• As mentioned previously
• As stated earlier
• As has been noted
• As shown above
• As I have said
• As I have mentioned
• As we have seen
• As has been demonstrated

You may switch most of these between the passive and active voice, depending on which is most appropriate. For example, ‘As has been demonstrated’ could become ‘As I have demonstrated’ and ‘As shown above’ could become ‘As I have shown’.

Example sentences to restate a point in conclusion or summary

• As I stated earlier , the only way we can get meaningful results from this survey is by including at least a thousand people.
• As has been demonstrated throughout this conference, there are exciting things happening in the world of neuroscience.
• As shown by this study, the trials have been promising.

If you were researching these transition words for concluding an essay, you might find it helpful to read this guide to strong essay conclusions . Of course, there are many ways to use summary transition words beyond essays. They may be a little formal for casual conversation, but they certainly can be used in speech as part of a presentation, debate, or argument.

Can you think of any other concluding words or phrases that should be on this list? Leave a comment below to share them!

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Speech Transitions: Words And Phrases to Connect Your Ideas

Speech transitions are important as they connect ideas and maintain a smooth flow. These transitions help guide the audience through the speech effectively.

Effective communication is crucial in delivering a compelling speech. To engage and captivate an audience, it is essential to connect ideas seamlessly. Speech transitions serve as connectors between different thoughts and ensure a logical progression of ideas. By employing suitable words and phrases, a speaker can enhance the flow of their speech and maintain the audience’s attention.

We will explore various words and phrases that can be used to connect ideas in a speech. These transitions play a vital role in conveying the message effectively and leaving a lasting impact on the listeners.

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Table of Contents

Why Are Speech Transitions Important In Public Speaking?

Speech transitions play a crucial role in public speaking by connecting ideas seamlessly. These words and phrases help maintain the flow of the speech and captivate the audience, ensuring a clear and coherent delivery.

Speech transitions play a significant role in public speaking. They serve as vital connectors that link together various ideas and concepts in a seamless manner. By using appropriate words and phrases to transition between different points, speakers can maintain the flow and coherence of their speech.

Here’s why speech transitions are important:

Benefits Of Using Speech Transitions:

• Enhance clarity: Transitions help speakers to clearly communicate their ideas and thoughts to the audience. By using transition words and phrases, they can guide the listeners through the different sections of their speech, making it easier to follow.
• Improve understanding: Effective transitions ensure that the audience can easily grasp the connections between ideas and concepts. This helps to prevent any confusion or misinterpretation of the speaker’s message.
• Increase engagement: Speech transitions prevent a monotonous or disjointed delivery, making the speech more engaging for the audience. By smoothly moving from one idea to another, the speaker captures the listeners’ attention and keeps them actively involved throughout the presentation.
• Highlight key points: Transitions can be used strategically to emphasize important information or key points. By signaling the significance of certain ideas, speakers can ensure that these points are understood and remembered by the audience.

Impact On Audience Engagement:

• Retention of information: With the help of effective speech transitions, speakers can enhance the audience’s ability to retain and recall the information presented. Logical connections created through transitions make it easier for listeners to process and remember the content.
• Focused attention: Well-placed transitions help to maintain the audience’s focus and prevent their minds from wandering. By smoothly transitioning between ideas, speakers keep the listeners engaged and attentive.
• Active participation: Speech transitions encourage the audience to actively participate in the speech. Clear connections between ideas enable listeners to anticipate the direction of the speech, allowing them to make connections and draw conclusions alongside the speaker.
• Emotionally connect: Transitions can also have an emotional impact on the audience. By using appropriate words and phrases, speakers can evoke specific feelings, making the speech more memorable and impactful.

Creating a smooth and coherent flow:

• Logical progression: Transitions facilitate a logical progression of ideas, enabling the speaker to present their thoughts in a structured manner. This ensures that the audience can easily follow the speaker’s intended flow of information.
• Seamless connection: Speech transitions act as bridges between different ideas or sections, creating a seamless connection between them. This helps to establish a sense of continuity in the speech, preventing any abrupt shifts in topic or subject matter.
• Professional delivery: The use of speech transitions demonstrates a speaker’s professionalism and command over their subject. It showcases their ability to present complex ideas in a clear and organized manner.

By recognizing the importance of speech transitions and incorporating them into public speaking, speakers can enhance the effectiveness of their presentations, captivate their audience, and ensure that their message is delivered with impact.

Types Of Speech Transitions

Discover various types of speech transitions that effectively connect ideas and thoughts in your speech. These words and phrases seamlessly guide the flow of your presentation, keeping your audience engaged and interested. Improve your public speaking skills with these powerful speech transition techniques.

Transition words and phrases play a crucial role in connecting your ideas and making your speech or presentation flow smoothly. By using these linguistic tools, you can create a cohesive and engaging narrative that keeps your listeners hooked. In this section, we will explore the different types of speech transitions, including transition words and phrases, verbal transitions, and nonverbal transitions.

Transition Words And Phrases:

• First and foremost, transition words and phrases serve as the glue that holds your speech together. They facilitate the logical progression of your ideas and help your audience follow along effortlessly.
• Additionally, transition words and phrases add clarity and coherence to your speech, ensuring that your message is easily understood.
• Moreover, they signal shifts in topic, introduce examples, emphasize crucial points, and establish cause-and-effect relationships.
• Furthermore, transition words and phrases enable you to create smooth transitions between different sections of your speech, which is essential for maintaining audience engagement.

Verbal Transitions:

• Verbal transitions involve the use of spoken words or phrases to guide your audience from one idea to another seamlessly.
• For instance, you can use phrases like “now, let’s move on to…”, “in relation to…”, or “on the other hand…” to smoothly transition between topics.
• Likewise, starting a sentence with phrases such as “in the same vein…”, “to illustrate my point…”, or “another key aspect is…” can effectively connect your ideas and make your speech more coherent.
• Furthermore, verbally signaling your intention to transition, using phrases like “now, let’s shift gears and discuss…”, “next up, we’ll explore…”, or “in light of this information…” can help your audience anticipate and comprehend your transitions better.

Nonverbal Transitions:

• Nonverbal transitions involve actions, gestures, or visuals that complement your verbal transitions, reinforcing the connections between your ideas.
• Use physical cues, such as changing your stance, moving to a different part of the stage, or making eye contact with a specific audience member, to signify a transition.
• Similarly, employing visual aids like slides, charts, or props can also assist in smoothly guiding your audience from one idea to the next.
• Additionally, adjusting your tone of voice, pausing strategically, or utilizing facial expressions can effectively emphasize the shift in ideas and engage your listeners.

Incorporating a variety of transition words and phrases, implementing verbal transitions, and utilizing nonverbal cues can greatly enhance the flow and impact of your speech. Integrating these techniques will help you maintain your audience’s attention and ensure that your ideas are communicated effectively.

So, let’s dive in and explore the world of speech transitions further!

Using Transition Words And Phrases

Discover the power of using speech transitions to seamlessly connect your ideas. By employing a variety of transition words and phrases, you can create a cohesive flow in your speech while keeping your audience engaged and interested. Swap repetitive terms for different expressions to ensure your content remains fresh and captivating.

Importance Of Strategic Placement:

• Transition words and phrases are essential in speech writing as they help to connect and smoothly organize ideas and thoughts.
• Strategic placement of transition words and phrases allows for a coherent flow of information, making it easier for the audience to follow the speaker’s train of thought.
• Proper use of transition words and phrases can enhance the overall impact of a speech by creating a logical progression of ideas and reinforcing key points.
• By strategically incorporating transition words and phrases, speakers can maintain the audience’s attention and prevent confusion or disengagement.

Commonly Used Transition Words:

• “furthermore”: Used to add another supporting point or to provide additional information.
• Example: Furthermore, research has shown that regular exercise improves overall mental health.
• “however”: Introduces a contrasting idea or viewpoint.
• Example: The study found that the new drug is effective; however, more research is needed to determine long-term effects.
• “meanwhile”: Shows a simultaneous action or event occurring.
• Example: The company was experiencing financial difficulties; meanwhile, their competitors were thriving.
• “moreover”: Indicates the addition of more information or evidence.
• Example: The data collected from the survey revealed alarming statistics; moreover, it highlighted the need for immediate action.

Connecting Ideas Within A Sentence:

• “similarly”: Demonstrates a likeness or similarity between two ideas.
• Example: The baby elephant walked with a wobble, similarly to a toddler taking their first steps.
• “in addition”: Introduces an additional piece of information or evidence.
• Example: The market research indicated a growing demand for organic products; in addition, consumer preferences were shifting towards sustainable packaging.
• “likewise”: Expresses similarity or agreement with a previous statement.
• Example: The new policy aims to increase employee satisfaction; likewise, it strives to improve overall productivity.
• “on the other hand”: Indicates a contrasting viewpoint or perspective.
• Example: The group was divided on the issue; on the other hand, some argued for immediate action while others preferred a more cautious approach.

Transition Phrases For Introducing New Points:

• “first and foremost”: Emphasizes the primary or most important point to be made.
• Example: First and foremost, it is crucial for individuals to prioritize their mental health.
• “another key point”: Introduces an additional significant idea or argument.
• Example: Another key point to consider is the impact of social media on mental well-being.
• “lastly”: Signals the final point or argument in a series or sequence.
• Example: Lastly, it is essential to provide accessible and affordable mental health services for all individuals.

Transition Words For Emphasizing Or Contrasting Ideas:

• “indeed”: Emphasizes and reinforces a previous point or statement.
• Example: The results of the study indeed highlight the need for further investigation.
• “contrarily”: Shows a contrasting or opposite perspective.
• Example: While some argue for stricter regulations, contrarily, others believe in the importance of personal freedoms.
• “in summary”: Provides a concise overview or recap of the main points discussed.
• Example: The research demonstrates the significant impact of early childhood education on future academic success.

Remember, incorporating these transition words and phrases into your speech can greatly enhance its overall effectiveness, making it more engaging and easy to follow. Use them strategically to guide your listeners through your ideas and ensure they stay connected and engaged with your message.

Incorporating Verbal Transitions

Discover the power of incorporating verbal transitions in your speech to effortlessly connect your ideas. Enhance your communication skills with carefully chosen phrases and words that keep your audience engaged and interested. Unlock the potential of seamless transitions for impactful speeches.

Establishing A Connection Between Ideas

• Incorporating verbal transitions is essential in speech delivery as it helps maintain a smooth flow of ideas. These transitions act as bridges between different thoughts, guiding the audience through your speech. By using the right words and phrases, you can establish clear connections between ideas, leaving a lasting impact on your listeners. Let’s explore some effective techniques for incorporating verbal transitions.

Using Clear Language And Cues

• Clear language and cues allow your audience to follow along effortlessly, ensuring that your ideas are effectively communicated. Consider the following strategies to enhance clarity in your speech:
• Signposting: The use of signposting phrases, such as “firstly,” “next,” or “” helps guide your audience through the structure of your speech, making it easier for them to follow your thought process.
• Repetition: Repeating key phrases or concepts throughout your speech can reinforce your ideas, making them more memorable for your audience.
• Pronouns: Utilize pronouns like “they,” “we,” or “you” to create a sense of inclusivity and engagement. This fosters a connection between you and your audience, encouraging active participation.

Examples Of Verbal Transition Techniques

• Here are some effective examples of verbal transition techniques to incorporate in your speech:
• Cause and effect: Use phrases like “as a result,” “consequently,” or “therefore” to highlight the cause and effect relationship between different ideas.
• Comparison and contrast: Employ phrases such as “similarly,” “on the other hand,” or “in contrast” to draw comparisons or highlight differences between ideas, helping your audience understand distinct concepts better.
• Time sequence: Signal the passage of time or progression of ideas with phrases like “before,” “afterward,” or “meanwhile.” This helps your audience follow the chronological order of events or thoughts.

Practice And Delivery Tips

• To improve your use of verbal transitions, consider these practice and delivery tips:
• Rehearse your speech: Practice delivering your speech multiple times, focusing on incorporating verbal transitions smoothly. This will help you become more comfortable and confident in your delivery.
• Record and review: Record yourself delivering the speech and take note of areas where verbal transitions can be improved. Analyzing your performance will enable you to refine your delivery and strengthen your speech.
• Seek feedback: Request constructive feedback or have a trusted person observe your speech. They can provide valuable insights on how to enhance your verbal transitions and overall impact.

Remember, incorporating verbal transitions in your speech not only enhances its coherence but also ensures that your ideas are effectively communicated and understood by your audience. By practicing and mastering these techniques, you’ll become a more engaging and persuasive speaker.

Keep honing your skills, and watch your speech captivate and inspire your listeners.

Leveraging Nonverbal Transitions

Discover the power of nonverbal transitions in connecting your ideas during speeches. Utilize effective words and phrases that enhance the flow of your presentation and engage your audience. Say goodbye to common speech transition pitfalls and captivate your listeners with seamless transitions.

In the realm of public speaking, effective speech transitions are crucial for connecting ideas and maintaining the attention of your audience. While verbal transitions are commonly employed, nonverbal cues can be just as powerful in conveying a seamless flow of thoughts.

This section will explore the various ways to leverage nonverbal transitions, including visual cues, body language, gestures and facial expressions, the importance of eye contact, and how to convey confidence and professionalism.

Visual Cues And Body Language:

• Visual cues play a vital role in indicating transitions and maintaining engagement during a speech.
• Use confident and purposeful body language to signify a change in topic or shift in ideas.
• Positioning yourself differently on stage or adjusting your stance can visually communicate a transition to your audience.
• Maintain an open and relaxed posture, which indicates a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Gestures And Facial Expressions:

• Utilize gestures and facial expressions to enhance the impact of your nonverbal transitions.
• Gesture with your hands to emphasize key points or signal a transition to a new idea.
• Employ facial expressions to convey enthusiasm, surprise, or seriousness, making your transitions more engaging and memorable.

Importance Of Eye Contact:

• Eye contact is a powerful nonverbal tool that establishes a connection with your audience and aids in smooth transitions.
• Engage with individuals in different parts of the room, ensuring that your eye contact is inclusive and not only focused on a single person or section.
• During transitions, maintain eye contact to signal that you are moving on to a new topic or idea.
• The use of eye contact can also help you gauge the audience’s reaction and adjust your delivery accordingly.

Conveying Confidence And Professionalism:

• Nonverbal transitions are instrumental in conveying confidence and professionalism throughout your speech.
• Maintain a calm and composed demeanor, which instills confidence in your audience.
• Avoid fidgeting or excessive movements that may distract from your message.
• By utilizing nonverbal cues effectively, you can create a sense of professionalism and competence, enhancing your overall speaker presence.

Incorporating nonverbal transitions into your speech can significantly improve its flow, captivate your audience, and reinforce your message. Visual cues, body language, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and conveying confidence and professionalism are all essential elements in creating a seamless and engaging speaking experience.

Practice and master these nonverbal techniques to elevate your speech to new heights.

Transitioning Between Different Sections Of A Speech

Transitioning between different sections of a speech is crucial for maintaining a coherent flow and engaging the audience. By utilizing effective speech transitions, you can seamlessly connect your ideas, avoiding clichés and repetitive terms, to ensure a captivating and impactful delivery.

Transitioning between different sections of a speech is crucial to maintain the flow and coherence of your ideas. To ensure a smooth transition, consider using the following techniques:

Introducing A New Topic Or Main Idea

• Pose a question: Start a new section by asking a thought-provoking question that introduces your audience to the upcoming topic. For example, “have you ever wondered how technology has revolutionized the way we communicate?”
• Provide a brief anecdote or story: Capture your audience’s attention by sharing a relevant story or anecdote that sets the stage for the new topic. This personal touch will engage your listeners from the start.
• Use a powerful quote: Begin your section with an impactful quote that relates to the subject matter. This will immediately draw your audience’s attention and create curiosity about the upcoming discussion.

Summarizing Key Points

• Highlight the main ideas: Summarize the key points you have discussed so far in a concise and clear manner. This allows your audience to understand the progress of your speech and reinforces the central ideas you want them to remember.
• Use transition words: Employ transition words and phrases such as “” “to summarize,” or “in conclusion” to signal that you are summarizing the main points. This helps the audience mentally prepare for the upcoming summary.

Shifting Focus Or Transitioning To A Conclusion

• Preview the provide a glimpse of what your conclusion will entail without delving into the details. This primes your audience for the upcoming ending, creating anticipation and signaling the shift in focus.
• Ask for the audience’s attention: Use phrases like “now, let’s turn to the final part of our discussion” to redirect the attention back to the conclusion. This helps maintain engagement and refocuses the audience’s thoughts on the closing remarks.
• Reinforce the central theme: Remind your listeners of the central theme or main message of your speech. This will ensure that the concluding remarks connect back to the core ideas you have been discussing.

Remember, effective transitions are like signposts that guide your audience through your speech. By utilizing these techniques, you can navigate between different sections smoothly and keep your audience fully engaged.

Tips For Effective Transitioning

Discover practical tips for effective transitioning in your speech through the use of appropriate words and phrases. Enhance the flow of your ideas by avoiding overused terms and incorporating a variety of expressions at the beginning of paragraphs. Keep your sentences concise and engaging to maintain the reader’s interest.

Preparing And Rehearsing Transitions:

• Craft a list of transitional words and phrases: To ensure smooth and seamless transitions between your ideas, compile a list of words and phrases that can serve as connectors. Examples include “however,” “in addition,” and “on the other hand.”
• Identify logical connections: Assess the flow of your speech and identify the logical connections between each point. This will help you determine the appropriate transitional words or phrases to use.
• Practice aloud: Once you have selected your transition words and phrases, practice incorporating them into your speech. Rehearse it several times to ensure that the transitions feel natural and help maintain the overall coherence of your ideas.

Using A Variety Of Transition Methods:

• Implement signposts: Signposts are words or phrases that indicate where you are in your speech and where you are going next. Examples include “firstly,” “next,” and “finally.” By using these signposts, you guide your audience through your speech, making it easier for them to follow along.
• Utilize parallel structure: Parallel structure involves using the same grammatical structure for each point in your speech. This creates a rhythm and consistency that facilitates smooth transitions. For example, instead of saying “i like hiking and to swim,” you would say “i like hiking and swimming.”
• Incorporate rhetorical questions: Asking a rhetorical question can help transition from one idea to the next seamlessly. It engages your audience and prompts them to reflect on the previous point before moving on to the next one.
• Use visual aids: Visual aids such as slides or props can serve as effective transition tools. By visually emphasizing the connection between ideas, you can make the transition more apparent to your audience.
• Provide summaries: Summarizing the main points of each section can be a powerful transition technique. It allows you to recap what has been discussed and prepare your audience for the upcoming topic.

Maintaining A Natural And Conversational Tone:

• Avoid using jargon: To keep your speech accessible and engaging, avoid using technical jargon or overly complicated language. Opt for words and phrases that your audience can easily understand.
• Vary sentence lengths: Using a mix of short and long sentences adds rhythm and variety to your speech. This prevents monotony and keeps your audience engaged.
• Practice active voice: Choosing active voice sentences instead of passive voice helps maintain a conversational tone. Active voice is more direct and engaging, making it easier for your audience to follow along.
• Engage with the audience: Encourage audience participation throughout your speech by asking for their thoughts or experiences related to your topic. This creates a more conversational and interactive atmosphere.
• Adjust your pace: Pay attention to your speaking pace and adjust it accordingly. Speaking too fast can make it difficult for your audience to process the information, while speaking too slowly can lead to disengagement. Aim for a rhythmic and natural pace.

Remember, effective transitioning is crucial for the cohesiveness and clarity of your speech. By preparing and rehearsing your transitions, utilizing a variety of transition methods, and maintaining a natural and conversational tone, you can ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and leave a lasting impact on your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are speech transitions.

Speech transitions are words and phrases used to connect ideas and help the audience follow your presentation more smoothly. They create a logical flow and make it easier for listeners to understand and remember your key points.

Why Are Speech Transitions Important?

Speech transitions are important because they enhance the coherence and clarity of your speech. They help your audience navigate through your ideas and maintain their attention. Transitions also make your speech more engaging and polished, leaving a lasting impact on your listeners.

What Are Some Common Speech Transition Words And Phrases?

There are various speech transition words and phrases you can use, such as “in addition,” “however,” “on the other hand,” “moreover,” “as a result,” “to summarize,” and “finally. ” These transition words and phrases can help you transition between different ideas, compare and contrast points, and summarize information.

How Can Speech Transitions Improve My Public Speaking Skills?

Using speech transitions in your presentations enhances your public speaking skills by making your speech more organized, coherent, and impactful. With effective transitions, you can smoothly guide your audience through your ideas, keeping them engaged and helping them understand and remember your message.

To sum up, utilizing effective speech transitions is essential for seamless and coherent delivery. By incorporating appropriate words and phrases, you can effectively connect your ideas and guide your audience through your speech. Whether you are emphasizing a point, introducing a new topic, or providing examples, utilizing transitional words and phrases enhances the overall flow of your speech.

Moreover, these transitions help to maintain your audience’s engagement and comprehension. From using simple transitional words like “firstly” and “next,” to employing complex connectors such as “in contrast” and “similarly,” the right speech transitions can transform your speaking style. By following these guidelines and practicing your delivery, you can become a confident and compelling speaker.

Remember, speech transitions are powerful tools that can transform your speech from disjointed to cohesive, ensuring that your ideas are conveyed clearly and effectively. So, the next time you give a speech, make sure to incorporate these essential speech transitions and watch your message resonate with your audience.

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9 Closing a Speech: End with Power and Let Them Know It is Time to Clap

Open Your Speech With a Bang Close It With a Slam-Dunk Westside Toastmasters

“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending,” according to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The first few words of your speech make the audience want to listen and the last few sentences help them decide what they feel about you and your topic. In this chapter, I will explain the function of a conclusion, the format of a conclusion, and I will give you numerous examples of ways to end your speech. Most of this chapter is dedicated to showing you good examples of different types of speech closings. Let’s get started by talking about the purpose of the closing.

A Strong Closing Does Many Things

• Summarizes the points. By restating your points your audience is more likely to remember them.
• Tells the audience when to clap. Let’s face it, it is so awkward when you are done with your speech, and no one claps. Being clear the end is near, relieves the audience of the pressure of wondering if they are clapping at the right time.
• Provides resolution. Your speech should give the audience a sense of resolve or a sense of being challenged.

The Formula for Closing Most Speeches

• Transition statement to ending.
• Review the main points–repeat the thesis.
• If it is a persuasive speech, tell the audience what you want them to do or think.
• Provide a closing statement.

Restate the Thesis

Tell them what you are going to say, say it, tell them what you have said. This speech pattern is useful in most types of speeches because it helps the speaker to remember your key points. As you build your closing, make sure you restate the thesis. A good rule of thumb is to write it in such a way that if the audience were asked to restate the main points, their answer would match closely with your thesis.

EXAMPLE Watch as Stella Young gives her thesis and then restates her thesis at the end of the speech as she wraps up. The thesis of the talk in the introduction: We’ve been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It’s a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make you exceptional. Restates the thesis of the talk at the closing: Disability doesn’t make you exceptional but questioning what you think you know about it does.

Stella Young, I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk

This next example is from a student’s speech. It is easy to pull out one sentence that clearly summarizes the main points of her speech. Following her summary, she winds the speech down into a thoughtful conclusion and ends with three powerful words.

Now is the time to separate the war on drugs from the war on addiction. T oday you’ve heard the problems, impacts, and solutions of criminalizing addictions. Bruce Callis is 50 years old now. And he is still struggling with his addiction. while you all are sitting out there listening to this, I’m living with it. Bruce Callis is my father and for my entire life, I have watched our misguided system destroy him. The irony here is that we live in a society where we are told to recycle. We recycle paper, aluminum, and electronics. But why don’t we ever consider recycling them most precision think on Earth– the human life. Student Tunnette Powell, Winner of the 2012 Interstate Oratorical Association Contest.

Closing Phrases

After you restate your thesis, you should carefully deliver your closing phrases.  Your closing should provide a resolution to your speech and/or it should challenge the audience. Frantically Speaking writer Hrideep Barot suggests  “a conclusion is like tying a bow or ribbon to a box of your key ideas that your audience will be taking along with them.”

A speech closing is not just about the words you say, but it is also the way you say it. Change the pace near the end of your speech. Let your tone alone should signal the end is near. It is about deliberate voice control, don’t let your voice weakly away.

In the next section, I will cover these ways to end your speech:

End with powerful words End with a quote End with a graphic End with parallel construction End on a positive note End with a challenge End with a question End with inspiration End with well-wishing End with humor End with a call to action End with a feeling of resolve End with a prop

The best way to teach you about advanced closings is to show not tell. For this section, I will briefly explain each type of closing and then provide a video. Each video is queued so you can play the video and watch the closing statement.  I included a transcript under each video if you want to follow along.  It will be most beneficial for you to watch the clip and not just read the text. By watching, you will have a chance to hear the subtle changes in the speaker’s voice as they deliver their closing statements.

End with Powerful Words

As you design your closing, look at the last three to five words and examine them to see if they are strong words. Oftentimes, you can rearrange a sentence to end with a powerful word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Watch this clip for how BJ Miller ends with a powerful thought and a powerful word. 

Parts of me died early on, and that’s something we can all say one way or another. I got to redesign my life around this fact, and I tell you it has been a liberation to realize you can always find a shock of beauty or meaning in what life you have left, like that snowball lasting for a perfect moment, all the while melting away. If we love such moments ferociously, then maybe we can learn to live well — not in spite of death, but because of it. Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination. BJ Miller, What Really Matters at the End of Life

End by Circling Back to the Opening

Another type of ending is to circle back to what you said in the beginning. You can revisit a quote, share the end to an illustration that was begun in the beginning, or you can put away a prop you got out in the beginning.

Watch this clip for how Zubing Zhang begins and ends with the same quote to circle back around to the main idea. 

She starts by telling a story of bungee jumping off the world’s highest platform and how she saw a sign with a quote that says, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” After telling her own story about pushing her emotional limits, she circles back around at the end by saying, “As the words said high on the bungee platform, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”

Yubing Zhang, Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone. 

End With Quote

If you end your speech with a quote, attend to the following.

• Always say the author of the quote before the quote for example, “I want to leave you with a leadership quote ‘What you do has far greater impact than what you say,’ Steven Covey.” The problem with this ending is that “Stephen Covey” are the last two words of the speech and that is boring. Consider instead this ending. “I think Robin Sharma said it best ‘Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.'” In this arrangement, the last three words are powerful–influence and inspiration.
• Provided context for the quote before or after. Make sure the quote is meaningful and not just an easy way to end.

Watch this clip for how Sir Ken Robinson ends with a quote. Notice how he says the author and then the quote.

Also, notice how he then ties his speech to the quote with a final few sentences and ends with the powerful word–“revolution” and how he uses a strong vocal emphasis as he says his last word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

There’s a wonderful quote from Benjamin Franklin. “There are three sorts of people in the world: Those who are immovable, people who don’t get it, or don’t want to do anything about it; there are people who are movable, people who see the need for change and are prepared to listen to it; and there are people who move, people who make things happen.” And if we can encourage more people, that will be a movement. And if the movement is strong enough, that’s, in the best sense of the word, a revolution. And that’s what we need.

Sir Ken Robinson, How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. 

End with a Graphic

You might want to use a visual to make your final point. Bringing in a picture, graphic, or object, reengages the audience to pay attention to your final ideas.

Watch this clip for how Barry Schartz uses the magic words “so to conclude” and then he creatively uses a picture of a fishbowl to narrow in on his point. Notice how his final word is spoken with urgency as he says “disaster.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

 So, to conclude. (He shows a picture of fish in a fishbowl) He says, “You can be anything you want to be — no limits.” You’re supposed to read this cartoon and, being a sophisticated person, say, “Ah! What does this fish know? Nothing is possible in this fishbowl.” Impoverished imagination, a myopic view of the world –that’s the way I read it at first. The more I thought about it, however, the more I came to the view that this fish knows something. Because the truth of the matter is, if you shatter the fishbowl so that everything is possible, you don’t have freedom. You have paralysis. If you shatter this fishbowl so that everything is possible, you decrease satisfaction. You increase paralysis, and you decrease satisfaction. Everybody needs a fishbowl. This one is almost certainly too limited –perhaps even for the fish, certainly for us. But the absence of some metaphorical fishbowl is a recipe for misery and, I suspect, disaster. Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

End with Parallel Construction

Parallel construction is a series of repeated phrases. It can be a powerful tool to use in a persuasive speech as it creates a feeling of importance.

Watch this clip for how Malala Yousafzai ends with a series of parallel statements to build momentum. Notice how her pace perfectly matches her words and you feel her strength when she ends with “education first.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice, and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of schools. We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future. So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism, and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First.

Malala Yousafzai,  United Nations Youth Assembly

End on a Positive Note

Audiences are constantly evaluating a speaker to determine their attitude and motivation. As you consider your speech closing, ask yourself what type of impression do you want to leave?  Do you want to leave them with depression or hope? Sadness or promise? Most of the time, audiences will receive messages that end positively better than speeches that end negatively.

In this speech sample, Hans Rosling showed the audience some hard statistics and he even pointed fingers at the audience as part of the problem. To help them hear his main point, he wisely ends on a positive note.

Watch this clip for how Hans Rosling ends this thought-provoking talk on a positive note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Now, when thinking about where all this leaves us, I have just one little humble advice for you, besides everything else, look at the data. Look at the facts about the world and you will see where we are today and how we can move forwards with all these billions on our wonderful planet. The challenge of extreme poverty has been greatly reduced and it’s for the first time in history within our power to end it for good. The challenge of population growth is, in fact, already being solved, the number of children has stopped growing.  And for the challenge for climate change, we can still avoid the worst, but that requires the richest, as soon as possible, find a way to use their set their use of resources and energy at a level that, step by step, can be shared by 10 billion or 11 billion by the end of this century. I’ve never called myself an optimist, but I do say I’m a possibilist and I also say the world is much better than many of you think.

Hans Rosling, Facts about the Population.

End with a Challenge

Leave the audience with a doable personal challenge. Help them mentally make sense of all the information that you shared by helping them know how to file it away and how to use it.

Watch this clip for how Melissa Butler ends with a challenge. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So, I challenge each of you, when you go home today, look at yourself in the mirror, see all of you, look at all of your greatness that you embody, accept it, and love it. And finally, when you leave the house tomorrow, try to extend that same love and acceptance to someone who doesn’t look like you . Melissa Butler, Why You Think You’re Ugly. 

Watch this clip as Darren LaCroix literally falls face down to anchor the point that when we fall, we “fall forward.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Darren LaCroix talks about taking risks and falling down and getting back up, he literally and purposefully falls down during his speech and ends this way: What’s your next step… take it. I didn’t want to look back at my life and say you know I never did try that comedy thing, but I died debt-free. All of us are headed toward that goal we are going to teach a point where we get stuck and our feet are like in cement and we can’t move but we’re so afraid of that ouch but we forget that if we lean forward and take a risk–(He falls face down) and we fall on our face. When we get up, notice, you still made progress. So please, with me, go ahead and fall. But fall forward. Darren LaCroiz, Winning Speech delivered at National Speech Association

End with a Question

Asking a question at the end is one way to reengage the audience. It helps them think about what your topic might mean for them.

Watch this clip for how David Eagleman reminds us about why his topic is important and then ends with a question. Notice how he pauses before his final question and how he changes the pace of his speech for the final sentence. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So I think there’s really no end to the possibilities on the horizon for human expansion. Just imagine an astronaut being able to feel the overall health of the International Space Station, or, for that matter, having you feel the invisible states of your own health, like your blood sugar and the state of your microbiome, or having 360-degree vision or seeing in infrared or ultraviolet. So the key is this: As we move into the future, we’re going to increasingly be able to choose our own peripheral devices. We no longer have to wait for Mother Nature’s sensory gifts on her timescales, but instead, like any good parent, she’s given us the tools that we need to go out and define our own trajectory. So the question now is, how do you want to go out and experience your universe?

David Eagleman, Can We Create New Senses for Humans? 

Watch this clip for how Lera Boroditsky ends with a personal note and a  powerful final question. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I want to leave you with this final thought. I’ve told you about how speakers of different languages think differently, but of course, that’s not about how people elsewhere think. It’s about how you think. It’s how the language that you speak shapes the way that you think. And that gives you the opportunity to ask, “Why do I think the way that I do?” “How could I think differently?” And also,  “What thoughts do I wish to create?” Lera Boroditsky, How Language Shapes the Way We Think

End with Inspiration

“Inspiring your audience is all about helping them see their own vision, not yours.”

You may want to end your speech with inspiring and encouraging words. Pick words that resonate with most of your audience and deliver them in such a way that your audience feels your lift in emotion.

Watch this clip for how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ends with an inspiring final note and a powerful last few words “regain a kind of paradise” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.

I would like to end with this thought:   That when we reject the single-story,   when we realize that there is never a single story   about any place,   we regain a kind of paradise.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,  The Danger of a Single Story  

Watch this clip for how Dan Pink ends with an inspiring final note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing) Let me wrap up. There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. Here is what science knows. One: Those 20th century rewards, those motivators we think are a natural part of business, do work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. Two: Those if-then rewards often destroy creativity. Three: The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive– the drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things cause they matter.

And here’s the best part. We already know this. The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between what science  knows and what business does, if we bring our motivation, notions of motivation into the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe, maybe — we can change the world. I rest my case. Dan Pink, The Puzzle of Motivation

End with Well Wishing

There are several types of closings where the speaker wished the audience well.

The Benediction Close: M ay God bless and keep you…. The Presidential Close: God bless you and may God bless the USA The Congratulatory Close: I congratulate you on your accomplishment and wish you continued success. 

End with Humor

You can end on a fun lighthearted note. It is important to always run your humor by a variety of people to make sure you are funny, and your humor is appropriate.

Watch this clip for how Andrew Dunham uses humor throughout his speech and ends with a funny one-liner. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I wish you all the best as we begin this journey on our paths and I sincerely hope and pray that your time and success have proven to be as memorable and spiritually rewarding as mine. If not, there’s always summer school.

Andrew Dunham, Valedictorian Comes Out As Autistic During Speech

End with a Call to Action

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, let the audience know exactly what you want them to do.

End with a Feeling of Resolve

Paul Harvey made famous the line “And now you know…the rest of the story.” Your closing should allow us to know the rest of the story or to know how a situation was resolved.

Watch this clip for how Lucy Hone ends this tough but inspiring talk with a feeling of resolve (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

https://youtu.be/9-5SMpg7Q0k?t=913 If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think there’s no way I’m coming back from this, I urge you to lean into these strategies and think again. I won’t pretend that thinking this way is easy and it doesn’t remove all the pain. But if I’ve learned anything over the last five years, it is that thinking this way really does help. More than anything it has shown me that  it is possible  to live and grieve at the same time. And for that I will be always grateful. Lucy Hone, The Three Secrets of Resilient People

End with a Prop

Nancy Duarte says you should give your audience, SOMETHING THEY  will ALWAYS REMEMBER–S.T.A.R. One way to do that is with an action or statement that will have the audience talking about it for a long time. President Obama did it with a mic drop.

Memorize Your Conclusion

End on time.

Do not diminish the effect of a great speech with a bloated, aimless conclusion. Dan Rothwell.

“Times about up.”

Don’t end with any references to time. It is like a giant stop sign saying, “stop listening.”  Don’t highlight that you ran over time or that it is almost time for lunch. You want them to think about your speech, not the clock.

“Any Questions?”

You want them to feel a sense of closure for your speech.  End with something powerful and let them applaud.  After the applause, you can offer to answer questions. Similarly, projecting your last slide with the words, “Any Questions” is a weak ending.

“Let Me Add This Point I Missed”

If you forget something in the body of your speech, it is usually best to leave it out.  Most of the time you are the only one who will miss it.

“Thank You to the Team”

There is a time to thank the organizers and those who helped you but it is not at the end of your speech. Your focus should be on your audience and what they need and what they need to hear is your idea.  Send a thank you letter to the team if you want them to feel your appreciation.

“I’m Sorry”

“Sorry again for the technology issue,” “I apologize for going over time, ” “I regret I have no answer to this.” These are all negative phrases.  Keep to your topic that is what they need to hear and stay focused.

“I’ll Close with this Video”

No, you should close with talking about the big idea.

If you don’t have a plan at the end, you will ramble. “Steer clear of meandering endings they kill a story,” according to the Moth Storytelling website. “Your last line should be clear in your head before you start. Yes, bring the audience along with you as you contemplate what transpires in your story, but remember, you are driving the story, and must know the final destination. Keep your hands on the wheel!”

To Thank or Not to Thank, That is the Question

There is a debate amongst speech professionals, speech teachers, and speech coaches about whether or not you should thank the audience. Here are their main arguments.

Why You Should Not Say Thank You

• You want to end with powerful words. “Thank you” are not strong words.
• The recency effect suggests they will remember the last words you spoke. You want them to remember more than just “thank you.”
• It is not a very creative way to end.
• It can be a sign of a lazy speaker, “I have no idea how to end this, I’ve run out of good things to say so I’ll say ‘Thank you’ so you will clap now.”

Why You Should Say Thank You

• It has come to be the expected ending in many settings. Violating their expectations can cause them to have a negative reaction.
• It clearly signals you are finished so the audience knows when to clap. The relieves the pressure from both you and the audience.
• It expresses gratitude.

I will leave it up to you to decide what works for you. As for me, I plan on trying to find more creative ways to end other than just saying “thank you.”

Maximizing the Primacy Recency Effect

If I were to read you a list of thirty things on my grocery list and then asked you to list all that you can remember, chances are you would remember the first times on the list and the last items on the list ( and any ones you found interesting from the middle). When people engage in listening, they tend to remember the first and last things they hear, it is called the primacy-recency effect. T his is just one more reason that your introduction and conclusion should be so well planned out. It is those first words and last words that the audience is going to remember. 

The primacy recency effect influences, not only what people pay attention to in a speech, but also which speech we pay the most attention to in a series of speeches. For example, if there is a lineup of six speakers, the first and last speakers tend to get the most attention.

As a speaker, you can use this information to your advantage by volunteering to go first or last. If you are giving a long presentation, you can break it up by allowing the audience to move around or talk to a neighbor. When you come back from break, you have re-engaged that primacy effect and moved them back to a high state of attention.

Do You Have Everything You Need for a Strong Closing?

• Have I signaled my speech is coming to an end with my words or my voice?
• Have I restated my main points?
• If I am persuading my audience, do they know what I want them to do or think?
• Have I written the last three to five words in such a way that I end with powerful words?
• Have I memorized my closing?

Getting Off the Platform is Part of Your Closing

Plan on making a strong exit. Whether you are stepping off a stage or simply going to your seat, you should consider that the audience is watching you.

I have had students who finished their speech and then walked over to the trashcan and in a large, exaggerated movement, they threw their notecards in the trash. In our minds, we threw their message away with those cards. I’ve seen speakers, sit in their chairs and then announce, “I can’t believe my hands were shaking so much.” I’ve sat there and thought, “I didn’t notice.” I then realized that the comments they made influenced my perception of them and my perception of their topic.

You said your last word and the audience is applauding, now what? Look at your audience and smile and nod in appreciation before walking off the stage. If you will be answering questions, wait until after the applause stops to begin your question and answering period.

When practicing your speech, it is a good idea to start from your chair, walk up to a spot and then give your speech, and then walk back to your chair and sit down. Your “speech” impression begins and ends from your chair.

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

• A speech closing should include a review of the main points and a purposeful closing sentence.
• Persuasive speech endings should tell the audience specifically what they should do or think about.
• The recency effect suggests that people remember the most recent things they have heard which is one reason the closing is so important.
• Chance the pace of your speech and the tone of your voice to signal the end of the speech.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have an activity to include? Did you notice a typo that I should correct? Are you planning to use this as a resource and do you want me to know about it? Do you want to tell me something that really helped you?

Click here to share your feedback. 

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Media Attributions

• Audience clapping © Alex Motoc is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
• jose-aragones-81QkOoPGahY-unsplash © Jose Aragones is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Speech Transitions: How to Word Them Effectively (17 Examples)

Do you think your audience notices the transition words you use during the speech? Probably not.

However, when presenting to an audience, you need your words and ideas to flow smoothly to ensure successful delivery. This retains the central idea and helps you hold the audience's attention.

Transition words enable such flow, allowing you to move effortlessly from one idea to the next.

Therefore, it is essential to learn various transition words for speeches and the right way to use them.

You must also understand the connection between body language and speech transitions and what pitfalls to avoid when making a presentation.

What Are Speech Transitions?

Speech transitions are tools to move from one part of a speech to the next. These words, phrases, or complete sentences help a presenter connect different ideas to make the speech coherent and exciting.

Instead of listing those ideas, a presentation needs to flow.

Introducing the next concept and showing that connection helps to deliver your message effectively. The alternative would be to send your audience a list of your ideas and save them a dull and incoherent speech.

Forming connections in a speech is essential since you need your words to link your ideas to form a message.

Therefore, you must show consequences, comparisons, examples, sequences, and conclusions. They allow you to guide the audience to see your argument by making your speech smooth and your expressions clear.

Think of speech transitions as the arrows on signposts , showing hikers which directions to follow to arrive at a predetermined destination.

With these arrows showing the way, your audience can arrive at your speech's core and main message.

What Are the Types of Transitions in Speeches?

Let us look at different types of speech transition words and phrases:

1. Transition Between Similar Ideas

As the name suggests, this transition connects two similar ideas by showing where one ends and the next begins.

This type of speech transition examples includes: likewise, similarly, in a similar way , etc.

2. Transition to Elaborate Upon an Idea

These help you emphasize an idea by providing more information about it. Examples include: in addition, furthermore, moreover, also, in other words , etc.

3. Transition Between Contrasting Ideas

This shows where one idea ends, and an opposing one begins.

Contrasting transition words and phrases set up the next point to support the final idea by showing consequence or urgency.

Examples include: however, on the other hand, conversely, on the contrary, on the other side, in contrast , etc.

4. Transition to a List or Numbered Points

These speech transitions help you deliver a list of items that would otherwise be numbered on paper. A typical example is numbering each point as you go down the list.

For example: first, second, third, firstly, secondly, thirdly , etc.

5. Transition to Emphasize a Cause-Effect Relationship

This transition shows how one idea depends on the next or how its existence determines the fate of the next.

Examples include: therefore, consequently, as a result, for that reason , etc.

6. Transition to Show a Supporting Example

This simple transition is powerful as it introduces an example to support and emphasize a point.

Examples include: for example, for instance, to illustrate this, as an example , etc.

7. Transition to a Supporting Demonstration

Your presentation may include a demonstration to highlight your points further. Therefore, you need to help the audience smoothly transition from listening to you to paying attention to the demonstration.

You could tell the audience, " Now that we've discussed the theory, let's see it in action. "

8. Transition Between the Main Speech Parts

You need to transition from the introduction to the main body to the conclusion . Typically, the introduction includes a brief breakdown of what your speech entails. That is, you'll let the audience know what to expect.

As you move to the main body, you can use speech transitions such as, " Let's begin, " " Let's get started, " etc.

When you reach your conclusion, you can wind down with " In summary, " " In conclusion ," "t o round off, " etc.

9. Transition to Raise an Earlier Point

Your speech may not flow from the beginning to the end in one straight line, and sometimes you may need to recap an earlier point for your address to resume its smooth flow or just to re-emphasize a point you need for your next part.

Examples include " let's return ," " let's revisit, " and " go back to …, etc.

Advanced Speech Transitions

The previous section covered most speech transitions. This section will focus on speech transition examples that apply when standing before an audience.

While you'll need the transitions mentioned above, how you execute them before an audience determines how engaging your speech will be.

Note that giving a speech allows you to elaborate more on transition words and phrases, unlike written communication.

Therefore, you're free to use phrases like " as an example, " " let us look at several examples, " etc.

In written communication, you need to use as few words as possible, such as " for example, " "f or instance, " etc.

Moreover, the use of longer transitions might smoothen your speech. Therefore, use longer phrase examples in your speech, but avoid going overboard with the word count.

1. Transition to Another Speaker

In a group presentation, preparing the audience for a speaker change is vital. Your flow will likely differ, so you need to allow the audience to switch gears.

Examples include, " my colleague will talk about our next topic, " " I now hand over the microphone to… ", etc.

2. Commanding Speech Transitions

Asking your audience to do something specific is powerful and helps you guide their information processing.

Examples include, " Listen to this, " " Guess what? ", " Pay attention to this, " etc. These initially seem subtle and are agreeable, making them practical guiding tools.

3. Empathy Speech Transitions

These appear to give the audience's perspective on your speech while subtly guiding their thought process where you wish.

Examples include, " Now, I know what you're thinking, " " You're probably asking yourself… ", etc.

While you don't necessarily know what the audience thinks, you can read their reaction to your point. It shows you're connected to them, and they, in turn, will feel the same way.

You can rely on logic and intuition to correctly guess what they are thinking based on your speech up to that point. If done correctly, this will further pique their interest and increase their attention.

4. Reveal a Significant Discovery

This speech transition works best when you want to state a significant point in the speech. It embodies the spirit of narration, where you want to reveal the big secret.

Examples include, " The results from the experiment were staggering, " " One witness shared the most chilling detail, " etc.

5. Highlight A Catch

This speech transition is similar to "However" in written communication.

Examples include, " But, there's a catch, " " That would have been a perfect conclusion, except… ", " Unfortunately, the prototype has one glaring flaw, " etc.

This transition jolts the audience's attention and sets them up for the next part.

6. How-To Speech Transition

This works best when you're ready to offer solutions in your presentation. The transition primes your audience to receive the solutions; you may even see some taking notes.

You could tell them, " Let me now teach you how to… ", " Here is how you too can attain similar success, " etc.

7. Curiosity-Inducing Speech Transitions

Sprinkling curiosity-inducing questions at intervals in your speech sustain the audience's attention. It also refocuses them on your main points and subtly reviews previous ones.

For example, you could ask them, " What's really going on here? ", " What's the aggressor's main motivation?" etc.

8. Stay With Me

When you get to complex sections of a technical presentation, you need to ensure your audience understands.

You can simplify the concepts as much as possible, but sometimes you must check in with them and encourage them. This speech transition reassures audience members and highlights where they need to pay the most attention.

Examples include " Stay with me, " " Stick with me, " etc.

You could also point to a presentation slide, use bold text for specific parts of the displayed text, etc.

Speech Transitions and Body Language

Your audience will shift attention between your presentation aids and your body. Presentation aids add to the quality of your speech, but your body language is more significant.

Therefore, you can capitalize on that attention through gestures to emphasize your points. For example, a finger wag could underline a critical issue.

Additionally, pointing to a specific figure on a presentation slide could focus attention and drive your point home.

Body language is powerful, and this stresses the need to prepare well for your speech , noting all crucial turns. At the very least, avoid standing still while talking on stage.

Hand and Arm Movements

Speech transitions pair well with hand and arm movements for emphasis. However, you need to avoid making it seem confrontational.

For example, too much finger wagging may seem like you're pointing at someone in the audience. It also seems aggressive. Instead, use open palms as this is more inviting and approachable.

In addition, use hand and arm movements sparingly, or reserve them for the main points.

You could even count your fingers when listing the main points in your summary to draw the audience's eyes to yourself and allow them to focus better on your points.

Walking on Stage

All Apple Event presentations, whether in person or streamed, are perfect examples of the power of walking on stage.

Every presenter ensures they move about on stage, further emphasizing their point. They sustain the audience's attention and combine hand gestures when making the main points.

These presenters learned from the best; Apple's founding father, Steve Jobs . While his technology continues to dominate today, his speeches contributed significantly to those devices' acceptance and profits.

He would walk forward when making a positive remark and backward when stating a contradictory argument. He would walk left or right when explaining how something about the device works.

The movements were well timed , ending near his presentation slide when he needed to refer to something on the screen.

While seemingly random at first, your subconscious would pick the rhythm of his movements. You were soon engrossed in the speech, grasping every detail he intended.

Suddenly stopping in the middle of the stage and saying, " Pay attention to this, " " Guess what the research revealed, " " What we saw was shocking, " etc., was a powerful way he used to highlight your next point.

Other Body Language Factors

Other body language tools, such as facial expressions or mood changes, are equally powerful alongside speech transitions.

For example, you can smile before sharing some good news or appear serious when sharing some grave news.

You could even do something unexpected, like removing your reading glasses and saying, "Let me be frank with you guys."

Vary your tone as the speech unfolds to capture and guide your audience's attention. If done right, you could even affect their emotions and emotional reactions to your main points.

Transition Pitfalls You Need to Avoid

Poorly executed speech transitions will alter the meaning of your message and put off your audience. Here are the main ones:

Miscount Transition: This entails counting your main points but failing to follow a specific order and style.

For example, first, second, third, four, five, next, etc. Reserve counting for the summary section, where you can line up the points nicely. Additionally, avoid counting when there are subsections to your main points.

Incompatible Transition: An example is when you wish to contradict the previous point but end up stating some examples. The relationship between the first part of your sentence and the rest of it will make no sense to your audience.

Missing Transition: A poor and common way to fail at using transitions is not to use them. Switching from one point to the next with nothing to connect them only frustrates your audience.

Tangential Transition: These transitions excite the audience or help you fit in an incidental yet essential point.

However, they break from your flow and introduce new information while you're still transmitting the last part.

Reserve those for informal gatherings among friends where the more tangents your speech takes, the more interesting it is.

Speech transitions are vital components of any public speaking endeavor. They bring flow and logic to your speech and guide the audience's attention.

When used well, you'll make the audience arrive at specific conclusions and take particular actions afterward.

This article shares some of the best speech transitions to make your speeches memorable and meaningful.

Related: How to write a Speech Outline (with Examples)