Over the weekend, I attended a fund-raising event creatively themed, “Cops and Cowboys,” benefiting the Los Angeles Police Department.
One of the acts was a young gunslinger, Joey, who entertained the crowd with various John Wayne-style techniques of spinning, slinging, and juggling six shooters.
He opened his act by shooting an apple off the head of an unsuspecting audience member (don’t worry, he used rubber bullets). The stunt immediately wrangled the audience’s attention.
But, what stuck with me the most about the performance was Joey’s last stunt. He simultaneously rolled both pistols in his hands, flipped them over his shoulder, and caught them behind his back, all while blindfolded. It was an absolutely amazing stunt, if only he’d pulled it off. Sadly, he missed catching one of the pistols, which fell to the floor.
During the applause, my neighbor leaned over and whispered, “He should have ended with a sure thing!” Joey’s finale should have not only been impressive, it should have been a stunt he could nail one-hundred percent of the time. Did his half-baked ending overshadow the entire performance? No, but I believe it left the audience with mixed reviews.
Cognitive science suggests clients, contacts, and referral sources will remember us most based on their first and last impressions of us. It’s the finale or close of any interaction, presentation, or transaction that has the potential to leave a dynamic, lasting impression.
When presenting, begin with an engaging opening, like a client obstacle you were responsible for overcoming. Next, communicate three specific actions you took to overcome the obstacle. Finally, avoid the tendency to “wing” the ending by preparing a specific close. Relate how the client and/or business benefited from your representation.
In preparing for your next presentation, consider these words from Ronald Reagan, “…[public speaking] is just like show business. You have a hell of an opening, you coast for awhile, and you have a hell of a closing.”
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I agree with Jim Hughes agreement. AND a closing should include a request for action. In other words…. ask for the order!
I agree entirely. We all know the importance of a strong opening. But after hearing too many presentations dribble to a close to the point where you don’t know whether it’s over, I get Jonathan’s point. There’s a speaker’s aphorism that goes: tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. An effective and relevant closing sends the listener off on the crest of wave of energy culminating in the closing. Fail to “grab” them at the end and you devalue the entire presentation no matter how good.
Thanks Jonathan! I’m doing a presentation next week and I’m going to be sure to have a strong closing!
Having a strong open and ending holds true in printed material too. Revamping bios are a popular activity now and far too many start off with the university a highly accomplished person attended 30 years ago, and then end with some board membership they held 10 years ago, and leave the real story hidden in the middle.
It’s pretty safe to assume people will read your opening sentence and jump to the last sentence. If they like what they see they’ll stop and visit your middle points. Consider the top and tail of any presentation, particularly written materials, as prime real estate or fully loaded pistols – use them wisely to establish and reaffirm your branding message. Good post Joanthan.