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CMNS 101 Fundamentals of Communication

Public Speaking Research Guide

Writing an Outline: Conclusion

  • Signal – you need to signal that the conclusion is happening (“In conclusion...” is always effective in a public speech)  
  • In conclusion (To conclude… To sum up…) 
  • Review main points / Restate Thesis – do some method of recapping what you’ve discussed, but at bare minimum restate your thesis. Ideally you’d provide a takeaway or highlight.  
  • Today I informed you about the main differences between elephant seals and sea lions, as well as some of the major conservation efforts.  
  • Closing statement – Confidently end your speech with a deliberate and focused sentence that provides closure to the speech. Often it is effective to give the audience something to consider or to refer back to the narrative or statistic that you used in the attention getter.   
  • I’m not asking you to be as enthusiastic about elephant seals and sea lions as I am, but I hope that everyone in this room gets to come face-to-face with one of these animals sometime in your life. You won’t forget it! 

  

Here’s how that would come together: 

"In conclusion, today I informed you about the main differences between elephant seals and sea lions, as well as some of the major conservation efforts. I’m not asking you to be as enthusiastic about elephant seals and sea lions as I am, but I hope that everyone in this room gets to come face-to-face with one of these animals sometime in your life. You won’t forget it!"