My mouth was watering. I was listening to a major network television broadcast. They were interviewing a restaurant owner and he was describing a delicious recipe. They talked about his menu, his background, and of course they all sampled the tasty dish. So far so good. They captured and kept my attention. Wouldn’t you want to go to a restaurant with such good food? There was only one problem. They ended the interview without mentioning the chef’s name, the name of the restaurant or the location. How frustrating! A lost opportunity for the restaurant and for me. It’s happened too many times to be a coincidence. If you don’t catch the opening line at the very beginning of the interview you won’t know who they’re talking about.
I can tell you this rarely happens on radio interviews. As a podcast and radio Interviewer, the host is trained to promote the guest. They’ll often mention the name of my book in the introduction. They’ll end by mentioning the book again, asking where people can buy it and how they can find the website.
A good presentation has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When coaching my clients I often find that the weakest part is often the end. Many public speakers leave off the conclusion. They’ll end with their last point or they’ll say “That’s it.” And the presentation ends with a thud, like a lead balloon. The purpose of the conclusion is to complete the presentation and tie it all together.
A good conclusion recaps the main points. Consider that some people may miss the beginning points. A good public speaker will be sure that the audience leaves remembering the main message. And the really skilled speaker will tell the audience the next step. It could be an upsell or food for thought (no pun intended). But they’ll tell the listeners how to continue to connect with the speaker and learn more.
So take a public speaking lesson from the radio interviewers. End with the key points and tell them who, what and where. And that’s a wrap.