Page 70 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

THE STRONG FINISH 61

The conversational alternatives are as follows:

◆ “So it all comes down to this . . .”
◆ “Put it all together and here’s what we’ve got . . .”
◆ “So here’s the message . . .”
◆ “Bottom line . . .”
Now let’s look at seven ways to end strongly:

1. Summarize your key point or key points. One or three, but not
two or four, because the ear likes the odd number (two anticipates
three) and four is too many to remember.
This means you could restate your main message and then per-
haps give three reasons to back it up. Or just give your main message
and leave it at that. If you chose to give two main messages at the
end, this would only serve to divide at the very moment you should
be unifying. Best rule of thumb: Stick with one big message. For
example: “So our future, as you can see, lies in our own hands. It is
not too late to correct our mistakes and to recognize that our success
will depend on our determination and ability to expand rapidly into
the global marketplace.”

2. Loop back to the beginning. Let your ending echo your start.
This technique is not only intellectually satisfying and in a design
sense aesthetically pleasing, but it can also save time in preparation.

That’s because if you are in a hurry, once you figure out what your
theme is, and you can synthesize that theme into simple language,
then your theme can become not only your bottom line (the last

words) but also the top line (the headline, the first words). As before,
alpha becomes omega, and vice versa.
Of course, you can do the same with virtually any of the eight
ways to start strongly, which we discussed earlier. So at the end you
would reach back to your beginning and pull up the personal story,
illustration, strong statement, quotation, rhetorical question, look at
the past or future, or any variety of these as a closing. Naturally, you