Professional jargon should be avoided unless it is certain that everyone present will understand every word of what is being said. There is at least one marked difference between writing for a speaker s platform and writing for print. In the latter, authors take great pains to avoid repeating themselves. Because of the ephemeral nature of the spoken word, this does not apply to a speech. A speech is like a love affair.
Any fool can start it, but to end it requires considerable skill.
The ending of a speech is vital because the final few sentences are the ones the listeners are most likely to retain as they walk away. A good conclusion, then is a summary of the main points you want to make wrapped up in a rhetorical crescendo designed to leave your message ringing in the listeners ears. There is no set formula for preparing an ending to a speech, but it always pays to labour over it until you are satisfied that it delivers your message with maximum impact. The last paragraph or so should be then committed to memory, so that you can look the audience in the eye at that critical psychological point. Ideally, every single line of every speech should be memorized and the speaker s performance thoroughly rehearsed with the help of a tape or video recorder.