About Me
- Brendan
- I am a professional educator by trade, but by my definition, I am much more than that. I wear many hats; including, but not limited to, Father, Husband, Son, Step-Father, Ex-Husband, Entrepreneur, Public Speaker, Super Geek (love technology), Trainer, Coach, Student, Writer, Dreamer, and Leader. For fun I am an avid golfer and consider myself a blessed individual because I have the greatest wife in the world that loves to golf with me.
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
Lesson 15 Developing a Memorable Conclusion
The purpose of this lesson is to help you develop a conclusion that will make you and your speech memorable. There is nothing more disappointing when giving a speech and no one remembers you or the speech, or they do remember it because it was LAME!
Basic Function of Conclusion
An Ending Signal that the END IS NEAR!
Examples of concluding transitional words or phrases:
Finally…
Looking back…
In summary...
In conclusion...
To wrap it up...
To put this all in perspective…
Let me close by saying…
Once you've given the closing "signal" wrap it up and finish.
DO NOT do a "wait a minute, I forgot to say…"
Doing this does not create closure for the audience. It's like sitting down and having a nice enjoyable dinner and then you have 30 seconds to scarf down your dessert and leave. Just doesn't feel good.
Summarize the Main Points and Reiterate the Topic and Main Points
As stated in earlier lessons (and grade school), you will tell them (audience) what you are going to tell them (the introduction), then tell them what you said you were going to tell them (the body), and finally, tell them what you told them (the conclusion).
By reiterating the main points, you help the audience remember the "good stuff" of your speech.
Challenge the Audience to Respond
What does this mean exactly? It means that whatever your speech is about you can challenge the audience members to put to use what you have taught them. This applies to both persuasive and informative speeches.
It is a call to action, whether to explore further what you shared (informative) or to change thinking/habits or go along with what you shared (persuasive).
A "Memorable" Checklist
In closing I would like to sum up some areas to remember when preparing for a conclusion (Hey, did you catch that? I just used a transition statement to move into the conclusion of this lesson).
Ask yourself these questions: Does my conclusion...
Questions
BE MEMORABLE IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS!!!
Basic Function of Conclusion
- It's a signal to the audience that the speech is coming to an end.
- It gives you a chance to summarize main points and goals.
- It allows you to reiterate the thesis or central idea of the speech.
- It can allow you to challenge the audience to respond.
- Alert your audience that you are coming up to the end of your speech.
- Use transitional words or phrases to help your audience know that the end is near.
Examples of concluding transitional words or phrases:
Finally…
Looking back…
In summary...
In conclusion...
To wrap it up...
To put this all in perspective…
Let me close by saying…
Once you've given the closing "signal" wrap it up and finish.
DO NOT do a "wait a minute, I forgot to say…"
The biggest mistake I see in speeches is poor time management and you (the speaker) realize that you're out of time so you quickly wrap it up.
"Oh it looks like I'm out of times, so I hope you enjoyed the presentation, I know I have, and…..thank you."
Doing this does not create closure for the audience. It's like sitting down and having a nice enjoyable dinner and then you have 30 seconds to scarf down your dessert and leave. Just doesn't feel good.
Summarize the Main Points and Reiterate the Topic and Main Points
As stated in earlier lessons (and grade school), you will tell them (audience) what you are going to tell them (the introduction), then tell them what you said you were going to tell them (the body), and finally, tell them what you told them (the conclusion).
By reiterating the main points, you help the audience remember the "good stuff" of your speech.
What does this mean exactly? It means that whatever your speech is about you can challenge the audience members to put to use what you have taught them. This applies to both persuasive and informative speeches.
It is a call to action, whether to explore further what you shared (informative) or to change thinking/habits or go along with what you shared (persuasive).
A "Memorable" Checklist
- Use quotations (similar to what you learned in Lesson 14). Quotes can come from poetry, lyrics, and pertinent statements from others.
- Pose rhetorical questions to make your audience think about the speech topic and your speech purpose/intention.
- Tell a story that illustrates or sums up a key speech idea or ideas.
- Use appropriate humor.
- Issue a challenge.
- Make a startling statement.
- Link back to the introduction to give the audience a sense of having come full circle.
In closing I would like to sum up some areas to remember when preparing for a conclusion (Hey, did you catch that? I just used a transition statement to move into the conclusion of this lesson).
Ask yourself these questions: Does my conclusion...
- alert the audience the the speech is coming to an end?
- actually come to an end when I give the signal? (Remember a conclusion should only take about 6-10% of you speech time).
- reiterate the main points?
- reminds the audience of the speech topic and purpose?
- challenge the audience to respond to your ideas or appeals?
- provide a sense of closure and make a lasting impression?
If you have done these things well, you will be memorable!
Questions
- How can posing a rhetorical question help your speech be memorable?
- Think of a time that you listened to a speech that ended abruptly or someone that just quickly ended a conversation with you. How did it make you feel? Why is this important to understand?
- What's more important, a first impression or a last impression? Explain.
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42 comments:
As I’ve been taking this course, it’s opened my eyes to the technique used by speakers. It becomes apparent to me which speakers have had training and done research on public speaking. There are several key indicators of a speaker who has thought through a speech. On the other side of the coin, there are many things that would indicate a poorly prepared speech. Among them would be the conclusion that is rushed and or ends abruptly. There is nothing that bothers me more than someone who has a train wreck conclusion. An example would be if someone says, “well… looks like my times up.” That leaves us hanging without having strung everything we’ve talked about together and bringing out the purpose of the speech. Its so important to leave your audience with a feeling of understanding and application to what you just spoke about. Help them to resonate with the words you’ve spoken and to have an emotional response because of it. Without a proper conclusion, you limit the effectiveness of your speech.
Posing a rhetorical question is a great way to end your speech on a memorable note. After you give your audience a whole speech-full of information, it is valuable to give them a way to digest what they just heard. Giving them a rhetorical question allows the audience to think about your speech and how it applies to them. If it is powerful enough, the question might even be lingering in their minds long after the speech has ended. While rhetorical questions do not call for answers, they do call for action. Using a rhetorical question is a good way to motivate and inspire your audience. Without something for their brain to chew on for a little while, your speech could be easily forgotten and inconsequential. But by adding a simple question, you are inviting your audience to think further on your topic and remember your ideas, opinions, and thoughts.
I can’t think of a speech I’ve heard that just suddenly ended, but I know I have had a conversation with someone, and either we were interrupted, so we couldn’t finish our conversation, or they just suddenly ended it because of… who knows why. One time I was talking with a friend, and suddenly she saw someone she knew and wanted to say hello, so she quickly just ended our conversation, and said bye. First off, it kind of makes you mad and upset that they didn’t care enough about what you were talking about to finish your conversation; which is another thing. It feels like your conversation wasn’t even finished and it just ended with no purpose. It makes you feel unimportant, like something else or someone else is more important and worth their time. This is important to understand because it’s the same with a speech. A speech is like having a conversation with an entire audience. It’s important to not only expect them to give you their whole attention, but also for you, as the speaker, to give them your full attention and interest in the certain topic. If you were to just end your speech abruptly, people would be lost, and your audience would feel like you had more important things to do, and didn’t care too much about the topic or even about them.
Have you ever heard the saying “leave a lasting impression”? You could show up and everyone could think you're the pope, but then you start speaking and everything that you say belies that first impression. If you're the suavest person in the world before you start speaking, and then you end up being a real jerk, people aren't going to remember what they first thought about you. They're going to remember what they went away with. They're going to remember that point where you shifted from Smooth Joe to Sloppy Joe. So, if you start with a strong entrance and leave them wanting more, you'll leave your audience with a lasting impression of yourself and they'll remember what you had to say a whole lot better when you leave on a good note, than if you leave after you've turned into a jerk. Start on a high note. End on a high note.
2. I can remember back on several occasions when public speeches or personal conversations were abruptly ended for a variety of different reasons. The different contexts evoked different thoughts and feelings, but they are all applicable to me as a public speaker as I will further illustrate.
When a speaker suddenly ends his or her speech without a conclusion, it leaves a poor impression on me. It becomes clear that they were not sufficiently prepared or that they just do not understand the importance of a clear conclusion. If there is not a good conclusion then I am left feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. On the other hand, when a friend abruptly ends a conversation, I get the impression that they are not socially aware of how to say goodbye, and/or I am left to wonder what was more important that the current conversation I was in.
This is important to understand, because as a public speaker you definitely do not want your audience to think that you are unprepared or socially unaware, nor do you want to leave them unsatisfied or feeling like they are not worth your time. You last words are the freshest in their memory when you finish. Those closing words make a big difference.
A speech is in a sense a conversation with the audience. A good speaker will communicate with them. Therefore it’s important to be sensitive to their needs. If you fulfill their needs, and make them feel like they benefit from the speech or conversation, you have done a good job. Therefore you need to make sure you finish! It happens in conversation a lot! People just leave you hanging when they are done talking and never finish telling you a story or listen to your part. In a speech the conclusion is so important. You have to make the audience feel like they had heard everything they need to hear. If you finish leaving them feeling incomplete with the speech they are not going to like it. If a movie is good all the way till the end you still hate the movie. Therefore as a speaker you have to put time into the conclusion to make it wrap up smoothly and benefit your speech.
There have been several times that someone has quickly ended a conversation with me. I felt like they had something better to do than sit there and have a conversation with me. It was as if I was not important at all. I felt like saying “Really? You are in that much of a rush?”. Also its bad when your having a conversation with someone and they keep looking at their watch. Whenever that happens, I feel like I should just stop talking so that they can leave, because thats obviously what they want to do. It is important to not do this while you are giving your speech. If you do this than your audience will think the same things, like they are not important or that you have somewhere better to be. You need your listeners to feel like they are the only thing important at that moment.
I would like to respond to question #3. I think overall a last impression is definately more important then a first impression. It seems like it is easier to form opinions about people right off the bat and it seems like a first impression may be how you choose to see that person. But its interesting how many times I've seen in the long run that my last impression is completely different then my first one. My great grandma used to tell me that you shouldn't judge a person until you have walked a mile in their mocassins. Its hard not judge people right off the bat, but I think her saying was pretty wise. Plus I think sometimes you meet people and they might just be having an off day and you automatically assume that person is a jerk or something. I'm not saying that we should never judge people, because to a point we kind of have to but I think it is important to give that person a chance to see what they are really like.
Question 3
Between a first impression and a last impression, I believe that neither is more important than the other. Sure a first impression can either make or break what a person thinks about you right off the bat. (It's only human nature to critique a person from first impression). And yet, the last impression is a chance to band-aid up any mistakes you have made or it can also take everything you had just worked for and throw it all away with one simple mistake. For example with a first impression, pretend you meet a person you are to be rooming with for a semester. If the first thing they say to you is something a long the lines of 'Don't mess with my stuff, don't eat my food, don't watch my movies, don't ask for a ride, ect.." Then right then and there you are most likely going to keep your distance from them and any hope of becoming close is pretty much shot down and the rest of the semester isn't looking too good! But if at the end of the semester they take you out to a steak dinner, pay the rent and a ton of other stuff, you'll probably come to like them a little more then you had. In my opinion this is why you always need to be on your 'A' game, being your best self/ in your speech always doing your best.
I can think of many times a speech has ended abruptly. I hate when people do this. You can tell that they didn’t really prepare and time it out so then they don’t even talk about the main thing that you wanted to hear! I was at a meeting where they had a guest speaker. It was kind of a motivational speech, but it was terrible. The speaker talked and talked about I don’t even know. That’s how bad it was. I just felt like I wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. Then, the speaker went over the meeting time like ten minutes and then just ended. I was so annoyed that I sat through all of the speech for nothing! It’s important to understand time management in your speech so you can get all the main points in so people don’t feel like they sat there for nothing.
3. A last impression stays longer, and a great last impression can definitely make up for a poor first impression. Both are important; to have a great first and last impression makes a memorable speech, but to isolate one, it is more important to leave a smile on the audience when you exit the stage. Having a perfect first impression that eventually drowns into a miserable speech and terrible conclusion is just as bad as starting out with a poor introduction. The body is less emphasized upon, since it comes in between the introduction and conclusion; it helps to back up the introduction. The conclusion, however, is there to reiterate the point and leave a lasting impression on the audiences to take away. The downfall of having a weak introduction and a strong conclusion is the difficulty of convincing the audience to tune in to the body speech after that first fault. The ending of a speech is just as important, if not more, than the introductory portion.
I like a rhetorical question as long as it is delivered properly. If the speaker stumbles over his words and doesn't make it clear that he's actually asking a question, then I just feel dumb. I think I'm really bad at first impressions, it takes a while for people to warm up to me, but once they get to know me they like me a lot. So in my opinion, a good first impression is great but not the end of the world. Last impressions can become lasting impressions. This all boils down to preparation. When you are speaking to an audience you need to prepare for things to go wrong. The person before you leaves you way too much time or way too little time. Keeping your composure so that the audience can't tell that your stressed, is the sign of a really good speaker.
There is nothing more frustrating than watching a movie and it ends with a huge question mark!!! You sit there for two hours anticipating a fabulous ending and BAM…..its over! It’s like a story with a horrible ending. It makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs that “YOU JUST WASTED TIME IN MY LIFE!” This is the same with a speech. You do not want the leave the audience disappointed. Make sure that your ending is strong.
I also think it is important to sum everything up. This is the time to pull everything together. It is important to make sure the audience has closure. To me the conclusion is one of the most important parts of the speech. Leave things on a good note! Leave them with some kind of challenge. This can make the audience think about your speech later on to make sure it is memorable. Let the audience know u just rocked there world with an awesome speech!
3.What's more important, a first impression or a last impression? Explain.
The last impression is way more important. This is how your audience is going to remember you! If your not memorable, and everything that was said is forgotten then why did you even bother giving a speech? A summary is very important to this. Recapping and bringing every topic back to your audiences memory will help them remember what was talked about before they leave. Humor is always a good tool for the conclusion because a good joke will be repeated by those who heard it, therefore making you very memorable. You want to leave a lasting impression on someone, that means your speech actually affected someone. Being memorable is just very important for a speech!
A first impression verse a last impression. That is a very good question. First impressions are so critical. Majority of people always focus on making a good first impression. That is all that is ever discussed when meeting new people or making presentations. On the other hand though a last impression is what they will dwell on. When they leave your presence and they think back on their experience that they had with you they will think about the last impression you had on them. A first impression is critical because it gives you a headway for your last impression but even if you have a bad first impression and you are able to turn it around by the end and leave a good last impression people will remember your last impression. I guess to put this all in perspective a good first impression is good. A good last impression is lasting.
In answer to number one, I think the strength and uniqueness to ending with a rhetorical question is that it leaves your audience with something to think about and with their own kind of conclusion. Of course you need to be careful what kind of question you ask, it needs to still flow with your speech and parallel the main idea. Something like, "so what do you think about that?" is a bad example to me because it doesn't give them anything and it sort of sounds cocky. Something more like "Would you rather take your time and become great or rush it and be half complete?" Something like this lets them make their own decision and gives resolution. You also must keep in mind what the nature of your speech is, if it is a persuasive one then your rhetorical question is going to be more straightforward and push them to think of an answer that supports your idea. However, if it is an informative objective speech, be careful not to ask a question that will be bias in anyway. The question would have to be open to any answer and more like inspirational rather than pushy.
Honestly, I don’t believe a first impression or a last impression can be compared. I think you need both to give a great speech the full effect. You need an attention grabber, something that can start your speech off with a connection to your audience and allows you to create a bond or friendship. While having that, your last impression is something that needs to make sense. You need something like our notes above just touched base on about relating it to the introduction to make it “full circle” with the audience. Being confused in a speech is something that occurs with me a lot because sometimes not everything makes complete sense in the end or someone will bring something up in the end that didn’t make any sense at all or create a thought that doesn’t get answered. I hate sitting through something like that. So, I think that you cannot choose whether or not the first or last impression is the most important they both have complete equal value.
Posing a rhetorical question at the end of speech can be powerful because you leave you audience with something to chew on. It can also help drive home the point you are making. In a motivation speech ending with a rhetorical question is one way to get your audience reexamining themselves and wanting to improve. It also keeps you stay memorable because instead of you closing your speech and the audience putting you out of their mind it causes them to consider the question even after you have left the stage. This can also be affective in a persuasive speech because a question phrased in the right way can make the option you are opposing seem silly or ridiculous in comparison to the option you are persuading. Questions in general can be a very powerful tool because it sparks a thought process. Being able to ask good question is a great way to make friends or become a great leader.
I think the last impression is more important. It is true that a great introduction will capture peoples attention, yet you still have your entire speech ahead of you, and plenty of time to mess up. A lot of people will somewhat zone out during a speech, yet when you start to say "In Conclusion" people perk up. They do this because they know thier freedom is to be following your last words. That may be the only part of your speech they hear. If you have a stellar conclusion that restates you objectives they will like your speech and remember it. The conclusion may be the only thing your audience remembers. That is why a good conclusion is necesscary. You could have the worlds greatest intro, but the body of your speech could be dry, and the conclusion only so so, and people would not remember your speech in a good way. A good intro is important but people are more likely to remember the end.
I have had multiple encounters with stories being abruptly stopped and my excitement was never fulfilled. Recently, I’ve been watching a show called “Wilfred” on FX and I finally got the chance to watch the last episode, I was so excited, then BAM! The episode totally left me hanging! I felt incomplete after that and didn’t know what to think about the whole situation. Another situation I was recently in was during my math class. Sometimes everyone gets caught up with asking questions about last night’s homework. Eventually, theirs barely any time left to talk about the next assignment, so we have to leave feeling confused and not confident with the assignment. It’s important to understand how this affects your audience or class because it leaves people wondering. During a speech, leaving people hanging makes your credibility lower and people would be completely confused; you might even make your audience mad. All in all, abruptly ending a conversation is an awkward situation for everyone.
Posing a rhetorical question can help improve your speech by giving the audience something to think about. Also it could help get the point across easier or clearer. Another up side of having a rhetorical question is it could make your speech more interesting for you and for the audience. The question can also help you and the audience understands the topic more. The speech could become more personal to the audience I am asking a question about them. It gets the audience more and involved and intrigued in the topic. For instance if I was sitting in an audience with a speaker that was boring and not into what he was saying I would leave. But if I was in a room with a speaker that was getting involved with us and helping us understand it more by asking questions and making us think; its way more interesting and fun.
Okay, so going back to the beat box speech, she had an amazing first and last impression. She walked in beat boxing, like it was nothing, and then after her speech was done, she went all out and beat boxed the pants off of everyone. I thought that has been the best speech I have heard in class so far, over all of them that we have done. No joke, it was so fun and energetic that it kept my attention the whole way through, it didn't just have a good introduction and a boring body and closing, or a boring introduction and a good body and an okay conclusion. But it was an awesome introduction, body and conclusion. It's speeches like that, that people love, and people really take it in, and even want to try it. I tried beat boxing literally when I got home from class. Another speaker I really enjoy listening to is Dave Ramsey, even though I think that investing money, and all that boring junk, isn't my favorite to listen to, I really enjoy it with him, he has such a fun way of making something so boring,to be kind of fun to learn about. He is really enthusiastic, and energetic, and I think he tries to make it like that to stand out to the rest of them, it makes people want to listen to him. With my speech I try and make it funny, so I can make the audience laugh and keep their attention and really like my speech.
I believe that the last impression is more important than the first impression as long as you know you are going to have another chance to make an impression on the person or group of people that you are speaking with/ to. My reasoning behind this is, I know this is going to sound funny but its true, because for most of my life people thought that I was super conceded and stuck on my self and thought that I thought I was better than most people and that I was not a very nice person. But in reality I wasn’t like that at all… I am a very friendly person and can relate to all people. People thought that because I wasn’t a kid to just strike up a conversation with anybody. I would wait until they would ask me a question or if some how we got talking. So at times I would not give off a very good first impression, but later on people would realize that is not how I am. So all in all if you have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, do it at the end so that will stay with your audience longer and more powerfully than the first one more times than none I have found out.
Although a first impression is important, the last impression is what sticks with people. For example lets say you came to class the first day and thought your teacher was the coolest guy on the planet. As time went on he was less and less cool and by the end of the semester you felt he was a mediocre teacher and wouldn't recommend him to anyone else. Although both impressions were important the one that sticks with you is the last impression. This is not to say that first impression isn't important because it is. It just needs to be understood that the impression made to others is an overall impression that comes one experience at a time. This leads to a good last impression(hopefully). In terms of public speaking, you could have the most amazing introduction of all time(good first impression) and then just fizzle out at the end and leave the audience unfulfilled(bad last impression).
I actually think a good quote vs. a rhetorical question is a better choice to make a memorable impression. A good, simple quote ties great speeches in little travel sized packages that you can take anywhere you go. It is also great because whenever your audiences hears that quote again, they will more than likely think back to your speech. Quotes, good ones anyway, evoke emotion and create a personal connection from the audience to your words. Quotes also create the unique opportunity and ability for the audience members to share the message of your speech without having to remember everything. For example, on the last Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah said something that I will never forget. When speaking about validation and the need for it in every human being, she expressed these simple yet piercing words ”Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say matter to you?” These words have changed my life. But that's not all. Those words have helped me make ties to other things she said in that hour and I can remember almost all of her main points and supporting material. All because of that one quote.
I think the last impression might be more important because like I mentioned in my answer to 14 it’s not hard to put on a façade but it is harder to keep up a façade. At first I can look like a good person but one slip of the tongue could shatter the whole illusion, I could look like a fool in front of everyone. If you leave people wanting more but not filling empty I think it’s better than just building them up for what’s ahead. I have met a lot of people in my life (basically everyone) That wears a mask, as I say, to hide what they truly are inside they pretend to be someone they are not to make others like them more even I do it sometimes I used to act like an angel in front of peoples parents but a demon around my peers and still sometimes do.
“What’s more important, a first impression or a last impression?” Well a first impression is the first tool you have to captivate your audience. If you totally blow that and the body a great last impression may not do much for you. Having said that If all parts go smoothly I would say the last impression is more important than a first impression. The reason for this is because you basically restate your main point and sum everything up. Then you leave your last impression. The Last impression for me has been the most memorable of most the speeches I have observed. It tends to be what sticks with you after the speaker is done. If you watch political speakers the last impression has more passion than the first impression because generally at political type meetings the audience isn't really taking notes because for the most part the politician is preaching to the choir as it were. Since no one really takes notes the last impression is the freshest part of the speech after all is said and done. That is why I think a last impression is more important than a first impression assuming the rest of the speech is delivered at least satisfactory.
1. What's more important, a first impression or a last impression? Explain.
I love this one, because its something I have been thinking about lately and been trying to decide which one id more important. When someone first meets another person for the first time, the first impression is always so important, people judge very quickly and always go back to that first impression of that person.
But on the other hand there are those who are less judging and go off how the person warms up and seeing them as the person they are on the inside the real person who isn’t putting on that front, who leads a lasting last impression. They are both important I think.
Even if someone is interesting in another person they try to be the very best them or extra funny, or flaunt them selves so that person they are interested in, can see them as their best self. But it’s the last impression when they leave, that I have noticed they try to make it the best, so there is a good memory or thought of that person when they leave. But maybe that is just me. All in all I think both are very important in different area’s in life.
I think a last impression is more important only because you can change your mind about a person just through talking to them. Everyone tries to make a great first impression. First impressions are important because that is when a person first judges you and decides what they think of you. However, people can always change their mind about you. For instance, when I first got here I got a jjob and the people seemed so nice and friendly and I loved it. I've been there for about two months now and I realize how everyone actually is. There is so much gossip and drama there that I never realized before. It blew me away how nice and sweet they were to new customers or new emploees and then the minute they turned away they would roll their eyes and say something about them but over time their views changed on the person. Your view on a person can always change once you learn more about them. As you learn more and more about a person you begin to understand why they were when you first met them. It couldvbe simply a bad day but people always deserve second chances.
In my opinion, first impressions stick. It doesn't matter what you do to redeem yourself after a bad first impression - that person will always remember what their first thought of you was. and believe it or not, that counts. Good or bad. If your first impression to someone is charming and polite they will always think of you as charming and polite, even if you mess up and say the wrong thing later, they'll think: oh, well everyone says the wrong thing sometimes. No big deal. If your first impression is funny, everyone will remember you as being funny. and if your first impression is rude, presumptuous, and cocky, the people you were with when you acted that way will always think of you ask the jerk. So in my opinion the first impression is definitely the most important impression. As i said before, first impressions stick. Whether we want them to, or not.
How can posing a rhetorical question help your speech be memorable?
I love rhetorical questions they make the audience think. I enjoy pointing out the obvious especially when it drive home the point of my speech. A few years ago I was working on an essay about government health care.My father is a disabled veteran and while waiting for him at an appointment the irony became very clear As I sat in a waiting room for over three hours with veterans from WWII, Vietnam, and the current conflicts spending time with these men and women who gave their time and their lives and those of their children only to be placed in a very nice facility and given poor to substandard treatment. It only takes a good look at our nation to see that the government should not run our nations health care. After all if we treat our nation as we treat our veterans what would happen to our health care?
Question 2:
I've been in both situations where the conversation or the speech has ended abruptly. I think it is very unprofessional in a speech and your audience focuses on the abrupt ending more than they focus on anything you just said. I think it also causes you to lose some credibility because some times it may come off like you were unprepared or not practiced. Or sometimes it can come off like you didn't want to be there speaking and you just want to get 'off stage'. This does not help the audience believe or agree with what you said. It leaves a lot of open ends which can make an audience confused or feel uncomfortable. Just like in an every day conversation, if the person you are talking to all of a sudden says, "Oh I'm late, gotta go, bye!" in the middle of the conversation it makes you feel left in the dark.
3. Its got to be the first impression. who knows when its going to be the last impression, and if it happens? who cares that relationship is past. When you get a first impression that is usually the honest one. You might change from your perception from that person, but in the back of at least my mind there is always that little voice, that says either something like "hey they are a good person" or "i don't think cant trust them" when the final meeting happens and you see there "true colors" its hard to use that. they have already passed on, but boy you better make that first impression stick and be memorable, because you could be passed up, and its over. no need for that final impression.
I feel that, according to psychology and i somewhat agree, that people decide whether they want to continue a relationship according to the first 10 secs if i remember right in a conversation. So according to this the first impression is very important but once you get to that stage, you really want to leave a great last impression because that is what the person is going to remember you by. If you remember the first time you met a really cute girl/boy and you thought they were awesome then after talking to them at the end of the conversation you lost interest. I dont believe that happens all in the first ten seconds, i believe it is the conversation as a whole and the final last impression they left that made you decide whether you were interested further or not. So according to my own opinion the first impression is basically a filtering process and the last impression is what is really going to stick or be remembered by the person who you are speaking to.
I believe that question three is a trick question, the first impression and last impression are equal in importance. The purpose of the first impression is to inform the audience of what they can expect in to gain from the speech; the last impression should emphasis the point of your speech and what they should have gained from it. If a first impression is not memorable, then the crowd will not be interested in the speech, and they will not get the point that you are trying to convey. If the last impression is not memorable then the audience will quickly forget what you said and they won’t know what the purpose of their attending the speech was.
2.Think of a time that you listened to a speech that ended abruptly or someone that just quickly ended a conversation with you. How did it make you feel? Why is this important to understand?
When I am actually listening to someone that is giving a speech, I am very interested up until the very end. If someone is giving a speech and just stops abruptly at the end for lack of time or lack of information or many other things it makes me wonder why I even wasted my time listening to their speech in the first place. If you were at a conference listening to a motivational speaker, you would never hear them just end their speech in a weird place. They will always sum everything up and usually give a quote or a phrase that they "live by" to help you remember their speech and what they were telling you. When a speaker doesn't complete a thought, it makes the audience wonder what they were trying to say. It becomes frustrating to the audience especially if they were particularly engulfed in your speech. It's like dangling candy in front of a child. It just is not fair. To protect yourself from doing this, always remember to practice your speech before actually performing it. By practicing, you will properly know how to balance your time.
3.What's more important, a first impression or a last impression? Explain.
When giving a speech, the first and last impressions people get of you are very important. Impressions from your audience are what will make or break you as a public speaker. If people don't like you, you won't be asked to speak. If people do like you, everyone will want you to come speak to them. Sometimes you may be giving your speech and mess up on the introduction. By doing poorly in the introduction, your audience already has a not-so-good impression of you. Throughout your speech, you can say things that will help you gain more credibility and draw your audience back in to what you are saying. By the time you get to your conclusion, the audience may have already forgotten about what you said in the beginning of your speech. At that point you are able to finish up with a great conclusion. Your audience will remember what you said last and that's how they will decide whether they liked what you had to say or not. The last impression is always the most important thing to worry about when giving a speech.
In public speaking, I believe that a first impression is more important than a last impression. If you make a great first impression, I think people will give you more of the benefit of the doubt throughout your speech, and will view it in a more favorable light than if you start badly and finish well. One time when I was in high school, I gave a talk in church where I told some story at the beginning that was pretty funny, and people loved it. Then, the rest of my talk was complete crap. I had written half of the thing during the opening song. But people in the audience were still paying very close attention the entire talk, because they were still expecting me to say some good things. An example of this working the opposite way comes from TV comedy shows. I HATE That 70's Show. Hate it. I can watch an entire episode with a completely straight face because I've already made up my mind that whatever is going to happen is stupid and Ashton Kutcher is a terrible actor. The show made a bad first impression on me, I categorized it as dumb, and it's going to have to really work hard to overcome that.
That number three is a good question, and although I think there are arguments for both sides I'm going to have to say that a last impression is more important than a first impression, simply because of the fact that a poor last impression has the potential to ruin a good first impression, and a good last impression can correct a poor first impression, but this rarely works vice versa. I've actually personally experienced this many times during my time in Japan trying to learn a new culture and language. I would often give speeches with poor introductions, broken Japanese and inappropriate mannerisms (Japan's a hard culture to understand!). However, when I had time to really explain my personality and highlight my strengths, I was often able to win the audience over and leave with a good last impression.
I think a last impression is more important than a first impression. My reason behind this is camparring this to a relationship. although first impressions are important on inviting someone in, usually you dont know everything from the beginning. As time goes on, truth is revieled. Once someone has been around someone enough, the first impression is almost a distant memory and all that matters from now on is what you have interpreted over all and the latest things that have happened. this goes hand and hand with speech giving. The conclusion is the last thing people are left with so in most cases that will be the first thing people think of when refering back to the speech. I know that when im left with a great last impression, it is most recent, there for it is the most fresh in my mind.
What's more important, a first impression or a last impression? Explain
Makin a great first impression can get you pretty far in life! get you a good job interview, get you a pretty date for the weekend, might even help you get out of getting a ticket. but to me a last impression is just as important if not more so than makin a first impression. You may be able to get your foot in the door with a good first impression but if you cant keep up with your impression then you will soon find yourself out the door or being dumped by the hot girl in your class! Making a positive last impression will help you in the long run! it may help you get good references or maybe the hot girl in your class will realize that your actually the person that she wants!! i think if you can leave a postive lasting impression than it will make you more memorable to others and help you out in life more!!
Unfortunately, I have listened to many speeches where the presenter has ended suddenly without taking time to wrap up their talk. In one particular case, the speaker had related to the audience series of events that had taken place in his life and asked us what we would have done in his situation. These were rhetorical questions of course but he proceeded to tell us that he would explain to us what he had chosen to do at the end of his speech. He then began telling us a bunch of life lessons that didn’t seem to correspond to the topic of his speech, but that was because we didn’t know the courses that he had chosen to take. He glanced down at his watch and abruptly concluded with “and I hope that you can all learn from this”. Learn from what? I was utterly confused about what I was supposed to have learned and I was rather irritated that he hadn’t told us what he had chosen to do in the different situations that he had told us about. The events of his life were such a big part of the speech that I couldn’t believe he didn’t tell us the ending. It was after that speech that I understood the importance of always answering your questions and wrapping up your talk properly.
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