How to Write Conclusions for Persuasive Speeches

Conclude your persuasive speech with the main belief that you want the audience to adopt.

The beginning and the conclusion are the two most important parts of a persuasive speech and should, ideally, be linked to each other. The beginning introduces your subject/problem (the reason for your speech), while the conclusion tells the audience what action they should take or how they should feel about what your speech reveals to them. Conclude your persuasive speech with the main belief that you want the audience to adopt.

Instructions

1. Summarize and restate the main points of your persuasive speech to help your audience remember the important points.

2. Repeat your thesis statement or reword it, keeping the same basic idea.

3. Summarize the main points of your speech and connect them to the opening statements. For instance, if your thesis statement is “Cell phone use while driving should be outlawed,” your conclusion would list all your main points in support of your thesis and end with “Cell phone use while driving should be outlawed.”

4. Tell the audience what action(s) you want them to take as a result of the knowledge you have given them. For example, “Call your congressmen, ladies and gentlemen. This abuse must be stopped.”

5. Link the needs of your audience with your speech topic. For instance, if your audience is primarily baby boomers and your topic is the Social Security crisis, tell your audience how this crisis will affect them.

6. Conclude your persuasive speech with a human-interest story or a heart-wrenching tragedy that links to your thesis statement.

7. Make up an easy-to-remember slogan that encapsulates your thesis, and use this as your very last statement.