how to end a defense speech

Closing Argument

Original Cochise County Courthouse, Tombstone Courthouse Historical Park, Arizona, 1882.

The closing statement is the attorney’s final statement to the jury before deliberation begins. The attorney reiterates the important arguments, summarizes what the evidence has and has not shown, and requests jury to consider the evidence and apply the law in his or her client’s favor.

What to know before drafting a closing

What happened from your side’s point of view?
What is your theory of the case?
What are the key elements that have to be proved (by you or the other side)?
What do you anticipate the evidence will show?
What are the important facts your side’s witnesses will testify to?
What themes (words and phrases that convey emotions) do you want to emphasize?
Who has the burden of proof and what is it?
What do you want the jury to do?
How much time do you have? (usually 5 minutes)

Anatomy of a Closing Argument : The Basics

If you are the prosecution or plaintiff you must reserve time for rebuttal before you start your closing argument. Check your Mock Trial rules.

Some attorneys begin with something like: “Your Honor, members of the jury, my name is (full name), representing the prosecution/defendant in this case.”
If they have already been introduced, many attorneys just go right into their opening to save time, create drama, and make it look more like a real trial.
The closing attorney has a lot more flexibility than the opening attorney
Closing is a persuasive argument
Briefly review what has to be proved (by you or the other side)
One or two sentences which tell the jury what the evidence has shown in the context of your theory of the case
“ The evidence has shown by a preponderance of evidence that my client, Landry Lopez, was fired for reporting an illegal activity to his employer, the restaurant Buddies Burgers.”
Could be combined with a brief overview of what the evidence has shown using general statements or through a descriptive story
This is essentially the elements of the case
Do not delve too deep into legal terms or you will lose the jury’s attention
Talk about burden of proof
Focus on the key issues
Identify witness testimony and exhibits supporting each issue
Tell a the client’s story
Reinforce case themes
Help the jury tie things together in their mind
The organizational structure will vary depending on the case
“This is a civil case and Plaintiff Landry Lopez must prove his case by a preponderance of the evidence.” (Explain briefly and illustrate with hands what a preponderance of the evidence means)
“ Oregon’s whistle blower law exists to protect, and encourage, employees to report illegal activity in the workplace. Mr. Lopez engaged in such whistle blower activity and was fired for doing so. “
“For these reasons, after you have heard all the evidence, at the end of this trial we will ask you to return a verdict in favor of Landry Lopez.”
“At the end of the trial the State of Oregon will ask you to find the Defendant guilty of . . .”
“Based on the evidence you will hear, at the end of the trial the Defendant will ask you to return a verdict of not guilty.”

Tracking the evidence at trial

Witness statements are not evidence (unless they were admitted to impeach a witness)
Exhibits are not evidence unless admitted
What an attorney said in their opening statement is not evidence
Witnesses may forget key evidence
Attorneys conducting the direct and cross examinations may forget questions
Attorneys may forget the last step of offering an exhibit into evidence
Testimony and exhibits may be kept out the judge after the other side objects
Consequently, it is important to track what evidence comes in during the trial
Memory (fallible)
Notes (cumbersome and hard to access)
A master outline to checking key items off of as they come in (better)
Keeping a flow chart (better)
Prepare in advance
List the key facts for each witness
List all exhibits
Do not go into too much detail (makes things hard to find)
Contain blank space for notes on actual witness testimony and quotes
Contain blank space for the opposition’s cross examination
Contain blank space for actual witness testimony and quotes
Includes places to track other sides’s theory of the case and arguments in openings and closings

Going Deeper: Ways to Improve the Closing Argument:

The attorney doing the closing argument is being judged both on the substance of the closing and on their performance (public speaking ability).

How to improve the substance:

Practicing attorneys differ on this
The attorney’s speaking style
The attorney’s comfort level with impromptu speaking
The attorney’s ability to memorize a speech
Other roles the attorney might have in the case
In either case, the closing argument must be modified based on what evidence comes in
Certain parts can still be memorized (intro, conclusion, etc)
Body of the argument can be easily modified as trial progresses
Delivery style may seem often more natural
More difficult to use rhetorical devices
More difficult to implement themes in the body of the speech
Most of the speech is memorized
More difficult to modify based on the what happens at trial
Delivery style is often more formal
Easier to use planned out rhetorical devices
Easier to implement themes in the body of the speech
The closing attorney must track what evidence comes in
Having other roles makes it more difficult for them to do this
It is especially difficult for a prosecution/plaintiff attorney to do cross examination and a closing because this is when they should be putting together their thoughts for closing argument
Closing arguments go through many edits and revisions
Seek out the input from others
Try things out – if they don’t work, don’t use them
Is it consistent with the theory of the case used in closing?
Are they consistent with the theory of the case used in closing?
Has evidence been left out that is needed for closing argument?
A hook is a sentence or short paragraph which serves as an attention grabbing device
See section on advance public speaking techniques
Use descriptive, emotional content
Use active voice
Use language that reinforces your themes
“The evidence has shown that . . .
“The facts have shown that …”
Use a few of these lines but don’t overdo it.
In her testimony Landry Lopez told you . . . “
Don’t ask questions (it allows the jury to come up with answers you might not want)
Do not waste your time on unimportant things
The more you repeat something the more it is remembered and believed
If you say the evidence will show that “Mrs. Smith did not run the red light” the ‘not’ is lost.
The jury remembers the phrase “ran the red light”
Instead say the evidence will show “Mrs. Smith came to a complete stop at the signal.”
The jury remembers “came to a complete stop at the signal.”
Are they a sympathetic witness who just got it wrong?
Are they deliberately lying or lacking in credibility?
Be professional with opposing counsel – attack the facts and witness, not the other attorney
Personalize your witnesses by using their names
Depersonalize the opposition’s witnesses with language like ‘Defendant” or “Plaintiff”
Don’t be shy to take on this role
Refer to yourself “The State of ___” not just the “prosecution.”
“There are certain facts in this case that are not in dispute . . . “
“The defense/prosecution have agreed . . .”
“ The parties have agreed that . . .”

How to improve the performance:

Find your focus, energy and commitment
Memorize movement, inflections, and gestures to the extent you can
Use them sparingly
Use a legal pad or clip board so they do not flop around
Don’t be afraid of the jury
Look them in the eye
Educate them about the case
Move closer (5-10 ft.) but not too close
Be natural so as to keep their attention
Do not be overly aggressive in your argument style
Being overly aggressive can make one less believable
Help the jury – assist them in evaluating the evidence in a persuasive way
Do not shout except to make a particular point
Use rhetorical devices to persuade
Let the type of case dictate your style and tone
Example: A prosecutor might want to be more forceful whereas a defendant might want to evoke sympathy
Use legal terminology sparingly
Maintain upright body posture (do not slouch)
Keep shoulders back to show confidence
Stay balanced
If you move make the movement coincide with transitions between points
Try not to change position more than 7 times in 5 minutes
Try not to fidget or have unnecessary gestures or body movements
Use gestures to create interest and drama
Gestures include the give, the show, the tell, and signposting
If you are the prosecution and point to the defendant it will be using a harder accusatory “tell” gesture with a pointed finger
If you are pointing to your own witnesses it will be using an inviting open handed “give” gesture
Act professional and confident – even if you are nervous

Preparation Sheet

Closing argument preparation sheet, how to do a closing argument (professor rose), opening statement and closing argument, judge david barker, how to do a closing at mock trial – defense, jerry spence closing argument for defense in a criminal case.

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9 Closing a Speech: End with Power and Let Them Know It is Time to Clap

Open Your Speech With a Bang Close It With a Slam-Dunk Westside Toastmasters

“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending,” according to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The first few words of your speech make the audience want to listen and the last few sentences help them decide what they feel about you and your topic. In this chapter, I will explain the function of a conclusion, the format of a conclusion, and I will give you numerous examples of ways to end your speech. Most of this chapter is dedicated to showing you good examples of different types of speech closings. Let’s get started by talking about the purpose of the closing.

A Strong Closing Does Many Things

Summarizes the points. By restating your points your audience is more likely to remember them.
Tells the audience when to clap. Let’s face it, it is so awkward when you are done with your speech, and no one claps. Being clear the end is near, relieves the audience of the pressure of wondering if they are clapping at the right time.
Provides resolution. Your speech should give the audience a sense of resolve or a sense of being challenged.

The Formula for Closing Most Speeches

Transition statement to ending.
Review the main points–repeat the thesis.
If it is a persuasive speech, tell the audience what you want them to do or think.
Provide a closing statement.

Restate the Thesis

Tell them what you are going to say, say it, tell them what you have said. This speech pattern is useful in most types of speeches because it helps the speaker to remember your key points. As you build your closing, make sure you restate the thesis. A good rule of thumb is to write it in such a way that if the audience were asked to restate the main points, their answer would match closely with your thesis.

EXAMPLE Watch as Stella Young gives her thesis and then restates her thesis at the end of the speech as she wraps up. The thesis of the talk in the introduction: We’ve been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It’s a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make you exceptional. Restates the thesis of the talk at the closing: Disability doesn’t make you exceptional but questioning what you think you know about it does.

Stella Young, I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk

This next example is from a student’s speech. It is easy to pull out one sentence that clearly summarizes the main points of her speech. Following her summary, she winds the speech down into a thoughtful conclusion and ends with three powerful words.

Now is the time to separate the war on drugs from the war on addiction. T oday you’ve heard the problems, impacts, and solutions of criminalizing addictions. Bruce Callis is 50 years old now. And he is still struggling with his addiction. while you all are sitting out there listening to this, I’m living with it. Bruce Callis is my father and for my entire life, I have watched our misguided system destroy him. The irony here is that we live in a society where we are told to recycle. We recycle paper, aluminum, and electronics. But why don’t we ever consider recycling them most precision think on Earth– the human life. Student Tunnette Powell, Winner of the 2012 Interstate Oratorical Association Contest.

Closing Phrases

After you restate your thesis, you should carefully deliver your closing phrases. Your closing should provide a resolution to your speech and/or it should challenge the audience. Frantically Speaking writer Hrideep Barot suggests “a conclusion is like tying a bow or ribbon to a box of your key ideas that your audience will be taking along with them.”

A speech closing is not just about the words you say, but it is also the way you say it. Change the pace near the end of your speech. Let your tone alone should signal the end is near. It is about deliberate voice control, don’t let your voice weakly away.

In the next section, I will cover these ways to end your speech:

End with powerful words End with a quote End with a graphic End with parallel construction End on a positive note End with a challenge End with a question End with inspiration End with well-wishing End with humor End with a call to action End with a feeling of resolve End with a prop

The best way to teach you about advanced closings is to show not tell. For this section, I will briefly explain each type of closing and then provide a video. Each video is queued so you can play the video and watch the closing statement. I included a transcript under each video if you want to follow along. It will be most beneficial for you to watch the clip and not just read the text. By watching, you will have a chance to hear the subtle changes in the speaker’s voice as they deliver their closing statements.

End with Powerful Words

As you design your closing, look at the last three to five words and examine them to see if they are strong words. Oftentimes, you can rearrange a sentence to end with a powerful word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Watch this clip for how BJ Miller ends with a powerful thought and a powerful word.

Parts of me died early on, and that’s something we can all say one way or another. I got to redesign my life around this fact, and I tell you it has been a liberation to realize you can always find a shock of beauty or meaning in what life you have left, like that snowball lasting for a perfect moment, all the while melting away. If we love such moments ferociously, then maybe we can learn to live well — not in spite of death, but because of it. Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination. BJ Miller, What Really Matters at the End of Life

End by Circling Back to the Opening

Another type of ending is to circle back to what you said in the beginning. You can revisit a quote, share the end to an illustration that was begun in the beginning, or you can put away a prop you got out in the beginning.

Watch this clip for how Zubing Zhang begins and ends with the same quote to circle back around to the main idea.

She starts by telling a story of bungee jumping off the world’s highest platform and how she saw a sign with a quote that says, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” After telling her own story about pushing her emotional limits, she circles back around at the end by saying, “As the words said high on the bungee platform, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”

Yubing Zhang, Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone.

End With Quote

If you end your speech with a quote, attend to the following.

Always say the author of the quote before the quote for example, “I want to leave you with a leadership quote ‘What you do has far greater impact than what you say,’ Steven Covey.” The problem with this ending is that “Stephen Covey” are the last two words of the speech and that is boring. Consider instead this ending. “I think Robin Sharma said it best ‘Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.'” In this arrangement, the last three words are powerful–influence and inspiration.
Provided context for the quote before or after. Make sure the quote is meaningful and not just an easy way to end.

Watch this clip for how Sir Ken Robinson ends with a quote. Notice how he says the author and then the quote.

Also, notice how he then ties his speech to the quote with a final few sentences and ends with the powerful word–“revolution” and how he uses a strong vocal emphasis as he says his last word. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

There’s a wonderful quote from Benjamin Franklin. “There are three sorts of people in the world: Those who are immovable, people who don’t get it, or don’t want to do anything about it; there are people who are movable, people who see the need for change and are prepared to listen to it; and there are people who move, people who make things happen.” And if we can encourage more people, that will be a movement. And if the movement is strong enough, that’s, in the best sense of the word, a revolution. And that’s what we need.

Sir Ken Robinson, How to Escape Education’s Death Valley.

End with a Graphic

You might want to use a visual to make your final point. Bringing in a picture, graphic, or object, reengages the audience to pay attention to your final ideas.

Watch this clip for how Barry Schartz uses the magic words “so to conclude” and then he creatively uses a picture of a fishbowl to narrow in on his point. Notice how his final word is spoken with urgency as he says “disaster.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So, to conclude. (He shows a picture of fish in a fishbowl) He says, “You can be anything you want to be — no limits.” You’re supposed to read this cartoon and, being a sophisticated person, say, “Ah! What does this fish know? Nothing is possible in this fishbowl.” Impoverished imagination, a myopic view of the world –that’s the way I read it at first. The more I thought about it, however, the more I came to the view that this fish knows something. Because the truth of the matter is, if you shatter the fishbowl so that everything is possible, you don’t have freedom. You have paralysis. If you shatter this fishbowl so that everything is possible, you decrease satisfaction. You increase paralysis, and you decrease satisfaction. Everybody needs a fishbowl. This one is almost certainly too limited –perhaps even for the fish, certainly for us. But the absence of some metaphorical fishbowl is a recipe for misery and, I suspect, disaster. Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

End with Parallel Construction

Parallel construction is a series of repeated phrases. It can be a powerful tool to use in a persuasive speech as it creates a feeling of importance.

Watch this clip for how Malala Yousafzai ends with a series of parallel statements to build momentum. Notice how her pace perfectly matches her words and you feel her strength when she ends with “education first.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice, and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of schools. We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future. So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism, and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First.

Malala Yousafzai, United Nations Youth Assembly

End on a Positive Note

Audiences are constantly evaluating a speaker to determine their attitude and motivation. As you consider your speech closing, ask yourself what type of impression do you want to leave? Do you want to leave them with depression or hope? Sadness or promise? Most of the time, audiences will receive messages that end positively better than speeches that end negatively.

In this speech sample, Hans Rosling showed the audience some hard statistics and he even pointed fingers at the audience as part of the problem. To help them hear his main point, he wisely ends on a positive note.

Watch this clip for how Hans Rosling ends this thought-provoking talk on a positive note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Now, when thinking about where all this leaves us, I have just one little humble advice for you, besides everything else, look at the data. Look at the facts about the world and you will see where we are today and how we can move forwards with all these billions on our wonderful planet. The challenge of extreme poverty has been greatly reduced and it’s for the first time in history within our power to end it for good. The challenge of population growth is, in fact, already being solved, the number of children has stopped growing. And for the challenge for climate change, we can still avoid the worst, but that requires the richest, as soon as possible, find a way to use their set their use of resources and energy at a level that, step by step, can be shared by 10 billion or 11 billion by the end of this century. I’ve never called myself an optimist, but I do say I’m a possibilist and I also say the world is much better than many of you think.

Hans Rosling, Facts about the Population.

End with a Challenge

Leave the audience with a doable personal challenge. Help them mentally make sense of all the information that you shared by helping them know how to file it away and how to use it.

Watch this clip for how Melissa Butler ends with a challenge. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So, I challenge each of you, when you go home today, look at yourself in the mirror, see all of you, look at all of your greatness that you embody, accept it, and love it. And finally, when you leave the house tomorrow, try to extend that same love and acceptance to someone who doesn’t look like you . Melissa Butler, Why You Think You’re Ugly.

Watch this clip as Darren LaCroix literally falls face down to anchor the point that when we fall, we “fall forward.” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Darren LaCroix talks about taking risks and falling down and getting back up, he literally and purposefully falls down during his speech and ends this way: What’s your next step… take it. I didn’t want to look back at my life and say you know I never did try that comedy thing, but I died debt-free. All of us are headed toward that goal we are going to teach a point where we get stuck and our feet are like in cement and we can’t move but we’re so afraid of that ouch but we forget that if we lean forward and take a risk–(He falls face down) and we fall on our face. When we get up, notice, you still made progress. So please, with me, go ahead and fall. But fall forward. Darren LaCroiz, Winning Speech delivered at National Speech Association

End with a Question

Asking a question at the end is one way to reengage the audience. It helps them think about what your topic might mean for them.

Watch this clip for how David Eagleman reminds us about why his topic is important and then ends with a question. Notice how he pauses before his final question and how he changes the pace of his speech for the final sentence. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

So I think there’s really no end to the possibilities on the horizon for human expansion. Just imagine an astronaut being able to feel the overall health of the International Space Station, or, for that matter, having you feel the invisible states of your own health, like your blood sugar and the state of your microbiome, or having 360-degree vision or seeing in infrared or ultraviolet. So the key is this: As we move into the future, we’re going to increasingly be able to choose our own peripheral devices. We no longer have to wait for Mother Nature’s sensory gifts on her timescales, but instead, like any good parent, she’s given us the tools that we need to go out and define our own trajectory. So the question now is, how do you want to go out and experience your universe?

David Eagleman, Can We Create New Senses for Humans?

Watch this clip for how Lera Boroditsky ends with a personal note and a powerful final question. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I want to leave you with this final thought. I’ve told you about how speakers of different languages think differently, but of course, that’s not about how people elsewhere think. It’s about how you think. It’s how the language that you speak shapes the way that you think. And that gives you the opportunity to ask, “Why do I think the way that I do?” “How could I think differently?” And also, “What thoughts do I wish to create?” Lera Boroditsky, How Language Shapes the Way We Think

End with Inspiration

“Inspiring your audience is all about helping them see their own vision, not yours.”

You may want to end your speech with inspiring and encouraging words. Pick words that resonate with most of your audience and deliver them in such a way that your audience feels your lift in emotion.

Watch this clip for how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ends with an inspiring final note and a powerful last few words “regain a kind of paradise” (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.

I would like to end with this thought: That when we reject the single-story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story

Watch this clip for how Dan Pink ends with an inspiring final note. (I have the video cued to play just the closing) Let me wrap up. There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. Here is what science knows. One: Those 20th century rewards, those motivators we think are a natural part of business, do work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. Two: Those if-then rewards often destroy creativity. Three: The secret to high performance isn’t rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive– the drive to do things for their own sake. The drive to do things cause they matter.

And here’s the best part. We already know this. The science confirms what we know in our hearts. So, if we repair this mismatch between what science knows and what business does, if we bring our motivation, notions of motivation into the 21st century, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, we can strengthen our businesses, we can solve a lot of those candle problems, and maybe, maybe — we can change the world. I rest my case. Dan Pink, The Puzzle of Motivation

End with Well Wishing

There are several types of closings where the speaker wished the audience well.

The Benediction Close: M ay God bless and keep you…. The Presidential Close: God bless you and may God bless the USA The Congratulatory Close: I congratulate you on your accomplishment and wish you continued success.

End with Humor

You can end on a fun lighthearted note. It is important to always run your humor by a variety of people to make sure you are funny, and your humor is appropriate.

Watch this clip for how Andrew Dunham uses humor throughout his speech and ends with a funny one-liner. (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

I wish you all the best as we begin this journey on our paths and I sincerely hope and pray that your time and success have proven to be as memorable and spiritually rewarding as mine. If not, there’s always summer school.

Andrew Dunham, Valedictorian Comes Out As Autistic During Speech

End with a Call to Action

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, let the audience know exactly what you want them to do.

End with a Feeling of Resolve

Paul Harvey made famous the line “And now you know…the rest of the story.” Your closing should allow us to know the rest of the story or to know how a situation was resolved.

Watch this clip for how Lucy Hone ends this tough but inspiring talk with a feeling of resolve (I have the video cued to play just the closing)

https://youtu.be/9-5SMpg7Q0k?t=913 If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think there’s no way I’m coming back from this, I urge you to lean into these strategies and think again. I won’t pretend that thinking this way is easy and it doesn’t remove all the pain. But if I’ve learned anything over the last five years, it is that thinking this way really does help. More than anything it has shown me that it is possible to live and grieve at the same time. And for that I will be always grateful. Lucy Hone, The Three Secrets of Resilient People

End with a Prop

Nancy Duarte says you should give your audience, SOMETHING THEY will ALWAYS REMEMBER–S.T.A.R. One way to do that is with an action or statement that will have the audience talking about it for a long time. President Obama did it with a mic drop.

Memorize Your Conclusion

End on time.

Do not diminish the effect of a great speech with a bloated, aimless conclusion. Dan Rothwell.

“Times about up.”

Don’t end with any references to time. It is like a giant stop sign saying, “stop listening.” Don’t highlight that you ran over time or that it is almost time for lunch. You want them to think about your speech, not the clock.

“Any Questions?”

You want them to feel a sense of closure for your speech. End with something powerful and let them applaud. After the applause, you can offer to answer questions. Similarly, projecting your last slide with the words, “Any Questions” is a weak ending.

“Let Me Add This Point I Missed”

If you forget something in the body of your speech, it is usually best to leave it out. Most of the time you are the only one who will miss it.

“Thank You to the Team”

There is a time to thank the organizers and those who helped you but it is not at the end of your speech. Your focus should be on your audience and what they need and what they need to hear is your idea. Send a thank you letter to the team if you want them to feel your appreciation.

“I’m Sorry”

“Sorry again for the technology issue,” “I apologize for going over time, ” “I regret I have no answer to this.” These are all negative phrases. Keep to your topic that is what they need to hear and stay focused.

“I’ll Close with this Video”

No, you should close with talking about the big idea.

If you don’t have a plan at the end, you will ramble. “Steer clear of meandering endings they kill a story,” according to the Moth Storytelling website. “Your last line should be clear in your head before you start. Yes, bring the audience along with you as you contemplate what transpires in your story, but remember, you are driving the story, and must know the final destination. Keep your hands on the wheel!”

To Thank or Not to Thank, That is the Question

There is a debate amongst speech professionals, speech teachers, and speech coaches about whether or not you should thank the audience. Here are their main arguments.

Why You Should Not Say Thank You

You want to end with powerful words. “Thank you” are not strong words.
The recency effect suggests they will remember the last words you spoke. You want them to remember more than just “thank you.”
It is not a very creative way to end.
It can be a sign of a lazy speaker, “I have no idea how to end this, I’ve run out of good things to say so I’ll say ‘Thank you’ so you will clap now.”

Why You Should Say Thank You

It has come to be the expected ending in many settings. Violating their expectations can cause them to have a negative reaction.
It clearly signals you are finished so the audience knows when to clap. The relieves the pressure from both you and the audience.
It expresses gratitude.

I will leave it up to you to decide what works for you. As for me, I plan on trying to find more creative ways to end other than just saying “thank you.”

Maximizing the Primacy Recency Effect

If I were to read you a list of thirty things on my grocery list and then asked you to list all that you can remember, chances are you would remember the first times on the list and the last items on the list ( and any ones you found interesting from the middle). When people engage in listening, they tend to remember the first and last things they hear, it is called the primacy-recency effect. T his is just one more reason that your introduction and conclusion should be so well planned out. It is those first words and last words that the audience is going to remember.

The primacy recency effect influences, not only what people pay attention to in a speech, but also which speech we pay the most attention to in a series of speeches. For example, if there is a lineup of six speakers, the first and last speakers tend to get the most attention.

As a speaker, you can use this information to your advantage by volunteering to go first or last. If you are giving a long presentation, you can break it up by allowing the audience to move around or talk to a neighbor. When you come back from break, you have re-engaged that primacy effect and moved them back to a high state of attention.

Do You Have Everything You Need for a Strong Closing?

Have I signaled my speech is coming to an end with my words or my voice?
Have I restated my main points?
If I am persuading my audience, do they know what I want them to do or think?
Have I written the last three to five words in such a way that I end with powerful words?
Have I memorized my closing?

Getting Off the Platform is Part of Your Closing

Plan on making a strong exit. Whether you are stepping off a stage or simply going to your seat, you should consider that the audience is watching you.

I have had students who finished their speech and then walked over to the trashcan and in a large, exaggerated movement, they threw their notecards in the trash. In our minds, we threw their message away with those cards. I’ve seen speakers, sit in their chairs and then announce, “I can’t believe my hands were shaking so much.” I’ve sat there and thought, “I didn’t notice.” I then realized that the comments they made influenced my perception of them and my perception of their topic.

You said your last word and the audience is applauding, now what? Look at your audience and smile and nod in appreciation before walking off the stage. If you will be answering questions, wait until after the applause stops to begin your question and answering period.

When practicing your speech, it is a good idea to start from your chair, walk up to a spot and then give your speech, and then walk back to your chair and sit down. Your “speech” impression begins and ends from your chair.

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

A speech closing should include a review of the main points and a purposeful closing sentence.
Persuasive speech endings should tell the audience specifically what they should do or think about.
The recency effect suggests that people remember the most recent things they have heard which is one reason the closing is so important.
Chance the pace of your speech and the tone of your voice to signal the end of the speech.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

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Adichie, C.N. (2009). The danger of a single story. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg Standard YouTube License.

Anderson, C. (2016). TED talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Mariner Books.

Barot, H. Fifteen powerful speech ending lines (and tips to create your own). Frantically Speaking. https://franticallyspeaking.com/15-powerful-speech-ending-lines-and-tips-to-create-your-own/

Boroditsky, L. (2017). How language shapes the way we think. https://www.ted.com/talks/lera_boroditsky_how_language_shapes_the_way_we_think Standard Youtube License.

Butler, M. (2018). Why you think you’re ugly. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imCBztvKgus Standard YouTube License.

Dunham. A. (2019). Valedictorian comes out as autistic during speech. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPGrLoU5Uk Standard Youtube License.

Eagleman, D. (2015). Can we create new senses for humans?[Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/4c1lqFXHvqI Standard YouTube License.

Hone, L. (2019). The three secrets of resilient people. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/NWH8N-BvhAw Standard YouTube License.

Jeff, P. (2009). Ten ways to end your speech with a bang. http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/10-ways-to-end-your-speech

Jobs, S. (2005). You’ve got to find what you love. https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/

Khanna, P. (2016). Let the head of TED show you how to end your speech with power. https://www.fastcompany.com/3059459/let-the-head-of-ted-show-you-how-to-end-your-speech-with-p

Karia, A. (2013). How to open and close a TED talk (or any other speech or presentation). https://akashkaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/HowtoOpenandCloseaTEDTalk.pdf

LaCroix, D. (2001). World champion of public speaking. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUDCzbmLV-0 Standard YouTube License.

Mandela, N. (2011). Speech from the dock in the Rivonia trial.[Video]. YouTube https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/i-am-prepared-to-die Standard YouTube License.

Mandela, N. (1994). Presidential Inaugural Speech. [Video]. YouTube https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nelsonmandelainauguralspeech.htm Standard YouTube License.

Miller, B.J. (2015). What really matters at the end of life. [Video]. YouTube https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life?language=en Standard YouTube License.

Moth. (2021). Storytelling tips and tricks: How to tell a successful story. https://themoth.org/share-your-story/storytelling-tips-tricks

Obama, B. (2016). White House correspondents dinner. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFkEj7KPC0 Standard YouTube License.

Pink, D. (2009). The puzzle of motivation. [Video]. YouTube https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_the_puzzle_of_motivation Standard YouTube License.

Rothwell, D. (2014). Practically Speaking. Oxford University Press.Robinson, K. (2013). How to escape education’s death valley. [Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc Standard YouTube License.

Rosling, H. (2014). Don’t Panic-Hans Rosling showing the facts about population.[Video]. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FACK2knC08E Standard YouTube License.

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Toastmasters International. (2016). Concluding your Speech. https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Concluding-Your-Speech

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Short, sweet, and specific: Effective openings and closings in oral argument

By Kyle R. Kroll

The first impression is the last impression.” It’s a familiar phrase and one that underscores the importance of oral argument. Briefing is usually the first opportunity to make an impression, but appearing before judges in person is often more influential. The opening volley of your oral argument is crucial. But the last impression can be just as important as the first. As the saying goes, “You never win at oral argument, but you certainly can lose.” Your closing lines are therefore mission-critical as well.

What are the hallmarks of a strong opening and closing in oral argument? Most scholarship about oral advocacy focuses on the middle of the argument—the substance. And there is little advice regarding how to make a powerful and persuasive beginning and end.

To address this information gap, this article surveys just some of the great oral advocates from Minnesota and elsewhere. A review of openings and closings from these greats reveals three key insights: keep it short, sweet, and specific.

Openings: Theme and roadmap—briefly

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg led with the following piece of advice in remarking on advocacy: “Be brief, be pointed.” 1 For openings, this typically means beginning with a thematic statement and a roadmap of your main points. 2

The thematic statement should remind the court of the nature of the case and reiterate your client’s story. And the roadmap should introduce no more than three key points you wish to make. As one practitioner put it: “Write out an introduction that, from the very first sentence, captures the panel’s attention, frames the appeal and the issues, and presents a compelling narrative why your client should prevail….” 3 It’s important that the theme not overshadow the roadmap, however. 4 Although some scholars suggest completing the roadmap in 30 seconds—because sometimes that’s as much time as you will have before an interruption 5 —anything up to 60 seconds should suffice.

Take, for example, this effective opener in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil , Inc. , from one of the most prolific appellate attorneys in U.S. Supreme Court history, 6 Lisa S. Blatt:

The Lanham Act authorizes courts to remedy trademark violations by awarding infringers profits subject to the principles of equity. The question presented here is whether this phrase, “principles of equity,” requires trademark owners to prove willfulness as an absolute precondition to profit awards. The answer is no for three reasons: First, the phrase “principles of equity” signifies a multifactor analysis where no one factor is controlling. Second, the statutory text and structure supersede any settled willfulness requirement. And, third, there was no such settled background willfulness requirement. 7

To avoid an interruption and ensure you make your key points, consider former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement’s succinct opening in United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association :

Respondents’ effort to convert all of the land traversed by a Park Service-administered trail into lands in the National Park Service fails for reasons of text, context, and consequences. 8

Clement’s very short roadmap identifies three key points (text, context, and consequences), while promoting the narrative that the respondent is trying to convert private into public land.

Sometimes it is best to focus the inquiry on the single most dispositive and pressing issue, just as future Chief Judge John R. Tunheim (District of Minnesota) did in Growe v. Emison :

Redistricting is a power and responsibility that is reserved to the states in the first instance. This case presents the Court with an opportunity to illuminate that important principle and clarify the apparent confusion in the lower federal courts. I intend to direct my argument this morning to the abstention issue: Did the federal court err by refusing to abstain to an ongoing state judicial proceeding? And the case presents perhaps one of the most stark examples of what can go wrong when there are jurisdictional disputes in the redistricting process. 9

Nicole A. Saharsky (a University of Minnesota Law School graduate and also one of the most prolific attorneys to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court) 10 offered a shorter and sweeter opener on a key issue in DePierre v. United States :

Whether you call it freebase, coca paste or crack, it’s the same thing chemically. It is cocaine base, it is smokeable, it has the same effects on the user; and Congress did not limit the statute to one form of cocaine basis. This court should not do it, either. 11

Aaron Van Oort focused the Court in on a dispositive issue after opening with a strong thematic point and summarizing the compelling facts:

This case tests and exceeds the very outermost limits of what a person may be insured against under Nebraska law. In 2006, Commander David Kofoed of the Douglas County CSI unit committed the reprehensible act of planting false blood evidence against two innocent men in a murder investigation. For this criminal misconduct he was both convicted of a class four felony and it resulted in the civil judgments that are underlying this proceeding. In this appeal, the plaintiffs are arguing on his behalf—Commander Kofoed—that he has insurance coverage for the damages arising out of his wrongdoing, even for the punitive damages that were awarded against him. That’s incorrect under Nebraska law because Nebraska affirmatively forbids its political subdivisions like Douglas County, his employer, from paying civil judgments that arise out of criminal wrongdoing, whether they do it through insurance or otherwise. 12

In each of these examples, the advocate’s winning opening was short, sweet, and specific. The openings usually include one or more thematic sentences. Theme appeals to ethics and morality, while the roadmap that introduces the key points appeals to logic. These advocates strive not only to show the court that their positions are right, but also that their clients are in the right . Sometimes the advocates focus on one key issue, but where there is more than one, they often use signposts (“first,” “second,” “third”) to provide verbal organization in their roadmap. The opening roadmaps are short, even though they often paint a clear picture with salient facts or legal principles. Notice also the use of vivid and concrete language—the “sweet” part of the opening that often grabs attention. Further, the openings either implicitly or explicitly call for the court to make a certain holding (reverse, remand, etc.). Short, sweet, and specific.

Closings: Make a compelling point, and tell the court what you want

Closings should also be short, sweet, and specific. Admittedly, advocates often have little—or no—time for a planned closing. Questions that arise during oral argument regularly fill up that space, and the lawyer runs out of time, only to offer a short “Thank you” at the end. But when time permits, the greats include closings that are short, sweet, and specific.

For example, in Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld , future Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg offered this concise and compelling closing:

In sum, appellee respectfully requests that the judgment below be affirmed, thereby establishing that under this nation’s fundamental law, the woman worker’s national social insurance is no less valuable to her family than is the social insurance of the working man. 13

Justice Ginsburg’s closing is a model of short, sweet, and specific. She concisely boils down the issue on appeal to a clear ultimatum. She asks for specific relief: that the judgment be affirmed. The Court agreed.

Appeals to bedrock principles—a version of “sweet”—are common among the greats. Eric J. Magnuson, in Padden Law Firm, PLLC v. Bridget Trice, appealed to core principles of client autonomy and choice:

Mr. Padden got the case in the door, he got some lawyers to handle it, and then he disappeared. And at the end of the day, he wants to get his full 30 percent contract because, if you read their brief, a contract is a contract. It’s not when it comes to attorneys’ fees. Not under Minnesota law. Judge Montgomery did the right thing by honoring the client’s wishes. This was a decision by Bridgett Trice and Quincy Adams, that they wanted the lawyers who really got them their recovery to be appropriately rewarded. They have the right as clients to do that, and if you’re going to worry about public policy, the public policy should be in recognizing the client’s interests and protecting those interests. Thank you. 14

Like openings, the best closings share short, sweet, and specific qualities. Effective closings don’t belabor points, but instead reiterate the key points in simple and motivational terms. Prolific advocates inject personal style into their delivery. They include strong themes and narratives that appeal to ethics, morality, and justice. And they implicitly or explicitly ask the court to take a certain action, leaving little room for ambiguity.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to success in oral argument. But these winning examples provide useful guidance to practitioners. Keeping openings and closings brief, compelling, and on-point are key ingredients in making a lasting and persuasive impression.

KYLE R. KROLL is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and an attorney at Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. in Minneapolis, where he practices business litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and not of any other person or organization.

The author expresses special thanks to Miriam Solomon for her research assistance and contributions to this article.

1 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Remarks on Appellate Advocacy, 50 S.C.L.R. 567, 571 (1999).

2 See Stephanie A. Vaughan, Experiential Learning, Moving Forward in Teaching Oral Advocacy Skills by Looking Back at the Origins of Rhetoric, 59 S. Tex. L.R. 121 (2017); Sylvia H. Walbolt, Openings in Appellate Oral Arguments, Carlton Fields (3/22/2019). https://www.carltonfields.com/insights/publications/2019/openings-in-appellate-oral-arguments

3 George W. Hicks, Jr. Oral Argument: A Guide to Preparation and Delivery for the First-Timer, KIRKLAND & ELLIS (8/16/2019). h ttps://www.kirkland.com/publications/article/2019/08/oral-argument_a-guide-to-preparation-and-delivery

4 Emily R. Bodtke, Arguing at the Appellate Level, Bench & Bar of Minn., April 2017, at 35 (“[I]t is far better to use the limited time available to explain why the law supports a desired outcome, rather than pontificate about the wrongs committed against a client.”).

5 See Hicks, Jr., supra.

6 See Marlene Trestman, Women Advocates Before the Supreme Court , The Supreme Court Historical Society (5/21/2021). https://supremecourthistory.org/women-advocates-beforethe-supreme-court/

7 Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/18-1233 (last visited 8/26/2021). For more information about this case, in which Ms. Blatt faced off against Mr. Katyal, see Kyle R. Kroll, Lanham Act Disgorgement Just Go More Complicated, Bench & Bar of Minn. (Dec. 2020), https://www.mnbar.org/resources/publications/bench-bar/columns/2020/12/01/lanham-act-disgorgement-just-got-more-complicated.

8 United states Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/18-1584 (last visited 8/26/2021).

9 Growe v. Emison, Oyez , https://www.oyez.org/cases/1992/91-1420 (last visited 8/26/2021).

10 See Tresman, supra.

11 DePierre v. United States , Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/2010/09-1533 (last visited 8/26/2021).

12 Sampson v. Lambert, Nos. 17-1104, 17-1106, 17-1114, 17-1117 (8th Cir. 2018), http://media-oa.ca8.uscourts.gov/OAaudio/2018/2/171104.MP3

13 Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld , Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/1974/73-1892 (last visited 8/26/2021).

14 Padden Law Firm, PLLC v. Trice , Nos. 18-2451, 18-2576 (8th Cir. 2019) . http://media-oa.ca8.uscourts.gov/OAaudio/2019/10/182451.MP3

The author expresses special thanks to Miriam Solomon for her research assistance and contributions to this article.

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The Beginner’s guide to the closing speech

I have no way of knowing how important closing speeches are. I know of no research that even begins to throw light on whether they make the slightest difference to the outcome of a trial, or whether, by the time for speeches has arrived, juries or magistrates have usually made up their minds.

So most of what I am going to say is not based on solid evidence.

Nevertheless my feeling, and one that is probably shared by most advocates, is that the closing speech is one of the most crucial parts of the case. It is where you have the chance to marshal your arguments; to make the points explicitly that previously had only been implicit in your questions; and, just asimportant, to deal with the points made by the other side.

Visual Aids

It is surprising how little impact technology has made in most court-room speeches. There are some cases in which counsel operate clever computer gimmickry but they remain the exception, usually for very complicated or serious cases, and not the rule.

The ghastly paraphernalia of the “presentation” – Powerpoint, interactive whiteboards and bullet point projections of what the speaker is about to say – have, I am glad to say, made no impact at all. This is probably because such aids actually distract from what the speaker is saying.

That is not to say that a few well chosen props cannot be quite effective. Nothing beats the drama of handling Exhibit 1, the blood-stained knife, and drama makes a jury listen. I was once fortunate enough to be led by Nigel Pascoe QC – who knows more about both advocacy and theatre than anyone – in a baby shaking case. Although he could not produce a baby for his closing speech, he did the next best thing by producing a realistic doll which he then proceeded to manhandle in a vivid demonstration of how a parent should not behave with a crying baby.

But with or without props, only two things define how persuasive your speech is: what you say and how you say it.

Different types of closing speech .

There is of course an important difference between a closing speech for the defence and one for the prosecution. As a rule the defence will be trying to ask difficult questions, while the prosecution will be trying to provide irrefutable answers.

There are also differences between both the technique and the procedure in a Magistrates Court (where generally speaking the prosecution does not make a closing speech) to that in the Crown Court. (where it usually does).

So here are some hints for advocates who have not had much experience. Many of them are, of course, of equal relevance to prosecutors and defenders. But in general the focus will be on representing the defence.

Preparation for the speech starts when the jury panel comes into court

I don’t mean by this that you need to have started to write a speech before the trial starts, although you should, of course, have a strategy and the beginnings of a plan for how you would like to address the jury at the end.

What I do mean is that when you stand up to make your final effort to persuade the jury you must be somebody that they will pay attention to. They don’t have to like you – it is a good thing if they do – but if they don’t take you seriously, and especially if they don’t trust you, there is no way that you will be able to persuade them of anything.

So whenever the jury is in court, and preferably of course even when they are not, you must be sensible, reasonable and straightforward . It is also a great help to be polite. Amongst contemporary politicians few have generated as much vitriol from his opponents as the Education Secretary Michael Gove. Watch the way he deals with it: he is scrupulously polite to all, no matter how rude they are to him. You may or may not approve of his policies but you should copy the way his good manners disarm the fiercest opposition.

Dress properly .

A grey and scruffy collar and a rumpled pair of bands creates a very bad impression; as though you can’t be bothered.

On the other hand a battered and balding wig is better than a new white one; It makes the wearer look more experienced.

If you are defending, make a good note of the prosecution opening speech . It is surprising how often prosecutors say something in their opening speech which turns out to be flatly contradicted when the evidence is called. When that happens, what better way to highlight the fact than by quoting from the opening speech in your closing address to the jury?

When you make a mistake, admit it straight away.

When you have taken a bad point, concede it.

When your opponent makes a good point, acknowledge it.

Do not insult witnesses.

Do not interrupt or be rude to your opponent or the judge. Not only does this make for far more pleasant atmosphere in court, it also makes you seem more serious, sensible and therefore authoritative.

Many jurors will have seen American court-room dramas, some may even have watched American court TV (for legal nerds, like`me and probably you if you have read this far, it can make for very enjoyable viewing). They may, as a result, be expecting all sorts of shouts of “Objection!” and “Strike that from the record!” and probably a judge furiously hammering his gavel as grandstanding attorneys approach the bench. To start with they will be disappointed when they see that that is not really the way we do things.

But jumping up and down and yelling “objection!” is definitely not the way to impress jurors. This does not mean you have to roll over and concede every point: if something is important then of course you will have to contest it. If you are angry for good reason, as occasionally you may be, show it. But do so politely and never lose your temper. Genuine anger will be all the more effective for being deployed sparingly and only when it is actually appropriate.

Try to keep an eye on how the jury are reacting as the trial continues. It is usually very difficult to “read” a jury, but sometimes it is obvious that a particular witness, or a piece of evidence has struck home.

Some advocates have a way of cross-examining witnesses while not looking at them at all, just at the jury. The idea is that you keep in touch with the jurors – they see your face and you see theirs. But to my mind it smacks of rudeness to the witness. You are asking him questions so you should at least pay him the courtesy of attending to his answers. If the focus of your attention appears to be on the jury it gives the impression that you are putting on a show instead of seriously listening to the evidence. To put it bluntly, it can make you look like a slimy lawyer.

Put yourself in the jury retiring room. Whose arguments are going to carry more weight: those of the slimy lawyer or those of a sensible and straightforward lawyer?

Never, ever misquote the evidence

Nothing will lower your credibility with the jury more quickly and more certainly.

It goes without saying that you will not do so deliberately. But in the heat of battle wishful thinking can sometimes play tricks with ones memory. It is easy to miss the crucial word, or worse still, to imagine that something was said when it was not. Before you take a point based on what a witness has said you must be absolutely sure that you are quoting the evidence correctly.

For this reason it is essential that, if it is possible you keep, or at least have somebody behind you keeping, a good note of the evidence. Some advocates are reluctant ever to make a note, but unless you have a remarkable memory you should not be one of them.

Many beginners might think – why bother with notes? After all everything is recorded. And so it is (including, these days, conversations between counsel while the judge is out of court, so be careful what you say, unless you want a Gordon Brown style embarrassment don’t call the judge a “stupid bigoted woman” in the court-room: wait until you reach the robing room); but for practical purposes you will not be able to access the recording except occasionally to check on some particularly important disputed evidence.

You cannot expect to note everything that is said, but with practice you should be able to get the most important bits down, except of course when you are on your feet yourself. If you have no-one behind you to take a note of your cross-examination then, if you have made some progress, as soon as you sit down make a note of at least the most important answers that you received.

Should I write my speech out?

Beginners often worry about this and opinions differ. There is no right answer. My opinion is that in general you should .

Sometimes, of course, – and it is one reason why advocacy in front of the Magistrates can be much harder than in the Crown Court – there is simply no time to prepare a closing speech. You call your client, he cuts a miserable figure in the witness box; and it’s “Yes Miss Bloggins?”. Off you have to go and do the best you can.

But usually you do have at least an hour or so to prepare the speech. It is almost always time well spent.

To deliver a closing speech extempore is not easy. There are those who can do it well, and they can make exceptionally good advocates. Their speeches are likely to be lively, spontaneous and convincing, and the lack of any writing will leave the advocate free to connect with the jury. Think, for example, of Boris Johnson’s speech at the end of the 2012 Olympics. It had all the hallmarks of being beautifully unprepared and was as a result hilarious, joyful and perfectly pitched to the occasion. But only he could have done it. Nobody else could have emulated Boris’s apparently bumbling ramblings and carried the audience with them.

And in fact even bumbling Boris may not have been as unprepared as he seemed. If you watch the speech carefully you will see that he appears to be looking at notes of some sort as he speaks.

There are some criminal advocates who can do something similar but they are invariably individuals with their own inimitable styles. You are almost certainly not one of them.

There are plenty who think they can do it but cannot. Nothing is achieved by rambling on about the burden of proof and drifting aimlessly over a few bits of evidence. You will lose your audience. Remember that unlike a theatre audience they haven’t chosen to come and watch you, they have been forced to do so. They can’t get up and leave, nor can they usually heckle (although occasionally, and very disconcertingly, they write notes and pass them to the usher as you are speaking). Once they get bored with you their main way of showing their displeasure is to give their support to the other side. You will know if you have lost a jury’s attention. It will sit sullenly silent, not smiling, not frowning, just staring vacantly. You will have the devil’s own job to get them listening to you again.

So don’t be afraid of writing out copious notes, or even of writing the whole thing verbatim. Juries don’t mind if you use notes.

Churchill used to do it. In fact he would spend hours changing a word here, a paragraph there and would even practise out loud until he was satisfied.

Nelson Mandela’s famous speech in the Rivonia treason trial (strictly speaking it was an unsworn statement from the dock) was written out more or less verbatim, and fortunately his notes have been kept for posterity so we know that he always intended to end with this magnificent, courageous peroration:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Margaret Thatcher was writing her conference speech at 2.45 a.m. when the Brighton bomb exploded. She re-wrote it and delivered it later that day.

There have been many other great political orators and very seldom do they simply stand up and speak. Their speeches have almost invariably been painstakingly written, often over several drafts. And many, many first rate advocates routinely write and re-write their closing speeches.

Remember, though, that you are writing a speech not an essay. Keep your sentences short and your points – as far as you are able – reasonably simple. There is nothing worse than constructing an argument that might be perfectly good on paper, which is too complicated to explain to a jury. You will get lost, the jury will get lost and your client will pay dearly for your mistake.

If you have written down what you want to say you will at least have a structure and argument of sorts, and this will make it far less likely that you will lose your direction.

However, it is one thing to write it: it is another thing altogether to read it. You absolutely must not do that . Nor should you try to memorise it: you don’t have time, and even if you did a speech recited from memory is unlikely to work very well. You will sound like a ham actor delivering a soliloquy.

The point of writing the speech is rather different. You will find that the act of committing it to paper, or even to a computer screen sparks thoughts in a way that does not happen when you simply stand up and speak. Arguments present themselves, connections suddenly make sense. You can check the evidence to ensure you do not misrepresent it. If you are lucky useful turns of phrase and helpful analogies will occur to you.

All this will be of enormous assistance when you actually address the jury. If you have written it down you will know exactly where you are going and soon you will find that you seldom need to look down at your notes at all. You almost certainly won’t say exactly what you wrote down. That doesn’t matter a hoot. In fact it probably means you will sound more natural; it is easy to write something down that sounds awkward when spoken out loud. But the fact that you have written it will be a comfort. You will know that if – and it happens to almost everyone – you somehow get lost or forget where you are going you can glance down and get yourself back on track.

What do I do with my notes?

You need them to hand, but the typical court room desk or table in front of counsels’ row is far too low for most people to be able to read their notes easily when they are standing up. So you will have to prop them up with something if you are going to be able to use them. Different advocates favour variously a pile of lever arch files, an empty cardboard box or a couple of Archbolds.

Of course a lectern would be ideal but a ridiculous etiquette has it that only silks are allowed to use lecterns. As a result at many courts they are not even supplied, and at the more conservative venues you, as a mere junior, will face stern judicial disapproval if you try to use one. A notable exception is Guildford Crown Court where the legacy of a popular local barrister Frank Gillibrand has been used to purchase lecterns for every court-room. Silks are rare birds in Guildford and the lecterns are gratefully used by all.

In neighbouring Winchester a well-intentioned designer incorporated them into the structure of the 1970s court-rooms, Unfortunately, he was not a very good designer, or at least not very good at designing lecterns, and they are so awkward to use that you are almost better off without them.

What is the best time of day for my speech?

The answer is, as with so many things in advocacy not at all clear. My view is that 10.30 in the morning is usually the ideal time.

There are those who prefer last thing in the afternoon. The theory is that jurors then leave the building with your arguments ringing in their ears and reverberating around their cerebella all night long. I disagree. When jurors are tired or bored they want to go home, or start their weekends; they don’t want to listen to you. And unless they listen it does not matter how good your arguments are, they will be in vain. Most advocates would do a great deal to avoid having to address a jury on a Friday afternoon. The advantage of having the last word before a weekend is far outweighed by the fact that the jury will subconsciously resent you for delaying its start.

So the sensible advocate will generally try to ensure that his or her speech is heard first thing in the morning. Not only is that when the majority of people are most alert, it also gives you the evening before and, if necessary, the morning before to prepare your speech.

Of course whether you can speak in the morning all depends on the evidence and the flow of the trial, but there are ways of improving your chances.

You can, of course simply ask:

The traditional way is to say, perhaps disingenuously:

“ I could do my speech now, but I suspect be that it will be considerably shorter if I could have a little time to focus it on the main issues .”

There is no reason why a well prepared speech is necessarily shorter than an unprepared one. In fact the opposite is often the case, so this sounds a little insincere.

So it is better to be blunt:

“ I would like a little time to sharpen my thoughts. I wonder whether Your Honour would be prepared to rise a little early this afternoon, and perhaps make the time up by starting half an hour early tomorrow morning? ”

It would be a harsh judge who rejects such a reasonable request.

But harsh judges do exist. Such a judge will almost certainly have started sitting half an hour earlier than usual anyway. These days they are all under constant pressure to cut delay and get through their lists as fast as possible. From the point of view of the public, and indeed other litigants that may be desirable. But you do not represent the public or other litigants, you represent the defendant: you certainly do not want to cut corners if the result is that your client is even slightly more likely to go to gaol.

If you have the misfortune to appear before one of these troublesome Ministry of Justice enforcers, do not allow yourself to be bullied.

A good way of dealing with such a judge is to time your legal submissions carefully. There are few cases in which there is not some sort of discussion about the law at some point between the end of the evidence and the judge’s summing up. Indeed, the Court of Appeal strongly encourages the practice. Even if the law seems to you entirely straightforward you need to be sure that the judge thinks so too. Maybe he has missed something, maybe you have. Anyway it can get boring sitting on the bench just observing the trial. Some judges are delighted to be given a chance to play a bigger part by wrestling with a legal issue.

So you are always entitled to make legal submissions, and half past three in the afternoon, after all the evidence has been called, is a very good time to make them. By the time the jury has been sent out and a check-list of directions sorted out it should be getting on for 4 o’clock, even if there isn’t much to argue about.

Perhaps there is time for the prosecution to make a speech then, but probably not for the defence too. That, in fact, might be the perfect outcome from a defence point of view.

The Defence Closing Speech in the Crown Court

Your simple objective is to raise at least one fundamental doubt about the prosecution case.

If that is done then it will be impossible to be sure of your client’s guilt and you will be acquitted.

Broadly speaking defence arguments fall into four categories.

First, and probably most common, are those cases where the prosecution witnesses’ reliability is challenged; typically, perhaps an identification issue, or a self-defence case turning on “who threw the first punch.”

Secondly: cases where the witnesses’ honesty is challenged. Historic sex cases, for example, often leave little scope for mistake or misunderstanding: one or other party must be lying.

Thirdly: cases which depend upon disputed expert evidence . An example might be a “baby battering” case where, relying upon evidence of broken ribs, bruises and brain damage the prosecution experts assert that a baby must have been shaken, even though no-one has seen it happening.

Finally cases where the prosecution evidence is accepted but the prosecutor’s interpretation of the evidence is disputed: for example a conspiracy to supply drugs where the telephone and observation evidence is agreed, and the argument is over whether it does in fact prove a conspiracy.

Of course these categories overlap a lot. A drugs conspiracy, for example, may involve surveillance officers who are mistaken in their observations, a “supergrass” lying to save his own skin, forensic scientists making mistakes in an analysis of drug residues on bank notes and a prosecutor drawing unwarranted conclusions from the telephone evidence.

In other cases, perhaps particularly street or pub fights, it may be possible to argue that the witnesses are either unreliable or dishonest.

But identifying which type of case you are dealing with should help you to concentrate your fire where it is needed. In a sex case, for example, if the dispute is whether the incident took place at all the issue is almost certainly honesty. If so, there is no point in wasting time demonstrating that perhaps the complainant was unreliable on some of the surrounding details.

“ Members of the jury this woman couldn’t even remember if the defendant was wearing a red top or a blue top? ”

It invites, in fact demands the response:

“ So what? If that’s your best argument we’re against you. ”

How long should my speech be?

As so often, Churchill was right. “ A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest .”

Typically, in a 3 – 5 day trial this means 30 to 45 minutes; if the trial has lasted a couple of weeks then perhaps up to an hour.

What should I say?

The most important part of your speech is that which deals with the burden and standard of proof. You simply cannot take it for granted. And given its importance you should usually deal with it near the beginning of the speech; and at the end; and in the middle.

Don’t forget that being “sure” means the same as being “sure beyond reasonable doubt”. The latter is a well-known phrase with a solemn ring to it and I rather like it. One does not want to make too much of the analogy but the difference is rather akin to that between the poetic language of the Authorised Version and the more prosaic words of the New English Bible.

Unfortunately, once you have addressed ten or twenty juries on the subject of the standard of proof, it can get rather boring and mechanical. It is impossible every time to think up a new way of saying much the same thing. On the other hand, remember that what may bore you, just because you have said it all before, will not necessarily be boring to the jury.

I am regularly heartened by the seriousness with which juries take their task. Many will remember the superficially foolish sounding questions asked by the jury in Vicky Pryce’s first trial for perverting the course of justice. One of the questions it asked was “ what is reasonable doubt ?” The jurors were widely castigated for asking such an apparently stupid question: but plenty of our senior judges over the years have proved themselves equally baffled by it.

The answer, according to the trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney, is that a reasonable doubt is “a doubt which is reasonable.” That was a very straight answer. Other judges have attempted more detailed elucidation, usually by saying what it does not mean. It does not mean proof “beyond a shadow of a doubt ” 1 Nor does it does it mean “ a doubt for which you could give reasons…. ” 2 On the other hand it might mean “ the sort of doubt that might affect the mind of a person in dealing with matters of importance in his own affairs .” 3 So the jury’s question was not actually stupid at all; it simply revealed that the jurors were quite properly agonising over the meaning of a phrase, something that is, indeed, difficult to pin down. It is hardly surprising that they asked for help.

So, what do you say to the jury about the need to be sure before convicting?

As judges have found, it is much easier to define what being “sure” is not than to say what it is. For this reason many advocates give some such explanation as this:

“Being sure does not mean you saying to yourself: “I think he did it”, or “he probably did it”, or even “I’m almost sure he did it.” If the prosecution have made you almost sure then they have not proved the case to the high standard that the law requires. If there is a possibility that you could be mistaken then you are not sure, and the proper verdict is one of not guilty.”

To some extent the way you pitch this part of the speech depends on how strong the case against you is.

If it seems a very strong case then the standard of proof is probably one of your only points. You can afford to devote quite a lot of your speech to it.

On the other hand, if you have plenty of other good points to make they can seem a little devalued if you stress the burden of proof too much. There is always the danger that a jury will think:

“ Why is he going on about the burden of proof? It must be because all the evidence supports the prosecution and he is hasn’t got anything better to say. ”

Of course, if you haven’t got anything better to say, then so be it. But it is remarkable how in most cases good defence points do tend to emerge as the case plays out.

Generally speaking it is best to concentrate your fire on attacking the main prosecution points rather than trying to shore up your own witnesses. It is not, after all, your job to prove a case but to show that the prosecution case is unsafe.

Make sure you are realistic in what you say. If you take silly points the jury will think you are silly.

If you have followed my advice the jury will regard you as a straightforward, honest and sensible person. They rightly expect you to articulate the defence answer to the best prosecution points. So identify the best prosecution points and answer them as best you can.

All the best speeches have a central backbone, a spinal column to ensure that the speech stands up: the witnesses have motives to lie, the witnesses were drunk, the witnesses all contradict each other. The possibilities are endless but if you can build your speech around a theme of this sort it will be far easier to follow.

Of course exactly how you structure your speech is up to you. It will vary from case to case. But a good pattern is this:

State your argument early on.

Illustrate the argument with examples from the evidence.

Conclude by stating it again.

Make it easy for the jury to return the verdict you want

This is a principle that you should bear in mind throughout your speech.

Let me give an example: your client alleges a vast police conspiracy to convict him of assaulting his neighbour, after a dispute over noise from a drunken party. He may even be right; fact can indeed be stranger than fiction. Nevertheless, it is exceedingly improbable. The jury will consider it far more likely that both parties were drunk and lost their tempers. If your speech leaves the jury with the idea that a not guilty verdict depends upon the existence of a police conspiracy, your client will love the speech but will be convicted. On the other hand if you suggest a more mundane explanation in which both parties are as bad as each other so that you cannot be sure who is telling the truth, that will be much easier for the jurors to agree on. Your client may not enjoy the speech, but he will like it when he is acquitted.

But do be careful about being rude about your client in your closing speech. Sometimes it may be in his best interests to describe him in unflattering terms, but if you are going to do so it is always tactful to tell him first and if possible obtain his agreement. Once they have heard the evidence many defendants will surprisingly often be happy to agree that they are stupid, drunk or even nasty individuals. The jury do not have to like the defendant to acquit him and if he is thoroughly unlikeable then it is better to face the fact rather than deny it and look like an idiot. Tell the jury that the fact that he’s nasty does not mean that the evidence proves his guilt.

Generally speaking the points that you must get over to the jury are:

The presumption of innocence means that the defendant is not guilty. You should find him guilty only if the prosecution evidence is so overwhelming that it allows of no other explanation.

The standard of proof is such that a “not guilty” verdict does not mean that the complainant is lying. You may in fact be “almost sure” that she is telling the truth, but that would still require a verdict of not guilty. On the other hand in most cases a “guilty” verdict cannot be returned unless you are sure that the defendant was lying.

It is much easier for a jury to accept that a witness is mistaken than that he is deliberately lying. Don’t allege that a witness is dishonest if his unreliability is equally explicable by an honest mistake.

A similar principle may well apply to the defendant’s evidence as well, but in reverse. Unless you are sure that he is lying, he is not guilty. Only if you are sure that he is lying must you find him guilty.

Cases can be laughed out of court. But it takes the right case and a very special advocate to achieve that. It also helps to have an interfering judge or a galumphing nincompoop for an opponent. Such a happy concatenation of circumstances comes together almost as rarely as a total solar eclipse.

A little gentle teasing of your opponent can be fine, but be careful you do not appear as a sort of David Cameron style smoothie-chops, mocking a less polished colleague. This is of course a special danger for those – and they do exist in the legal profession – who already have a tendency towards smoothie-chops snootiness.

And there are some types of cases in which humour should never, or hardly ever, be attempted. Homicides, most sex cases and serious assaults need to be taken seriously and to be seen to be taken seriously. As a rule, if someone cracks jokes during such a trial no-one laughs and the joker looks like a fool.

This mistake was made in his opening address by Don West, defense attorney for George Zimmerman the Florida Neighbourhood Watch representative on trial for shooting dead Trayvon Martin, a harmless teenager walking through his gated community. The case excited huge controversy. As reported by Richard Luscombe in The Guardian

“West began his opening statement with a joke, poking fun at the two weeks of jury selection that delved deeply into what prospective panel members knew of the case. “Knock, knock,” he said. “Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Good, you’re on the jury.”

There was little reaction in the courtroom and West acknowledged that his joke had fallen flat.”

Nevertheless, West went on to win the case but it was in spite of, not because of his sense of humour.

On the other hand in less serious or emotive cases humour can be a very powerful weapon. No-one can teach you to be funny, least of all me, but if you can make the jury laugh with you, they will often happily do most of what you ask. If the case allows it then you should try to make the jury at least smile once or twice. It won’t win you the case on its own but it will help.

Most comedians will tell you their best jokes are often the result of careful preparation: this is just as true for jokes in your closing speech.

Seriousness

It is, of course, much easier to be serious than to be funny, and fortunately juries appreciate a proper seriousness too. There is much to be said for emphasising the importance of the jury’s role and reminding them of how seriously they should take their task. Although one reads the occasional horror story about how a jury has arrived at a verdict through a ouija-board and so on, my experience is that most do seem to approach their solemn task with great care.

Sometimes you will need to take a jury through a complex argument. Don’t worry, they will follow it as long as they are listening. Tell them it is important, tell them that they need to concentrate and do not patronise them. They will listen.

It is a serious issue but you are not allowed to comment on what punishment may be meted out on the defendant if he is convicted.

1 Miller v. Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All E.R. 372

2 R v. Stafford & Luvaglio 53 Cr.App.R. 1

3 Walters v. R. [1969] 2 A.C. 26

9 Tips to End a Speech With a Bang

A good talk or public speech is like a good play, movie, or song.

It opens by arresting the listener’s attention, develops point by point, and then ends strongly.

The truth is, if you don’t know how to end a speech, the overall message won’t be persuasive and your key points may get lost.

The words you say at the beginning, and especially at the end of your talk, are usually the most persuasive parts of the speech and will be remembered longer than almost any other part of your speech.

Some of the great speeches in history and some of the most memorable Ted talks have ended with powerful, stirring words that live on in memory.

How do you end a speech and get the standing ovation that you deserve?

Keep reading to discover how…

Here are 9 tips and examples for concluding a speech.

1) Plan Your Closing Remarks Word for Word

To ensure that your conclusion is as powerful as it can be, you must plan it word for word.

Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this talk?”

Your answer should involve the actions that you want your listeners to take after hearing you speak on this subject.

When you are clear about the end result you desire, it becomes much easier to design a conclusion that asks your listeners to take that action.

The best strategy for ending with a BANG is to plan your close before you plan the rest of your speech.

You then go back and design your opening so that it sets the stage for your conclusion.

The body of your talk is where you present your ideas and make your case for what you want the audience to think, remember, and do after hearing you speak.

2) Always End a Speech With a Call to Action

It is especially important to tell the audience what you want it to do as a result of hearing you speak.

A call to action is the best way to wrap up your talk with strength and power.

Here is a Speech Conclusion Call to Action Example

“We have great challenges and great opportunities, and with your help, we will meet them and make this next year the best year in our history!”

Whatever you say, imagine an exclamation point at the end. As you approach the conclusion, pick up your energy and tempo. This is even more important if the presentation you are giving is virtual .

Speak with strength and emphasis.

Drive the final point home.

Regardless of whether the audience participants agree with you or are willing to do what you ask, it should be perfectly clear to them what you are requesting.

3) End a Speech With a Summary

There is a simple formula for any talk:

Tell them what you are going to tell them.
Then, tell them what you told them.

As you approach the end of your talk, say something like,

“Let me briefly restate these main points…”

You then list your key points, one by one, and repeat them to the audience, showing how each of them links to the other points.

Audiences appreciate a linear repetition of what they have just heard.

This makes it clear that you are coming to the end of your talk.

4) Close with a story

As you reach the end of your talk, you can say,

“Let me tell you a story that illustrates what I have been talking about…”

You then tell a brief story with a moral and then tell the audience what the moral is.

Don’t leave it to them to figure out for themselves.

Often you can close with a story that illustrates your key points and then clearly links to the key message that you are making with your speech.

To learn more about storytelling in speaking, you can read my previous blog post “8 Public Speaking Tips to Wow Your Audience.”

Here’s a recap of these 4 tips in a video…

5) Make Them Laugh

You can close with humor.

You can tell a joke that loops back into your subject and repeats the lesson or main point you are making with a story that makes everyone laugh.

During my talks on planning and persistence, I discuss the biggest enemy that we have, which is the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. I then tell this story.

Ole and Sven are out hunting in Minnesota and they shoot a deer. They begin dragging the deer back to the truck by the tail, but they keep slipping and losing both their grip and their balance.

A farmer comes along and asks them, “What are you boys doing?”

They reply, “We’re dragging the deer back to the truck.”

The farmer tells them, “You are not supposed to drag a deer by the tail. You’re supposed to drag the deer by the handles. They’re called antlers. You’re supposed to drag a deer by the antlers.”

Ole and Sven say, “Thank you very much for the idea.”

They begin pulling the deer by the antlers. After about five minutes, they are making rapid progress. Ole says to Sven, “Sven, the farmer was right. It goes a lot easier by the antlers.”

Sven replies, “Yeah, but we’re getting farther and farther from the truck.”

After the laughter dies down, I say…

“The majority of people in life are pulling the easy way, but they are getting further and further from the ‘truck’ or their real goals and objectives.”

That’s just one example of closing using humor.

6) Make It Rhyme

You can close with a poem.

There are many fine poems that contain messages that summarize the key points you want to make.

You can select a poem that is moving, dramatic, or emotional.

For years I ended seminars with the poem, “Don’t Quit,” or “Carry On!” by Robert W. Service. It was always well received by the audience.

7) Close With Inspiration

You can end a speech with something inspirational as well.

If you have given an uplifting talk, remember that hope is and has always been, the main religion of mankind.

People love to be motivated and inspired to be or do something different and better in the future.

Here are a few of my favorite inspirational quotes that can be tied into most speeches. You can also read this collection of leadership quotes for further inspiration.

Remember, everyone in your audience is dealing with problems, difficulties, challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and temporary failures.

For this reason, everyone appreciates a poem, quote or story of encouragement that gives them strength and courage.

Here are 7 Tips to Tell an Inspiring Poem or Story to End Your Speech

You have to slow down and add emotion and drama to your words.
Raise your voice on a key line of the poem, and then drop it when you’re saying something that is intimate and emotional.
Pick up the tempo occasionally as you go through the story or poem, but them slow down on the most memorable parts.
Especially, double the number of pauses you normally use in a conversation.
Use dramatic pauses at the end of a line to allow the audience to digest the words and catch up with you.
Smile if the line is funny, and be serious if the line is more thought-provoking or emotional.
When you come to the end of your talk, be sure to bring your voice up on the last line, rather than letting it drop. Remember the “exclamation point” at the end.

Try practicing on this poem that I referenced above…

Read through “Carry On!” by Robert Service .

Identify the key lines, intimate parts, and memorable parts, and recite it.

8) Make it Clear That You’re Done

When you say your final words, it should be clear to everyone that you have ended. There should be no ambiguity or confusion in the mind of your audience. The audience members should know that this is the end.

Many speakers just allow their talks to wind down.

They say something with filler words like, “Well, that just about covers it. Thank you.”

This isn’t a good idea…

It’s not powerful…

It’s not an authoritative ending and thus detracts from your credibility and influence.

When you have concluded, discipline yourself to stand perfectly still. Select a friendly face in the audience and look straight at that person.

If it is appropriate, smile warmly at that person to signal that your speech has come to an end.

Resist the temptation to:

Shuffle papers.
Fidget with your clothes or microphone.
Move forward, backward, or sideways.
Do anything else except stand solidly, like a tree.

9) Let Them Applaud

When you have finished your talk, the audience members will want to applaud…

What they need from you is a clear signal that now is the time to begin clapping.

How do you signal this?

Some people will recognize sooner than others that you have concluded your remarks.

In many cases, when you make your concluding comments and stop talking, the audience members will be completely silent.

They may be unsure whether you are finished.

They may be processing your final remarks and thinking them over. They may not know what to do until someone else does something.

In a few seconds, which will often feel like several minutes, people will applaud.

First one…

Then another…

Then the entire audience will begin clapping.

When someone begins to applaud, look directly at that person, smile, and mouth the words thank you.

As more and more people applaud, sweep slowly from person to person, nodding, smiling and saying, “Thank You.”

Eventually, the whole room will be clapping.

There’s no better reward for overcoming your fear of public speaking than enjoying a round of applause.

BONUS TIP: How to Handle a Standing Ovation

If you have given a moving talk and really connected with your audience, someone will stand up and applaud. When this happens, encourage others by looking directly at the clapper and saying, “Thank you.”

This will often prompt other members of the audience to stand.

As people see others standing, they will stand as well, applauding the whole time.

It is not uncommon for a speaker to conclude his or her remarks, stand silently, and have the entire audience sit silently in response.

Stand Comfortably and Shake Hands

But as the speaker stands there comfortably, waiting for the audience to realize the talk is over, one by one people will begin to applaud and often stand up one by one.

If the first row of audience members is close in front of you, step or lean forward and shake that person’s hand when one of them stands up to applaud.

When you shake hands with one person in the audience, many other people in the audience feel that you are shaking their hands and congratulating them as well.

They will then stand up and applaud.

Soon the whole room will be standing and applauding.

Whether you receive a standing ovation or not, if your introducer comes back on to thank you on behalf of the audience, smile and shake their hand warmly.

If it’s appropriate, give the introducer a hug of thanks, wave in a friendly way to the audience, and then move aside and give the introducer the stage.

Follow these tips to get that standing ovation every time.

« Previous Post 8 Public Speaking Techniques to Wow Your Audience Next Post » 15 Ways to Start a Speech + Bonus Tips

About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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How to Write a Closing Argument

Last Updated: January 3, 2021 Approved

This article was co-authored by Srabone Monir, JD . Srabone Monir, Esq., is an Attorney based in New York. She received her JD from the St. John's University School of Law in 2013, and has used her legal training in positions for 32BJ SEIU, the New York Legal Assistance Group, and Disability Rights New York. She is currently a Principal Law Clerk with the New York State Supreme Court. She is also a VA Accredited Attorney as of 2015 and is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and in New York. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 11 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 312,458 times.

A closing argument is delivered by an attorney at the end of a trial, after all of the evidence has been presented, witnesses and experts have been questioned, and the theory behind a prosecution or a defense has been given. A closing argument is the last chance an attorney has to address the judge and jury. [1] X Research source That is why it's so important to write a closing argument that is memorable, factual, and informative.

Preparing to Write a Closing Argument

Be sure that you have notes about damaging testimony that you were presented with during the trial. This will give you the opportunity to reference that evidence in your closing argument.

For instance, in a murder case, important details that both sides may want to talk about include the physical evidence that may link the defendant to the murder, whether or not the defendant has an alibi, any problems with the murder investigation, and any motive the defendant may have had to commit the murder.

For example, if you are the prosecutor during a murder trial, use a picture of the victim when he or she was still alive, a timeline of the defendant's movements around the time of the murder or a word that represents your theory of the case (such as jealousy or greed).
To ensure that you use visuals aids effectively, choose one or two that you can use throughout the trial, and make sure that whatever visual you use is easily understood by the jury.
To use a visual aid during your closing argument you may need to get approval from the judge. You must get permission from the judge to show pictures or other types of visual aids that were not admitted into evidence during the trial. However, if the visual aid that you plan to use in your closing argument is an exhibit that was admitted into evidence during the trial, you can use it without approval.

Step 4 Remember to use simple language while writing your closing.

Reviewing Your Case

The theory of the case is essentially each side's version of what happened, and if the juror's believe one side's theory, that side wins. Because the theory of the case stays the same throughout the trial, the jury should be familiar with each side's theory of the case when closing arguments are given.
Bring up your theory at the beginning of your closing argument. Try to bring it up during the first 30 seconds of your argument to focus the jury's attention on the theory. Then continue to reference the theory throughout the rest of the argument.
Be sure to use active, descriptive language and strong transitions between ideas. This will help capture the jury's attention and help them sympathize with your client.

The prosecution and the defense will necessarily have different views of the facts, so make sure that whichever side you are on, you tell the jury the facts in a way that is favorable to you.

Step 3 Use well known stories, analogies, and rhymes to prove your point.

For example, making an analogy between a murder case and the Cain and Abel story in the Bible may work if the facts are similar because many people have heard the story. On the other hand, analogizing a jealous murder to Shakespeare's Othello will probably not help the jury understand your case, because not too many people read Shakespeare.
You may also use rhymes and phrases to drive home your argument to the jury. For example, during the famous O.J. Simpson trial, the defense attorney coined the phrase “if the glove doesn't fit you must acquit” to make sure that the jury would not forget an important piece of evidence: the glove.

Step 4 Get the jury on your client's side.

Attacking the Opposition's Case

Step 1 Listen to the other side's case during the trial.

Things that they say or that their witnesses testify to that are not supported by evidence, or
Things that they say or their witnesses testify to that you can refute with your own evidence.

Step 2 Point out discrepancies in the other side's theory.

For example, you could point out that your opponent is paying their expert witness to testify, and therefore that testimony is not as credible because it is essentially exchanged for money.
You could also point out that other witnesses may have a stake in the outcome of the case. For instance, if a defendant's mother testifies that he was with her at the time the crime was committed, you could point out that as his mother she does not want him to go to jail, and therefore she could be lying.
It is also likely that a witness on the other side made some sort of inadvertent comment during testimony that is not helpful, and may even be harmful, to the other side's case. Point this out during your closing.
However, in a criminal case, you may not make any comments about the defendant choosing not to testify in his own defense. Such comments violate the fifth amendment prohibition against self-incrimination, and making statements such as “he didn't testify because he's guilty” and similar ones is grounds for a mistrial.

Step 3 Remember that the prosecution bears the burden of proof.

Concluding Your Closing Arguments

However, make sure that you do not argue improperly by appealing to the jurors prejudices against a certain group of people. For example, it is improper to make an argument for a high award of damages based on the wealth of the individual or corporation that is being sued. It is additionally improper to ask the jury to base their verdict on characteristics of the defendant or victim such as race or sex.

Step 2 Make your final statements memorable.

Some examples include talking about a juror's duty to uphold the law and dispense justice, or talking about how letting a defendant go free would put him or her back on the streets to commit more crimes.
For instance, the prosecutor could say to the jury that “the verdict in this case does more than decide just this case. The verdict is a message to the community that you will not tolerate crime and those who commit crimes.”

Expert Q&A

Remember to be organized. The jury will need to see the story from start to finish. Keep the argument chronological so the jury does not get confused or misunderstand your case. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Closing rebuttals are available for prosecutors in criminal cases. This can be used if something new and unexpected is brought up by the defense in their closing argument. To do a rebuttal, ask the court to reserve a minute or two of your time at the start of your argument. Failure to save time will result in the court not allowing you to do a rebuttal. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

This article offers legal information, not legal advice. For legal advice, contact a licensed attorney. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2

↑ http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/reference/09close.pdf
↑ http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-informed/federal-court-resources/closing-arguments.aspx
Thomas A. Mauet: Trial Techniques, Ninth Edition.
http://criminaldefense.homestead.com/Argument.html

About This Article

To write a closing argument, start with your theory of the crime, which you should try to bring up within the first 30 seconds of your closing argument. Then, review your evidence by taking the jury step-by-step through the facts of the case from your side's perspective. You should also point out flaws and discrepancies in the other side's argument to help discredit them. Finally, conclude your closing argument by appealing to the jury's emotions and making a strong final statement. To learn how to outline your closing argument, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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10 Of The Best Things To Say In Closing Remarks

Hrideep barot.

Presentation , Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Picture of a speech where the speaker is talking.

What are closing remarks?

A closing remark is the last sentence, paragraph or concluding part of your speech or presentation. They are also referred to as ‘concluding remarks’.

In a speech/presentation, the outset and the conclusion are 2 essentials. It leaves an impact on the audience and makes your speech/presentation eloquent .

We have written an article on opening lines in speech writing , read this article to know how to begin your speech perfectly.

Every speech or presentation comes with an objective and something to take away from it. The point is that if you don’t end your speech appropriately the main essence of your speech /presentation will be forgotten and dispersed just as quickly.

The closing remark will be your last chance to be innovative and make up for the missing bits if any.

The limit of your closing remark must last between 10% to 15% of your speech. So for instance, if your speech is a 7-minute speech your closing remark must last for at least a minute.

The purpose of closing remarks

The main purpose of closing remarks is, it lets the audience know that the speech is supposed to end.It helps to summarize your speech in short and accentuate the main points of your speech.

Also, research suggests that the audience often remembers the end closing part precisely than the entire speech.

A powerful speech ending does 40% of your work. It’s also not easy to write a ‘Closing remark’. You have to think and choose the right words that hit hard and leave a mark. Here’s a detailed video we have made of some amazing speech ending lines you can get inspiration for your own speech:

Some Dos of closing remarks

The speaker must follow a few things with respect to the format of the speech. Here are some dos which will help the speaker in concluding his speech.

Indicate that the speech is close to the end

An experienced speaker will always signal that the speech is about to end so that the audience is mentally ready for a conclusion. For example- In a novel, the author uses Epilogue as a tool to let the readers know that the story is going to get over soon.

Give a rundown of your speech/presentation

At times, it’s possible that the readers may have missed some points while you were speaking or they may have zoned out during the span of your speech. So give a brief run-through of your points at the end and this will reinforce the message of your speech.

Make eye-contact

As mentioned above, the closing remark or concluding part of your speech will be the last chance of leaving an impact on the audience. So a confident eye-contact may let the audience know so much more than just words could convey.

It will also make your call-to-action more effective and influencing.

In case you find eye contact difficult (like I did), here are some alternatives you can use that give the illusion that you are maintaining eye contact without you actually having to do so:

Some don’ts of closing remarks

Some things should be avoided when writing your closing remarks for a speech or presentation. Given below are the most primal things that the speaker should keep in mind.

Don’t make the closing remarks lengthy

If the speaker does not add a closing remark, the speech would look incomplete and end abruptly. Also, try not to make the closing remark too prolonged, this may bore the audience and they may lose interest.

The audience may also not be able to distinguish between the main points and jumble up what is important and what is not.

Don’t end with a simple ‘Thank You”

Saying a dry and plain ‘Thank you’ to be polite at the end of your speech is not very persuasive. It is a very mundane way of ending your speech.You need to drive your point home so be creative.

Don’t add new material out of no where

Adding in new material in the closing remarks which are not mentioned in the speech will catch the audience off guard. The audience may not be able to process what’s going on. So mention only those points in your closing remarks that have already been spoken about.

Types of closing remarks

You want your closing remarks to be such that the audience can get a flashback of the entire presentation or speech with just what you said at the end. These may alter accordingly with what kind of a presentation it is.

The fitting remark

What is it.

The fitting remark is the most basic remark of them all. It’s to the point, decisive and direct. The idea of your presentation is conveyed through this remark.

The fitting remark mainly summarizes your speech in sweet and simple words with no extra spice to your conclusion.

Example of a fitting remark

Here is an example of a Speech where Emma Watson closes her speech with a fitting remark. Like I mentioned above, this speech is to the point and decisive. The idea of Gender Equality was conveyed very clearly and directly by her closing remark.

The motivational remark

The motivational remark is used when the speaker uses motivational quotes, phrases, or even dialogues for that matter. The objective is to leave the audience on a ‘motivated to do something’ note.

A motivational quote depicted in the form of a picture.

This remark is to re-energize your audience towards your speech/presentation. When the speaker ends his speech it should have such an impact that they remember your words and do something with that motivation.

Motivational speeches can be given on a variety of topics. We have written an article about ‘How to give a motivational speech on leadership to students’ . You can check it out to get a better idea. This is just one example of how to go about it.

Example of a motivational remark

This speech by Jeremy Anderson just leaves a mark that has you sitting straight and energized. It motivates the audience to know their worth and not let themselves down.

The expository remark

In this type of a remark the speaker shares his anecdotes, his own experience or has a very relatable end to his speech. The main purpose of such an end is so that the audience can connect to the speaker on a deeper level and know exactly what he is saying.

It’s a sort of a congenial connect with the audience. We have written an article on Storytelling approaches you can use in your speech or presentation. This article will give you an insight into why storytelling is so important what are the different techniques used.

Example of a expository remark

Priyanka Chopra in this speech shares her own experiences and anecdotes that people can connect with which makes her speech so much more interesting and inspiring.

The contemplative remark

The contemplative remark leaves the audience pondering over what the speaker has said. Its goal is to make the audience think about all factors such as the lessons, the theme of the speech and wavelength during the span of the presentation/speech.

The speaker can emphasize ‘what the audience thinks’ and leave it there for them to figure out their thoughts.

Example of a contemplative remark

For instance, President Obama in his speech about Bin Laden’s death concludes with a contemplative remark that leaves the audience pensive.

“Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores. And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people. The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place. Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” President Obama in his speech about Bin Laden’s death

The propositional remark

This picture is basically of a word related to the types of closing remarks.

In this remark, the speaker ends with a piece of advice for the audience. It’s more subjective than objective. This is more like a suggestion/tip.

Example of a propositional remark

Michelle Obama’s speech is an advice for students about how to succeed in life. Her closing remark suggests that it’s not important if you went to an Ivy League or a State School what is important is the hard work you do and that will take you closer to success.

The rhetoric remark

The rhetoric remark has to do with a question that doesn’t really need an answer. The speaker leaves the audience hanging with this question.

The speaker has no intention of expecting an answer from the audience and neither does he want one. He just wants the audience to consider what he said and reflect upon it.

Rhetoric is used in many forms and speakers use rhetoric in their speeches for a powerful effect. Here are 4 ways how you can use rhetorical devices in your speech to make it powerful.

Example of a rhetoric remark

“In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?” President Obama in 2004 Democratic National Convention Speech

The funny remark

One of the best thing that helps make your speech effective and interactive is humour. It lightens the environment and works as a tool to break the ice between the speaker and the audience.

The emotion of humour shown by the action of a laugh.

Adding humour to your speech will make the audience lively and enthusiastic. If you leave the audience laughing at the end of your speech you will leave on a positive note and they will most probably leave with a good impression of you and your words.

Humour can be one of the strongest tools in a speech, especially for a closing remark, if used correctly.

Qualified speakers frequently make use of humour all through their speech and then at the end strike with a humourless thought and leave the audience serious. Such a sudden change has a powerful impact.

Example of a funny remark

In this speech by Dananjaya Hettiarachchi he uses humour to close a speech by successfully summing up the title and summarizes the content of his speech.

The factual remark

In this type of remark, the speaker ends with some facts related to his speech and presentation. Adding facts as the closing boosts your speech. Facts presented in the form of tables, graphs and diagrams are easy to understand and visually appealing.

At times facts can seem boring if not presented appropriately. To know what facts to add and what not to add in a speech follow our article on ’11 Steps to Add Facts in A Speech Without Making It Boring’.

Example of a factual remark

Given below is a paradigm of a pie diagram. The speaker can fill in his facts according to the theme and research of his presentation.

This is a pie diagram used in factual representation of data.

Call-to- action

This is the most common remark and can be utilized in most of the closing remarks. Call- to- action is simply requesting your audience to take a step forward and take action towards the theme of your speech.

Make your CTA direct and don’t hint at it, this may induce confusion.

Why is it a must, you may ask? This is because the audience may have listened to your entire speech but until and unless you won’t take the initiative and be upfront not everyone is compelled to take action.

Example of a call-to-action

Leonardo DiCaprio in this speech is asking the audience and people to take action to put a price tag on carbon emissions and eliminate government subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies.

The Activity Remark

This closing remark can be one of a kind for the audience. In this kind of a remark the speaker can undertake an activity that will help the audience understand the theme of the speech with an act of creativity.

For instance, the speaker can make use of his talents to showcase his message through them. Like singing, doing a trick or playing a quiz with the audience.

Example of a activity remark

Sparsh Shah a 13 year old boy who ends his inspiring speech with a song and rap wants to tell the audience that nothing is impossible in life. He uses music as a closing remark to end his speech in a heartening way.

Scenarios for closing remarks

Closing remarks for a meeting/conference.

Meetings are often compulsory as compared to presentations or speeches. They can be called at any time and are mostly informal. Whereas, a conference is formal and has a specific time and place, where it is conducted.

But in both of them, the purpose is to plan and execute. So end your closing remarks with action.

For example- Reiterate the actions that need to be executed so that the actions will remain fresh and can be recalled easily.

Here is a pro-tip, do not drag the meeting/conference over time and then rush up to close the conference. This will make no room for your closing remark and many things will remain unsaid even if you manage to close the meeting/conference in a rush.

Closing remarks for a school activity

As the heading suggests the closing remark for a school activity will be for school kids so try not to use too many technical terms or make it complicated. Keep the remarks simple and fun.

Here the speaker can use the Activity remark mentioned in the types of closing remarks. It is creative, engaging and hence the kids will connect more to fun activities rather than to boring long remarks.

For example- The speaker can use the Q & A method to end or play a quiz and include all the points mentioned in their speech/activity.

Closing remarks after a workshop

Workshops come with an intent to teach and for the audience to learn. So make your closing remarks interactive. You can ask questions like ‘What is your take-away from this workshop?’

This will let the audience ponder over what they learnt during the entire span of the workshop.

One more way to end is by requesting the audience to fill out the feedback form and cater step by step guidance.

Closing remarks for a webinar/Zoom meeting

Since a zoom meeting/webinar is a virtual platform, there are chances the speaker might not see all the audience or ‘participants’ of the meeting but everyone can see the speaker.

So this may also fall as a disadvantage in the speaker’s case but don’t let this demotivate you.

In your closing remark, you can add a poll that is a feature of zoom to know how many of them are listening. Before closing the webinar, leave your Twitter or Facebook handles so that if the audience has questions they can connect with you on these platforms.

Closing remarks for a ceremony speech

A ceremony is more of a large scale event with too many decorations, music, and arrangements.

Keep in mind though, these things are not what the audience will want to leave with, so what you say last will be the end of what they take-away. Therefore, in a ceremony, you can use any one of the types of closing remarks mentioned above.

For example- You can use ‘The expository remark’ where you can share your own story to make your closing remark relatable and two-sided.

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Some last words

Closing remarks are important in speech writing because without a closing remark your speech will seem unfinished. To leave on a happy note the speaker must organize his speech with the perfect end and time it accordingly.

Closing remarks can be of varied types but using the appropriate closing remark according to the situation and time can make a huge difference in your speech.

Still looking for inspiration? Check out this video we made on closing remarks:

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How to Pull Off Your Thesis Defense With a Great Presentation

You’ve reached the home stretch in your journey toward your post-graduate degree. You’ve diligently studied, researched and performed for years, and all that’s left is your master thesis or doctorate dissertation.

“ All that’s left,” however, might be the understatement of the century. There’s nothing simple about orally defending your thesis, and this final stage often means the difference between a degree and a program that remains incomplete.

Even after you’ve dedicated months filled with blood, sweat and tears defining your argument, researching your support and writing your defense, you aren’t ready to address the academic panel. You still have to design an effective visual presentation, and the slide deck can make or break your entire thesis.

Unsure how to design a stellar slide deck to visually present your thesis or dissertation? Check out the following tips to pull off your master thesis defense with a great presentation:

1. Properly structure your slide deck

Every master thesis defense presentation is unique, but most effective slide decks will follow a similar structure, including:

Title - Just like a research paper, your thesis presentation must include a title slide. This should include the same information as any other title page: the title, your name, your academic institution, course name and the name of the academic advisor to your thesis or dissertation. That doesn’t mean your title slide needs to look like the start of any other Frankendeck . Instead, add your text atop a relative image, and adjust the brightness to ensure your text pops.
Introduction - Your thesis presentation should also include an introduction slide, which details the topic of your thesis, the question your research will seek to answer and any additional objectives to your research, as well as the answer or solution you will be defending.
Literature review - Following your thesis introduction, design one or more slides that review the literature you researched. This shouldn’t be a full bibliography (although that should be included in the accompanying written account of your research), but instead, the slides should list your most relevant research sources. If the information is featured on a slide, make sure you include its source.
Methodology - Your thesis presentation slide deck should also include a slide (or slides) detailing the methodology of your research and argument. Here you want to describe the type of study— whether it’s quantitative, qualitative or a combination of the two, as well as an explanation of why you chose the method or methods you used. If you conducted original research, you will want to detail the study population, sampling methods and other details pertinent to your studies, while you’ll also want to detail how you analyzed your data.
Results - No thesis presentation slide deck is complete without dedicating slides to illustrate the results of your research. Be sure to include a description of any data you collected through your research, as well as the results of your analysis of the data. What were your most significant findings?
Discussion - How do the results of your research support your overall thesis argument? Be sure to include slides that discuss your overall findings and how they relate to your original question.
Conclusion - Concluding slides should restate your original research questions, represent the results of your research, suggest future research and make any final recommendations.
Ending slide – Close your thesis presentation with a concluding slide that offers an interesting quote or trivia that makes your audience further ponder your topic, a GIF or animation that recaptures the audience’s attention or even a hypothetical question that opens additional discussion from the academic panel. This is your opportunity to make your presentation memorable.

Thesis Presentation vs. Dissertation

Thesis presentation and dissertation are two terms often used in academic settings related to upper education. While they are related, there are distinct differences between the two, which is important to understand as you begin to structure your thesis defense.

‍ A thesis presentation typically refers to the final oral presentation that a student gives to defend their thesis or research project. It is a formal presentation to explain their findings, methodology, and conclusions to a panel of faculty members or experts in the field. The purpose of a thesis defense presentation is to demonstrate the student's knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and to defend the validity of their research.

On the other hand, a dissertation refers to a lengthy and comprehensive research project that is typically required for the completion of a doctoral degree. It involves in-depth research, analysis, and the development of original ideas in a particular field of study. A dissertation is usually written over an extended period and is expected to contribute new knowledge or insights to the field. Unlike a thesis presentation, a dissertation is submitted in written form and is typically evaluated by a committee of faculty members or experts in the field.

2. Choose which ideas to illustrate

Unless you have an hour to fill with your master thesis defense or doctorate dissertation, you won’t be able to include every idea from your overall research documentation in your slide show. Choose the most important ideas to illustrate on slides, while also keeping in mind what aspects of your research you’ll be able to visually represent.

3. Define your presentation’s theme

A stellar thesis or dissertation presentation will be professional in appearance, and a cohesive design is an absolute must. Choose what types of typography and color schemes best support your topic.

Instead of adjusting these settings on each individual slide— a tedious task at best— choose a PowerPoint-alternative presentation software like Beautiful.ai that allows you to customize a theme for your entire slide deck. Choose your fonts and other typography, your color palette, margins, footers, logos, transitions and more, and the cloud-based tool will automatically apply those design specifications to every slide you add to the master thesis defense presentation.

4. Design simple and focused slides

You might have a lot of information to present, but when it comes to your thesis presentation— or almost any slide deck for that matter— less is more. Be sure every slide counts by focusing on your main points.

Then, whatever you do, keep your slides simple. Not even an academic panel is going to dedicate much time deciphering a cluttered slide with all too many details. Try to avoid presenting more than one or two ideas on each slide.

5. Include data visualizations

The whole point of your presentation is to illustrate the concepts included in your thesis. Humans are visual creatures and react strongly to imagery, and the panel evaluating your thesis or dissertation is no exception— regardless of how studious and formal the academics might seem. Illustrate the results of your research with colorful and engaging infographics . You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create them, either.

Beautiful.ai users can choose from a host of smart slide templates with data visualizations — including favorites like bar graphs and pie charts , as well as less common options like scattergraphs , flow charts and pictograms . Just input your data and watch as our special brand of artificial intelligence creates the infographic for you.

6. Practice makes perfect

After spending months researching your thesis or dissertation, writing about your findings and designing a stellar master thesis defense presentation, you would hate to see all your hard work be for naught. That’s still a distinct possibility, however, if you don’t also practice your delivery.

Practice, practice and practice some more until you know your master thesis defense like the back of your hand. No academic panel will be impressed by a graduate candidate who stumbles through their presentation or appears to be reading from their notes. Know the contents of every slide, as well as exactly what parts of your overall defense you want to deliver during its display.

Things to keep in mind to help you nail your presentation

The golden rule of any presentation is to keep your audience engaged. You can ensure a more engaging presentation by maintaining eye contact, using appropriate gestures, and speaking clearly. You can also choose to include the audience in your presentation with interactive questions, polls, and slides.

To help boost audience retention, utilize storytelling. Studies show that when facts are presented in the form of a story, people are 22 times more likely to remember them. Talk about powerful.

Last but not least, plan for questions— and not simply by allowing time for them. Watch other thesis defenses delivered at your institution, and consider what types of questions the academic panel might ask, so you can prepare the best possible answer.

Extra credit:

Get started with our PhD Defense Thesis presentation template here .

Samantha Pratt Lile

Samantha is an independent journalist, editor, blogger and content manager. Examples of her published work can be found at sites including the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and Buzzfeed.

How to end a speech memorably

3 ways to close a speech effectively.

By: Susan Dugdale | Last modified: 09-05-2022

Knowing how, and when, to end a speech is just as important as knowing how to begin. Truly.

What's on this page:

why closing well is important
3 effective speech conclusions with examples and audio
7 common ways people end their speeches badly - what happens when you fail to plan to end a speech memorably
How to end a Maid Honor speech: 20 examples
links to research showing the benefits of finishing a speech strongly

Image: Stop talking. It's the end. Finish. Time's up.

Why ending a speech well is important

Research * tells us people most commonly remember the first and last thing they hear when listening to a speech, seminar or lecture.

Therefore if you want the audience's attention and, your speech to create a lasting impression sliding out with: "Well, that's all I've got say. My time's up anyway. Yeah - so thanks for listening, I guess.", isn't going to do it.

So what will?

* See the foot of the page for links to studies and articles on what and how people remember : primacy and recency.

Three effective speech conclusions

Here are three of the best ways to end a speech. Each ensures your speech finishes strongly rather than limping sadly off to sure oblivion.

You'll need a summary of your most important key points followed by the ending of your choice:

a powerful quotation
a challenge
a call back

To work out which of these to use, ask yourself what you want audience members to do or feel as a result of listening to your speech. For instance;

Do you want to motivate them to work harder?
Do you want them to join the cause you are promoting?
Do you want them to remember a person and their unique qualities?

What you choose to do with your last words should support the overall purpose of your speech.

Let's look at three different scenarios showing each of these ways to end a speech.

To really get a feel for how they work try each of them out loud yourself and listen to the recordings.

1. How to end a speech with a powerful quotation

Image: Martin Luther King Jr. Text:The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Your speech purpose is to inspire people to join your cause. Specifically you want their signatures on a petition lobbying for change and you have everything ready to enable them to sign as soon as you have stopped talking.

You've summarized the main points and want a closing statement at the end of your speech to propel the audience into action.

Borrowing words from a revered and respected leader aligns your cause with those they fought for, powerfully blending the past with the present.

For example:

"Martin Luther King, Jr said 'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'

Now is the time to decide. Now is the time to act.

Here's the petition. Here's the pen. And here's the space for your signature.

Now, where do you stand?"

Try it out loud and listen to the audio

Try saying this out loud for yourself. Listen for the cumulative impact of: an inspirational quote, plus the rhythm and repetition (two lots of 'Now is the time to...', three of 'Here's the...', three repeats of the word 'now') along with a rhetorical question to finish.

Click the link to hear a recording of it: sample speech ending with a powerful quotation .

2. How to end a speech with a challenge

Image: New Zealand Railway poster - 'Great Place this Hermitage', Mt Cook c.1931. ((10468981965) Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Your speech purpose is to motivate your sales force.

You've covered the main points in the body of it, including introducing an incentive: a holiday as a reward for the best sales figures over the next three weeks.

You've summarized the important points and have reached the end of your speech. The final words are a challenge, made even stronger by the use of those two extremely effective techniques: repetition and rhetorical questions.

"You have three weeks from the time you leave this hall to make that dream family holiday in New Zealand yours.

Can you do it?

Will you do it?

The kids will love it.

Your wife, or your husband, or your partner, will love it.

Do it now!"

Click the link to listen to a recording of it: sample speech ending with a challenge . And do give it a go yourself.

3. How to end a speech with a call back

Image: Spring time oak tree leaves against a blue sky. Text: Every blue sky summer's day I'll see Amy in my mind. How end a speech with a call back.

Your speech purpose is to honor the memory of a dear friend who has passed away.

You've briefly revisited the main points of your speech and wish in your closing words to leave the members of the audience with a happy and comforting take-home message or image to dwell on.

Earlier in the speech you told a poignant short story. It's that you return to, or call back.

Here's an example of what you could say:

"Remember that idyllic picnic I told you about?

Every blue sky summer's day I'll see Amy in my mind.

Her red picnic rug will be spread on green grass under the shade of an old oak tree. There'll be food, friends and laughter.

I'll see her smile, her pleasure at sharing the simple good things of life, and I know what she'd say too. I can hear her.

"Come on, try a piece of pie. My passing is not the end of the world you know."

Click the link to hear a recording of it: sample speech ending with a call back . Try it out for yourself too. (For some reason, this one is a wee bit crackly. Apologies for that!)

When you don't plan how to end a speech...

That old cliché 'failing to plan is planning to fail' can bite and its teeth are sharp.

The 'Wing It' Department * delivers lessons learned the hard way. I know from personal experience and remember the pain!

How many of these traps have caught you?

having no conclusion and whimpering out on a shrug of the shoulders followed by a weak, 'Yeah, well, that's all, I guess.', type of line.
not practicing while timing yourself and running out of it long before getting to your prepared conclusion. (If you're in Toastmasters where speeches are timed you'll know when your allotted time is up, that means, finish. Stop talking now, and sit down. A few seconds over time can be the difference between winning and losing a speech competition.)
ending with an apology undermining your credibility. For example: 'Sorry for going on so long. I know it can be a bit boring listening to someone like me.'
adding new material just as you finish which confuses your audience. The introduction of information belongs in the body of your speech.
making the ending too long in comparison to the rest of your speech.
using a different style or tone that doesn't fit with what went before it which puzzles listeners.
ending abruptly without preparing the audience for the conclusion. Without a transition, signal or indication you're coming to the end of your talk they're left waiting for more.

* Re The 'Wing It' Department

One of the most galling parts of ending a speech weakly is knowing it's avoidable. Ninety nine percent of the time it didn't have to happen that way. But that's the consequence of 'winging it', trying to do something without putting the necessary thought and effort in.

It's such a sod when there's no one to blame for the poor conclusion of your speech but yourself! ☺

How to end a Maid of Honor speech: 20 examples

More endings! These are for Maid of Honor speeches. There's twenty examples of varying types: funny, ones using Biblical and other quotations... Go to: how to end a Maid of Honor speech

Label: old fashioned roses in background. Text: 20 Maid of Honor speech endings.

How to write a speech introduction

Now that you know how to end a speech effectively, find out how to open one well. Discover the right hook to use to captivate your audience.

Find out more: How to write a speech introduction: 12 of the very best ways to open a speech .

Retro Label: 12 ways to hook an audience

More speech writing help

Image: creativity in progress sign. Text: How to write a speech

You do not need to flail around not knowing what to do, or where to start.

Visit this page to find out about structuring and writing a speech .

You'll find information on writing the body, opening and conclusion as well as those all important transitions. There's also links to pages to help you with preparing a speech outline, cue cards, rehearsal, and more.

Research on what, and how, people remember: primacy and recency

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Serial position effect . (Primacy and recency, first and last) Simply Psychology.

Hopper, Elizabeth. "What Is the Recency Effect in Psychology?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 29, 2020.

ScienceDirect: Recency Effect - an overview of articles from academic Journals & Books covering the topic.

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How to create a great thesis defense presentation: everything you need to know

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera April 13, 2024

Ready to take on your thesis defense presentation? It’s not just about wrapping up years of study; it’s your moment to share your insights and the impact of your work. A standout presentation can make all the difference. It’s your chance to highlight the essentials and really connect with your audience.

This is where Prezi comes into play. Forget about flipping through slide after slide. With Prezi, you craft a narrative that pulls your audience in. It simplifies the complex, ensuring your key points hit home. Let’s explore how Prezi can help transform your thesis defense into a successful presentation.

What is a thesis defense presentation and why are they needed?

Whether you’re preparing for a master’s thesis defense or a Ph.D. thesis defense, this final step in your academic journey is the one with the most significance, as it dramatically influences your final grade. It’s also your chance to display the dedication and effort you’ve put into your research, a way to demonstrate how significant your work is.

So, why is this such a big deal? A good presentation helps convince your teachers that your research is solid and makes a difference in your field. It’s your time to answer questions, show that your research methods were sound, and point out what’s new and interesting about your work. In the end, a great thesis defense presentation helps you finish strong and makes sure you leave a lasting impression as you wrap up this chapter of your academic life.

Best practices for making a successful thesis defense presentation

In order to craft a standout thesis defense presentation, you need to do more than just deliver research findings. Here are some key strategies to ensure success, and how Prezi can play a crucial role in elevating your presentation.

Start with a strong introduction

Kick-off with an engaging introduction that lays out your research question, its significance, and your objectives. This initial segment grabs attention and sets the tone. Using Prezi’s zoom feature can make your introduction pop by visually underscoring key points, helping your audience grasp the importance of your work right from the start.

Organize your presentation clearly

A coherent structure is essential for guiding your audience through your thesis defense presentation. Prezi can help by offering a map view of your content’s layout upfront, providing a clear path through your introduction, methodology, results, and conclusion. This clarity keeps your audience engaged and makes your arguments easier to follow.

Incorporate multimedia elements

Adding multimedia elements like videos, audio clips, and animations can greatly improve the appeal of your thesis defense presentation. Prezi supports the seamless integration of these elements, allowing you to bring your research to life in a more vibrant and engaging way. Videos can serve as powerful testimonials or demonstrations, while animations can help illustrate complex processes or changes over time. This variety keeps your audience engaged and helps convey your message in a more exciting way.

Smiling african woman giving presentation at startup. Happy female professional standing in front of a large television screen with a graph.

Simplify complex data

Your findings need to be presented in a way that’s easy for your audience to understand. Prezi shines here, with tools that transform intricate data into clear, engaging visuals. By implementing charts and graphs into your presentation, you can make your data stand out and support your narrative effectively.

Engage your audience

Make your thesis defense a two-way conversation by interacting with your audience. Whether it’s through questions, feedback, or direct participation, engagement is key. Prezi allows for a flexible presentation style, letting you navigate sections in response to audience input, creating a dynamic and engaging experience.

Highlight key takeaways

Emphasize the key takeaways of your research throughout your presentation to ensure your audience grasps the most critical aspects of your work. With Prezi, you can use spotlighting and strategic zooming to draw attention to these takeaways, making them stand out. This method helps reinforce your main points, ensuring they stick with your audience long after your presentation concludes. By clearly defining what your audience should remember, you guide their understanding and appreciation of your research’s value and implications.

Practice makes perfect

Confidence in delivery comes from thorough practice. Familiarize yourself with every aspect of your thesis defense presentation, including timing, voice control, and gestures. Prezi Video is a great tool for rehearsing, as it allows you to blend your presentation materials with your on-camera performance, mirroring the live defense setting and helping you polish your delivery.

Cropped shot of a businesswoman delivering a speech during a conference

End with a lasting impression

Conclude your presentation powerfully by summarizing your main findings, their implications, and future research directions. Prezi’s ability to zoom out and show the big picture at your conclusion helps reinforce how each section of your presentation contributes to your overall thesis, ensuring your research leaves a memorable impact on your audience.

By using these tips and taking advantage of what Prezi offers, you can make your thesis defense presentation really stand out. It’ll not only hit the mark with your audience but also clearly show why your research matters.

Meeting tight deadlines with Prezi

Facing a looming deadline for your thesis defense presentation? Prezi offers smart solutions to help you create a polished and engaging presentation quickly, even if it feels like you’re down to the wire.

A closer look at Prezi AI features

Prezi AI is a standout feature for those pressed for time. It assists in structuring your presentation efficiently, suggesting design elements and layouts that elevate your content. This AI-driven approach means you can develop a presentation that looks meticulously planned and executed in a fraction of the time it would normally take. The result? A presentation that communicates the depth and value of your research clearly and effectively, without the last-minute rush being evident. Here’s what Prezi AI can do:

Streamlined creation process: At the core of Prezi’s efficiency is the AI presentation creator . Perfect for those last-minute crunch times, it’s designed to tackle tight deadlines with ease.
Easy start: Kick off your presentation creation with just a click on the “Create with AI” button. Prezi AI guides you through a smooth process, transforming your initial ideas or keywords into a structured and visually appealing narrative.
Visual impact: There’s no need to dive deep into design details. Simply provide some basic input, and Prezi AI will craft it into a presentation that grabs and holds your audience’s attention, making your thesis defense visually compelling.
AI text editing: Spending too much time fine-tuning your message? Prezi AI text editing features can help. Whether you need to expand on a concept, clarify complex terms, or condense your content without losing impact, Prezi AI streamlines these tasks.
Content refinement: Adjust text length for deeper explanation, simplify language for better understanding, and ensure your presentation’s content is precise and to the point. Prezi AI editing tools help you refine your message quickly, so you can focus on the essence of your research.

Using Prezi Video for remote thesis defense presentations

For remote thesis defenses, Prezi Video steps up to ensure your presentation stands out. It integrates your on-screen presence alongside your presentation content, creating a more personal and engaging experience for your audience. This is crucial in maintaining attention and interest, particularly in a virtual format where keeping your audience engaged presents additional challenges. Prezi Video makes it seem as though you’re presenting live alongside your slides, helping to simulate the in-person defense experience and keep your audience focused on what you’re saying.

Using these advanced Prezi features, you can overcome tight deadlines with confidence, ensuring your thesis defense presentation is both impactful and memorable, no matter the time constraints.

The Prezi experience: what users have to say

Prezi users have shared compelling insights on how the platform’s unique features have revolutionized their presentations. Here’s how their experiences can inspire your thesis defense presentation:

Storytelling with Prezi

Javier Schwersensky highlights the narrative power of Prezi: “This is a tool that is going to put you ahead of other people and make you look professional and make your ideas stand out,” he remarks. For your thesis defense, this means Prezi can help you craft a narrative that not only presents your research but tells a story that captures and retains the committee’s interest.

Flexibility and creativity

Tamara Montag-Smit appreciates Prezi for its “functionality of the presentation that allows you to present in a nonlinear manner.” This flexibility is key in a thesis defense, allowing you to adapt your presentation flow in real time based on your audience’s engagement or questions, ensuring a more dynamic and interactive defense.

The open canvas

Vitek Dočekal values Prezi’s open canvas , which offers “creative freedom” and the ability to “create a mind map and determine how to best present my ideas.” For your thesis defense, this means Prezi lets you lay out and show off your work in a way that makes sense and grabs your audience’s attention, turning complicated details into something easy and interesting to follow.

Engagement and retention

Adam Rose points out the engagement benefits of Prezi: “Being able to integrate videos is extremely effective in capturing their attention.” When you need to defend a thesis, using Prezi to include videos or interactive content can help keep your committee engaged, making your presentation much more memorable.

These real insights show just how effective Prezi is for crafting truly influential presentations. By incorporating Prezi into your thesis defense presentation, you can create a defense that not only shows how strong your research is but also leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Thesis defense presentations for inspiration

Prezi is much more than a platform for making presentations; it’s a place where you can find inspiration by browsing presentations that other Prezi users have made. Not only that, but Prezi offers numerous templates that would be useful for thesis defense presentations, making the design process much easier. Here are a few examples that you may find helpful:

Research project template by Prezi

This Prezi research project template stands out as an ideal choice for thesis defense presentations due to its well-structured format that facilitates storytelling from start to finish. It begins with a clear introduction and problem statement, setting a solid foundation for the narrative. The inclusion of sections for user research, interviews, demographics, and statistics allows for a detailed presentation of the research process and findings, which are crucial when defending a thesis.

Visual elements like user mapping and journey maps help make complex information understandable and engaging, which is crucial for maintaining the committee’s attention. Additionally, addressing pain points and presenting prototypes showcases problem-solving efforts and practical applications of the research. The template culminates in a conclusion that ties everything together, emphasizing the research’s impact and future possibilities. Its comprehensive yet concise structure makes it an excellent tool for communicating the depth and significance of your work in a thesis defense.

Civil rights movement Prezi

This Prezi on the Civil Rights Movement exemplifies an effective thesis defense presentation by seamlessly blending structured content, multimedia enhancements, and dynamic navigation. It organizes information into coherent sections like “About,” “Key Events,” and “Key People,” offering a comprehensive view ideal for a thesis presentation. The strategic use of videos adds depth, providing historical context in a dynamic way that text alone cannot, enhancing the audience’s engagement and understanding.

Furthermore, Prezi’s open canvas feature brings the narrative to life, allowing for a fluid journey through the Civil Rights Movement. This method of presentation, with its zooming and panning across a virtual canvas, not only captivates but also helps to clarify the connections between various elements of the research, showcasing how to effectively communicate complex ideas in a thesis defense.

AI-assisted history template

This AI-assisted presentation template stands out as a great choice for thesis defense presentations, especially for those rooted in historical research. By merging striking visuals with rich, informative content, you can use this template to craft a narrative that breathes life into past events, guiding the audience on an engaging journey through time. Its sequential storytelling approach, empowered by Prezi AI , ensures a smooth transition from one historical point to the next, demonstrating the depth and continuity of your research. This template showcases Prezi AI’s capability to enhance narrative flow. By integrating advanced visuals and text, it captivates audiences and makes it an invaluable tool for presenting complex historical theses in a clear, compelling way.

Master your final grade with a Prezi thesis defense presentation

Preparing for a thesis defense, whether for a master’s or Ph.D., is a pivotal moment that significantly influences your final grade. It’s your platform to demonstrate the dedication behind your research and its importance in your field. A well-executed presentation convinces your educators of your research’s validity and your ability to bring fresh perspectives to light.

To craft a successful thesis defense presentation, Prezi’s innovative features can be a game-changer. Prezi can empower you to transform presentations into captivating stories and provide you with the flexibility and creative freedom needed to make your presentation an outstanding success. Incorporating videos or utilizing Prezi’s non-linear presentation style can keep your committee engaged and emphasize your research’s significance.

Prezi also serves as a hub of inspiration, offering templates perfect for thesis defenses. From structured research project templates to dynamic historical narratives, Prezi provides tools that communicate your thesis’s depth and significance effectively, ensuring you leave a memorable impact on your audience. So, it’s time to revamp your thesis defense presentation and change it from dull to inspirational with Prezi.

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Different Ways to End a Presentation or Speech

November 6, 2017 - Dom Barnard

The beginning and ending of your presentation are the most important. The beginning is where you grab the audience’s attention and ensure they listen to the rest of your speech. The conclusion gives you a chance to leave a lasting impression that listeners take away with them.

Studies show that when people are tasked with recalling information, they “best performance at the beginning and end”. It’s therefore essential you leave an impact with your closing statement. A strong ending motivates, empowers and encourages people to take action.

The power of three

The rule of three is a simple yet powerful method of communication and we use it often in both written and verbal communication. Using information in patterns of three makes it more memorable for the audience.

Examples of the power of three being used:

This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning – Winston Churchill
Blood, sweat and tears – General Patton
I came, I saw, I conquered – Julius Caesar

A compelling story

Ending your presentation on a short story, especially if that story is personal or illustrates how the content presented affects others is the best way to conclude.

If you want to talk about a customer experience or successful case study, think about how you can turn it into a meaningful story which the audience will remember and even relate to. Creating empathy with your audience and tying the story back to points made throughout the presentation ensures your presentation will be well received by the audience.

A surprising fact

A surprising fact has the power to re-engage the audience’s attention, which is most likely to wane by the end of a presentation. Facts with statistical numbers in them work well – you can easily search online for facts related to your speech topic. Just make use you remember the source for the fact in case you are questioned about it.

A running clock

Marketing and advertising executive Dietmar Dahmen ends his Create Your Own Change talk with a running clock to accompany his last statement. “Users rule,” he says, “so stop waiting and start doing. And you have to do that now because time is running out.”

If you’re delivering a time-sensitive message, where you want to urge your listeners to move quickly, you can have a background slide with a running timer to add emphasis to your last statement.

Example of a running timer or clock for ending a presentation

Acknowledging people or companies

There are times when it’s appropriate to thank people publicly for helping you – such as

Presenting a research paper and want to thank people involved in the project
Presenting data or information obtained from a company or a person
When someone helped you build the presentation if it’s a particularly complex one

You can even use the PowerPoint credits feature for additional ‘wow’ factor.

A short, memorable sentence

A sound bite is an attention magnet. It cuts to the core of your central message and is one of the most memorable takeaways for today’s Twitter-sized attention spans. Consider Steve Jobs’ famous last line at his commencement address at Stanford University: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

Think about how you can distil your message down to a crisp, memorable statement. Does it represent your authentic voice? Does it accurately condense what your core message is about? Listeners, especially business audiences, have a radar that quickly spots an effort to impress rather than to genuinely communicate an important message.

An interesting quote

A relatively easy way to end your speech is by using a quote. For this to be effective, however, the quote needs to be one that has not been heard so often that it has become cliché.

To access fresh quotes, consider searching current personalities rather than historical figures. For example, a quote on failing from J.K. Rowling: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

You need to figure out what resonates with your audience, and choose a quote that fits the presentation theme. If you’re up to it, you can round off the quote with your own thoughts as well.

A visual image

Make use of this power by ending your presentation with a riveting visual that ties to your take-home message. Leave this slide on when you finish your presentation to give the audience something to look at and think about for the next few minutes.

Use a summary slide instead of a ‘thank you’ slide

‘Thank You’ slides don’t really help the audience. You should be verbally saying ‘Thank you’, with a smile and with positive eye contact, putting it on a slide removes the sentiment.

Instead of a ‘Thank You’ slide, you can use a summary slide showing all the key points you have made along with your call to action. It can also show your name and contact details.

This slide is the only slide you use that can contain a lot of text, use bullet points to separate the text. Having all this information visible during the Q&A session will also help the audience think of questions to ask you. They may also choose to take photos of this slide with their phone to take home as a summary of your talk and to have your contact details.

Example summary slide for a presentaiton or speech

Repeat something from the opening

Closing a presentation with a look back at the opening message is a popular technique. It’s a great way to round off your message, whilst simultaneously summing up the entire speech and creating a feeling of familiarity for the audience. Comedians do this well when they tie an earlier joke to a later one.

Doing this will signal to the audience that you are coming to the end of your talk. It completes the circle – you end up back where you started.

There are a few ways to approach this technique:

Set up a question at the beginning of your speech and use your ending to answer it
Finish a story you started, using the anecdote to demonstrate your message
Close with the title of the presentation – this works best with a provocative, memorable title

Link the main points to the key message

At the beginning of your talk, it’s important to map out the main ideas you will talk about. An audience that doesn’t know the stages of the journey you are about to take them on will be less at ease than one that knows what lies ahead. At the end of your talk, take them back over what you’ve spoken about but don’t just list the different ideas you developed, show how they are related and how they support your main argument.

Finish with enthusiasm

It’s only natural that you’ll feel tired when you get to the end of your talk. The adrenaline that was racing through your body at the beginning has now worn off.

It’s crucial that the audience feels that you are enthusiastic and open for questions. If you’re not enthusiastic about the presentation, why should the audience be?

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Don’t end with audience questions

When the Q&A session is over, stand up, get their attention and close the presentation. In your closing give your main argument again, your call to action and deal with any doubts or criticisms that out in the Q&A.

A closing is more or less a condensed version of your conclusions and an improvised summary of the Q&A. It’s important that the audience goes home remembering the key points of the speech, not with a memory of a Q&A that may or may not have gone well or may have been dominated by someone other than you.

If possible, try and take questions throughout your presentation so they remain pertinent to the content.

Getting rid of the “questions?” slide

To start, let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do. You shouldn’t end a presentation with a slide that asks “Questions?” Everyone does and there is nothing memorable about this approach.

Ideally, you should take questions throughout the presentation so that the question asked and the answer given is relevant to the content presented. If you choose to take questions at the end of your presentation, end instead with a strong image that relates to your presentation’s content.

Worried about no audience questions?

If you’re afraid of not getting any questions, then you can arrange for a friend in the audience to ask one. The ‘plant’ is a good way to get questions started if you fear silence.

Chances are that people do want to ask questions, but no one wants to be the first to ask a question. If you don’t have a ‘plant’, you might need to get the ball rolling yourself. A good way to do this is for you to ask am open question to the audience. Ask the most confident looking person in the room for their opinion, or get the audience to discuss the question with the person sitting beside them.

A cartoon or animation

In his TED talk on The Paradox of Choice , Barry Schwartz ends his presentation with a cartoon of a fishbowl with the caption, “You can be anything you want to be – no limits.” He says, “If you shatter the fishbowl, so that everything is possible, you don’t have freedom, you have paralysis… Everybody needs a fishbowl”. This is a brilliant ending that combines visuals, humour and a metaphor. Consider ending your presentation with a relevant cartoon to make your message memorable.

Ask a rhetoric question

So, for example, if you’re finishing up a talk on the future of engineering, you might say, “I’d like to end by asking you the future of manufacturing, will it be completely taken over by robots in the next 30 years?”

The minute you ask a question , listeners are generally drawn into thinking about an answer. It’s even more engaging when the question is provocative, or when it touches potentially sensitive areas of our lives

Thank the audience

The simplest way to end a speech, after you’ve finished delivering the content, is to say, “thank you.” That has the benefit of being understood by everyone.

It’s the great way for anyone to signal to the audience that it’s time to applaud and then head home.

Call your audience to action and make it clear

It’s not enough to assume your message will inspire people to take action. You need to actually tell them to take action. Your call to action should be clear and specific. Your audience should be left with no doubt about what it is you’re asking.

Use the last few minutes of the presentation to reinforce the call to action you seek. Examples of strong calls to actions include:

Retain 25% more employees with our personal development solution
Save your business 150% by using this framework
Donate today to save millions around the world

Make it clear that you’ve finished

Nothing is more uncomfortable than the silence of an audience working out if you’ve finished or not.

Your closing words should make it very clear that it’s the end of the presentation. The audience should be able to read this immediately, and respond. As we mentioned previously, saying “thank you” is a good way to finish.

If the applause isn’t forthcoming, stand confidently and wait. Don’t fidget and certainly don’t eke out a half-hearted, ‘And that just about covers it. Thank you’.

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How to Write Mock Trial Opening and Closing Statements

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An Overview of Opening and Closing Arguments

First comes the opening argument , which offers an initial impression to the judge (who will rule the outcome of the case) and scoring attorneys (who actually determine which team wins the round) and must provide a clear, concise and legally solid introduction to the case the presenting attorney’s side intends to prove.

Ending the case is the closing argument , which is the judges’ final impression before an attorney rests their case. It is often longer and more detail-oriented in its argumentation than the opening statement. It also requires a review and summarization of the evidence presented during the case and a legal argument regarding the evidence and what it proves or disproves. Furthermore, a closing argument often includes a rebuttal section, so attorneys must be ready to respond and challenge opposing arguments in a dynamic setting.

Although these two parts of a case—the opening argument and the closing argument—may seem similar and certainly require the same foundational skills, they are different enough in purpose to require specific and targeted preparation.

The Skills Required for a Strong Opening and Closing Argument

As mentioned earlier, a core set of skills is required for nearly all parts of Mock Trial competition, including opening and closing statements. Mastering certain skills related to confidence in public speaking, clear legal thought and analysis, and quick critical thinking help you exude a polished and professional demeanor while elevating your argument to a higher level.

Public Speaking

Strong public speaking ability is perhaps the most fundamental trait to a successful mock trial attorney and is especially important for the opening and closing arguments. Public speaking skills include much more than knowing one’s argument and presenting it carefully. The finer points of speaking well include considering one’s inflection, tone, pace, emotion, and volume during an argument.

Mastering these factors is often harder than it may seem, simply because different arguments will require the attorney to set different atmospheres in the courtroom. For example, if an attorney wishes to draw attention to the plight of a victim and evoke sympathy, a strong, harsh and forceful presentation may not be the most effective. On the other hand, if the attorney wishes to emphasize the callousness or malice of a defendant in the same case, the presentation previously described would be much better suited.

The key to using the finer points of public speaking is to understand the effect that these factors will have on the audience. When you realize the huge difference that simple changes in volume or pace can make to the overall nature of the argument, you can create an argument perfectly suited to the facts and case at hand.

Understanding the Legal Concepts Behind a Case

Another prerequisite to having a polished and successful opening or closing argument is a thorough understanding of the legal concepts and statutes underlying a case. This understanding is crucial for the attorney presenting these arguments because often in a case, the opening or closing arguments are the only times when legal theory can be presented directly and openly.

Questioning witnesses about events and establishing a story can provide the elements necessary to prove guilt or innocence, but does not afford the opportunity to present legal reasoning. Important parts of a case such as the burden of proof, the elements of the crime, and the requirements to find guilt or innocence can only be brought up during opening or closing arguments.

A clear and accurate explanation of these legalistic parts of the case ensures two things. First, such a presentation portrays the attorney as knowledgeable and competent to a judge. Secondly, a complete and accurate presentation of the legal elements of a case presents the argument of the attorney in a structured, easily digestible way. When a judge hears which elements that will be proved, and understands how the other side must respond to win the case, they will be able to follow the testimony of witnesses much more closely and understand the significance of facts presented. It is important to remember that a case is not ultimately meant to tell a story but to prove guilty or not guilty in terms of the law.

The Importance of Memorization

Finally, one feature common to all outstanding opening and closing arguments is that they are memorized . Although some attorneys and coaches may argue that bringing up notes and referencing them occasionally is acceptable, top teams don’t employ this practice. Memorizing one’s argument accomplishes three major things: it shows confidence, helps the attorney focus on delivery rather than content, and allows for freedom of movement throughout the courtroom that can make the presentation of an opening or closing statement more dynamic.

Memorization automatically displays an elevated level of confidence and preparation to the judge and scoring attorneys. Just seeing an attorney enter the well without any aids and begin an argument is powerful. When an attorney displays confidence in the manner which they speak, this confidence is directly translated to the case they present.

Secondly, memorization helps the attorney better focus and perfect the finer points of public speaking. Without having to worry about looking for their next line, an attorney can focus more of their attention on the quality of their speaking. Additionally, people in general tend to speed up and talk too fast when looking at or reading from a paper. Thus, one of the virtues of memorization is that an attorney automatically speaks more slowly and clearly.

Finally, without an aid or paper, an attorney is not tied to the podium and is not seen as clumsy because they are holding something. This allows the attorney to move about the courtroom, physically pointing to any evidence that may be displayed, and motioning actively, such as counting off elements on one’s hand or gesturing towards certain witnesses. The more an attorney moves about a courtroom, the greater control they have over it. If an attorney can move from the counsel table, walk over to the exhibits, and end in front of the judge, they display an invaluable sense of comfort and poise.

Components of a Successful Opening Argument

There are four major elements to a complete opening argument. Although the exact structure and order of these elements within the overall argument will vary, it is important to include significant detail about each in order to lay the proper groundwork for the case an attorney intends to present. The elements include:

1. A factual and sequential overview of the major facts in the case important to the presenting attorney’s side. The amount of storytelling involved will vary depending on many factors, including whether the argument is for the prosecution or the defense team.

Because the prosecution team presents their opening statement first, and because they have the burden of proof (the requirement to prove the defendant guilty), their opening will include much more storytelling. Often, a prosecution opening statement can be structured entirely around the storyline of the case. Such an intensive retelling is not necessary for the defense, as they must simply cast a reasonable doubt on the allegations made. Thus, a defense opening will often include a story of much more limited scope and one targeted specifically towards the prosecutorial weaknesses of the case.

2. A description of what the prosecution or defense intends to prove or show . For the prosecution, this should be a statement of the charges, and the corresponding list of actions the defendant must have taken to be found guilty. This statement should be accompanied by a short description of what exactly the defendant did. For the defense, a focus should be placed on the weakest legal elements that the prosecution must prove. Mock trial cases will never favor one side over the other, so there will always be the opportunity to poke holes in the argument of the other side.

For example, if the prosecution must prove “malice aforethought” by the defendant, but the defense will call a character witness to testify to the defendant’s good nature, this should be brought up in the opening statement. One thing the defense should take care to avoid is appearing to argue their case with the opening statement. The opening statement is not the place to draw legal conclusions, as no evidence has been presented yet. The opening statement is the place to present a side’s theory of the case and any important facts that will come to light during the trial.

3. A short explanation of the evidence that will be presented . For the prosecution, this can include actual physical evidence, such as a diagram or letter. These should be referenced and used during opening statements by the prosecution. Additionally, both the prosecution and defense should be sure to emphasize particularly important facts to their side during the opening. If the defense plans to have a witness testify who will provide an alibi for the defendant, this should be brought up in the opening.

4. A short description of what each of the witnesses will testify . This provides a roadmap for the judge and scoring attorneys and helps them know what to expect from each witness. It often helps to present a side’s witnesses in the order that they will appear. This allows for a streamlined introduction to the facts, as well as the structure of the case, and minimizes confusion created by varying orders.

To summarize, the four elements of a successful opening argument are an overview of the major facts of the case, a description of what the prosecution/defense intends to argue, a description of the evidence to be presented, and a description of each witness’ testimony. By including these four elements into an opening argument, an attorney will be sure to cover all the bases necessary for a solid case foundation and will fill in any gaps of knowledge the judge may have, allowing them to focus entirely on the direct examination of witnesses that follows.

Mistakes to Avoid in an Opening Argument

There are certain very common mistakes which should be avoided at all costs during opening statements.

One of the most often encountered occurs when one side states what evidence the opposing side will show . Although both teams have a pretty good idea of what the other will attempt to prove and what evidence or witnesses they will use because of the structure of Mock Trial, this knowledge should not be used in opening statements. Just like a real attorney does not know what exactly the opposition’s witnesses will testify, the same holds true for Mock Trial.

The second common mistake to avoid is drawing legal conclusions. Although it is fine to say what their side intends to do, an attorney should not present their opening statement as a conclusive legal argument. Phrases such as “the evidence will show” are always good ways to make a point while observing this boundary.

Components of a Successful Closing Argument

There are also four important elements present in a good closing argument. These elements are similar to those listed in the opening statement but differ in two significant ways.

First and most importantly, closing occurs after a case has been presented, meaning that all evidence and testimony has been heard. This allows an attorney to speak much more concretely about what evidence favors their case. Secondly, closing argument often includes a rebuttal, where each attorney has the opportunity to argue points brought up in the opposing side’s argument. This allows for a much more direct attack on the weak legal points of the opposing side’s case than anywhere else in the trial. The components of a closing argument are as follows:

A complete review of the important evidence in the case. Although a closing will be longer than an opening, it is still not long enough to bring out every piece of evidence presented, so an attorney must limit themselves only to the most crucial and significant. This is the place for a recap of anything that tends to prove or disprove elements of the crime.
An attack on the opposing side’s case . If an opposing witness was impeached during cross examination—that is, they made a statement during questioning inconsistent with their witness statement in the casebook, and the questioning attorney formally drew attention to this inconsistency—this is the place to remind the court. If the opposing side failed to adequately address a significant element of the crime, this is where it can be brought up. The closing argument is not only the place to reaffirm one’s argument but to help discredit and tear down the argument of the opposing side. This can be done in a practiced manner as part of the standard closing statement, but it can also be included in the rebuttal, which is the third element of a closing argument.

3. The rebuttal. The rebuttal is usually around one minute of time where an attorney can counter directly what the other side has claimed. It often helps if an attorney takes notes on possible ideas for rebuttal throughout the trial and starts and ends their rebuttal with rehearsed and memorized statements. This gives the rebuttal a natural and fluid presentation while also making it dynamic and unique to every trial.

An emotional appeal. If so desired, the closing argument is the ideal place for an emotional appeal to the judge. This can work for both the prosecution and defense. For example, the prosecution can remind the judge of the suffering of the victim and the need for justice. The prosecution can also play up and emphasize any negative characteristics of the defendant in order to strengthen this emotional appeal. Conversely, the defense can emphasize the bright prospects of the defendant, and any positive characteristics they may possess. These kinds of additions do not fit into every case and are usually more stylistic than substantive, but can be powerful tools when used in the closing argument.

Mistakes to Avoid in a Closing Argument

Just as with opening, there are common mistakes to avoid when conducting the closing argument. One of the most common mistakes is to incorrectly quote the opposing counsel’s argument . It can be a powerful tool to use a person’s exact words against them in argument, but any effect is lost if they are misquoted. The same goes for misquoting witnesses. At best the judge will see it as a careless mistake. At worst, it can even be seen as a malicious attempt to deceive the court.

Another extremely common mistake is to reference evidence that had actually been excluded via objection . For example, if an attorney intended on having a particular piece of testimony included in the case, but this testimony was excluded because of an objection, it is stricken from the record and cannot be used as evidence. If an attorney quotes something that was actually excluded, it is possible for the opposing attorney to call them out during rebuttal or bring up the issue before scoring is submitted. As such, the best way to avoid making this mistake is to keep careful track of what evidence comes in and what stays out and to know one’s closing well enough to be able to modify it if necessary and avoid any excluded evidence.

The more one competes and observes others in Mock Trial, the more they will internalize what it means to have a great argument. The most important tip for writing a good opening or closing is to first stick to the fundamentals of the case . An attorney must first cover the basics of the law and case. Making sure these elements are solid both factually and legally, will create a foundation upon which witnesses and examining attorneys will be able to build on. Once the content itself has been finalized, mastering delivery and presence will result in an extremely effective opening or closing argument.

Hopefully, armed with these tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating an opening or closing argument that will propel your mock trial team to victory.

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How to prepare an excellent thesis defense

What is a thesis defense?

How long is a thesis defense, what happens at a thesis defense, your presentation, questions from the committee, 6 tips to help you prepare for your thesis defense, 1. anticipate questions and prepare for them, 2. dress for success, 3. ask for help, as needed, 4. have a backup plan, 5. prepare for the possibility that you might not know an answer, 6. de-stress before, during, and after, frequently asked questions about preparing an excellent thesis defense, related articles.

If you're about to complete, or have ever completed a graduate degree, you have most likely come across the term "thesis defense." In many countries, to finish a graduate degree, you have to write a thesis .

A thesis is a large paper, or multi-chapter work, based on a topic relating to your field of study.

Once you hand in your thesis, you will be assigned a date to defend your work. Your thesis defense meeting usually consists of you and a committee of two or more professors working in your program. It may also include other people, like professionals from other colleges or those who are working in your field.

During your thesis defense, you will be asked questions about your work. The main purpose of your thesis defense is for the committee to make sure that you actually understand your field and focus area.

The questions are usually open-ended and require the student to think critically about their work. By the time of your thesis defense, your paper has already been evaluated. The questions asked are not designed so that you actually have to aggressively "defend" your work; often, your thesis defense is more of a formality required so that you can get your degree.

Check with your department about requirements and timing.
Re-read your thesis.
Anticipate questions and prepare for them.
Create a back-up plan to deal with technology hiccups.
Plan de-stressing activities both before, and after, your defense.

How long your oral thesis defense is depends largely on the institution and requirements of your degree. It is best to consult your department or institution about this. In general, a thesis defense may take only 20 minutes, but it may also take two hours or more. The length also depends on how much time is allocated to the presentation and questioning part.

Tip: Check with your department or institution as soon as possible to determine the approved length for a thesis defense.

First of all, be aware that a thesis defense varies from country to country. This is just a general overview, but a thesis defense can take many different formats. Some are closed, others are public defenses. Some take place with two committee members, some with more examiners.

The same goes for the length of your thesis defense, as mentioned above. The most important first step for you is to clarify with your department what the structure of your thesis defense will look like. In general, your thesis defense will include:

your presentation of around 20-30 minutes
questions from the committee
questions from the audience (if the defense is public and the department allows it)

You might have to give a presentation, often with Powerpoint, Google slides, or Keynote slides. Make sure to prepare an appropriate amount of slides. A general rule is to use about 10 slides for a 20-minute presentation.

But that also depends on your specific topic and the way you present. The good news is that there will be plenty of time ahead of your thesis defense to prepare your slides and practice your presentation alone and in front of friends or family.

Tip: Practice delivering your thesis presentation in front of family, friends, or colleagues.

You can prepare your slides by using information from your thesis' first chapter (the overview of your thesis) as a framework or outline. Substantive information in your thesis should correspond with your slides.

Make sure your slides are of good quality— both in terms of the integrity of the information and the appearance. If you need more help with how to prepare your presentation slides, both the ASQ Higher Education Brief and James Hayton have good guidelines on the topic.

The committee will ask questions about your work after you finish your presentation. The questions will most likely be about the core content of your thesis, such as what you learned from the study you conducted. They may also ask you to summarize certain findings and to discuss how your work will contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Tip: Read your entire thesis in preparation of the questions, so you have a refreshed perspective on your work.

While you are preparing, you can create a list of possible questions and try to answer them. You can foresee many of the questions you will get by simply spending some time rereading your thesis.

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your thesis defense:

You can absolutely prepare for most of the questions you will be asked. Read through your thesis and while you're reading it, create a list of possible questions. In addition, since you will know who will be on the committee, look at the academic expertise of the committee members. In what areas would they most likely be focused?

If possible, sit at other thesis defenses with these committee members to get a feel for how they ask and what they ask. As a graduate student, you should generally be adept at anticipating test questions, so use this advantage to gather as much information as possible before your thesis defense meeting.

Your thesis defense is a formal event, often the entire department or university is invited to participate. It signals a critical rite of passage for graduate students and faculty who have supported them throughout a long and challenging process.

While most universities don't have specific rules on how to dress for that event, do regard it with dignity and respect. This one might be a no-brainer, but know that you should dress as if you were on a job interview or delivering a paper at a conference.

It might help you deal with your stress before your thesis defense to entrust someone with the smaller but important responsibilities of your defense well ahead of schedule. This trusted person could be responsible for:

preparing the room of the day of defense
setting up equipment for the presentation
preparing and distributing handouts

Technology is unpredictable. Life is too. There are no guarantees that your Powerpoint presentation will work at all or look the way it is supposed to on the big screen. We've all been there. Make sure to have a plan B for these situations. Handouts can help when technology fails, and an additional clean shirt can save the day if you have a spill.

One of the scariest aspects of the defense is the possibility of being asked a question you can't answer. While you can prepare for some questions, you can never know exactly what the committee will ask.

There will always be gaps in your knowledge. But your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. You are not expected to know everything.

James Hayton writes on his blog that examiners will sometimes even ask questions they don't know the answer to, out of curiosity, or because they want to see how you think. While it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, but you would need to do [...] in order to find out.” This shows that you have the ability to think as an academic.

You will be nervous. But your examiners will expect you to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions, for example. Dora Farkas at finishyourthesis.com notes that it’s a myth that thesis committees are out to get you.

Two common symptoms of being nervous are talking really fast and nervous laughs. Try to slow yourself down and take a deep breath. Remember what feels like hours to you are just a few seconds in real life.

Try meditational breathing right before your defense.
Get plenty of exercise and sleep in the weeks prior to your defense.
Have your clothes or other items you need ready to go the night before.
During your defense, allow yourself to process each question before answering.
Go to dinner with friends and family, or to a fun activity like mini-golf, after your defense.

Allow yourself to process each question, respond to it, and stop talking once you have responded. While a smile can often help dissolve a difficult situation, remember that nervous laughs can be irritating for your audience.

We all make mistakes and your thesis defense will not be perfect. However, careful preparation, mindfulness, and confidence can help you feel less stressful both before, and during, your defense.

Finally, consider planning something fun that you can look forward to after your defense.

It is completely normal to be nervous. Being well prepared can help minimize your stress, but do know that your examiners have seen this many times before and are willing to help, by repeating questions for example if needed. Slow yourself down, and take a deep breath.

Your thesis defense is not about being perfect and knowing everything, it's about how you deal with challenging situations. James Hayton writes on his blog that it is ok sometimes to just say "I don't know", but he advises to try something like "I don't know, but I would think [...] because of x and y, you would need to do [...] in order to find out".

Your Powerpoint presentation can get stuck or not look the way it is supposed to do on the big screen. It can happen and your supervisors know it. In general, handouts can always save the day when technology fails.

Dress for success.
Ask for help setting up.
Have a backup plan (in case technology fails you).
Deal with your nerves.

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Our colleges and universities are places of free and open expression, inquiry, and debate. Even in sharp disagreement, our goal is communication in service of learning and understanding. The critical evaluation of different points of view and the questioning of even the most deeply held beliefs are essential to learning. So too is our students’ right to protest and to express their political convictions.

In a democratic society based on the fundamental value of free speech, it is unacceptable to respond to demonstrations with violent repression. When the Speaker of the House of Representatives equates protesters at Columbia University with terrorists, he irresponsibly incites violence. When politicians demand the resignation of university presidents, they threaten the autonomy of private universities. These actions continue an alarming and decades-long trend of undermining the shared governance, academic freedom and independence that have made American higher education globally preeminent. These recent interferences and threats are part of an ongoing partisan, political attack intended to dismantle higher education in service to the public interest, and make our institutions beholden only to corporate, political and private interests. They are an existential threat to democracy.

We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the heavy-handed, militaristic response to student activism that we are seeing across the country. At this critical moment, too many cowardly university leaders are responding to largely peaceful, outdoor protests by inviting law enforcement in riot gear to campus and condoning violent arrests. These administrators are failing in their duty to their institutions, their faculty, their students, and their central obligation to our democratic society. When university administrators limit when, where, and how free speech may be exercised, and require advanced applications for permission of such expression, they effectively gut the right itself. To insist that harsh discipline and violent repression are necessary to combat hate on a college campus is a pretext to suppress protest and silence speech.

Harassment and hate have no place on college campuses or anywhere. Universities have carefully developed policies and disciplinary procedures based on due process to address these long-standing problems and these must be used now and allowed to run their course. Policies enacted unilaterally after October 7 violate principles of shared governance, and institutions should enforce only mutually-approved policies which, on a college campus, should be focused on restorative justice and learning in service of understanding.

We are alarmed at the shameless exertion of pressure on university leaders by the nation’s politicians, by the universities’ most powerful donors, and by other interest groups. We are even more alarmed at how quickly our institutional leaders have capitulated to that pressure. In just a few months, too many university leaders have abandoned long-standing principles of academic freedom and shared governance that are meant to protect colleges from such outside influence. Policies guaranteeing academic freedom and free speech mean nothing if they are not upheld in times of stress. We call on institutional leaders to reinstate student organizations shut down in recent months for political activity, to drop charges against peaceful protesters, to observe due process in disciplinary actions, to keep armed law enforcement off campuses, and to uphold fundamental freedoms for students and faculty.

AAUP stands with our chapters and members nationwide who are defending free speech, the right of assembly, and associational rights for students. The way forward is through education and dialogue, not through zip-ties and fear-mongering. We invite all AAUP members, AAUP chapters, higher-education unions and any organizational ally to endorse these positions by signing this statement.

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Faculty, student, or labor organizations interested in signing on to this statement, please contact Austin Rhea at [email protected] .

Free speech

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The masthead on January 21, 1859 of the Boston newspaper 'The Liberator', the abolitionist journal founded by WIlliam Lloyd Garrison.

Freedom of Speech Ends Where True Power Begins

"i will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice," william lloyd garrison once said. "on this subject, i do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation.".

On January 1, 1831, The Liberator , the country’s first abolitionist newspaper and, later, a defender of women’s suffrage, appeared in Massachusetts. At that time, Georgia slavers offered a reward of $5,000 (more than $160,000 in 2024 value) for the capture of its founder, William Lloyd Garrison. Naturally, this is how power reacts to freedom and the fight for the rights of others, but this attempt at violent censorship was not the legal norm at that time. The freedom of speech established by the First Amendment applied to white men, and no one wanted to break the law in broad daylight. To correct these errors there was always the mafia, paramilitarism and, later, secret agencies that are beyond the law―if not legal harassment under other excuses.

In his first article, Garrison already reveals the tone of a dispute that is announced as something long-standing: “I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen…”

The Liberator , exercising its right to freedom of the press, began sending copies to the southern states. The response of the southern governments and the slave owners was not to prohibit the publication, since it was against the law―a law that was made so that some rich white men could protect themselves from other rich white men who never imagined that this freedom could in some way threaten the existence of the political power of all rich white men. Actually, that is what “ the land of the free ” meant when the poet and slaveowner Francis Scott Key wrote it in 1814: the land of the white men―the “free race.”

Instead of breaking the law, an old method was resorted to. There’s no need to break the rules when you can change them. This is how a democracy works. Of course, not everyone has, nor does they have, the same possibilities of operating such a democratic miracle. Those who cannot change the laws usually break them and that is why they are criminals. Those who can change them are the first interested in ensuring that they are fulfilled. Except when the urgency of their own interests does not allow for bureaucratic delay or, for some reason, an inconvenient majority has been established, which those in power accuse of being irresponsible, childish or dangerous.

There’s no need to break the rules when you can change them. This is how a democracy works.

In principle, since the First Amendment could not be directly abolished, losses were limited. North Carolina passed laws prohibiting literacy for slaves. The prohibitions continued and spread throughout the 1830s to other slave states, almost always justified by the disorders, protests and even violent riots that abolitionists had inoculated among blacks with subversive literature.

Slavery propaganda was immediate. Posters and pamphlets were distributed warning of subversive elements among the decent people of the South and the dangers of the few conferences on the taboo subject. Harassment of freedom of expression, without actually prohibiting it, also occurred in the largest cities of the North. One of the pro-slavery pamphlets dated February 27, 1837 (a year after Texas was taken from Mexico to reestablish slavery) invited the population to gather in front of a church on Cannon Street in New York, where an abolitionist was going. to give a talk at seven at night. The advertisement warned about “An abolitionist of the most revolting character is among you… A seditious Lecture is to be delivered this evening” and called to “unite in putting down and silencing by peaceable means this tool of evil and fanaticism. Let the right of the States guaranteed by the constitution be protected .”

Abolitionist publications and conferences did not stop. For a time, the way to counteract them was not the prohibition of freedom of expression but the increase in slavery propaganda and the demonization of anti-slavery people as dangerous subversives. Later, when the resource of propaganda was not enough, all Southern states began to adopt laws that limited the freedom of expression of revisionist ideas. Only when free speech (freedom of dissident whites) got out of control did they turn to more aggressive laws, this time limiting free speech with selective bans or taxes on abolitionists. For example, in 1837, Missouri banned publications that went against the dominant discourse, that is, against slavery. Rarely did they go so far as to imprison dissidents. They were discredited, censored, or lynched for some good reason such as self-defense or the defense of God, civilization, and freedom.

After the Civil War broke out, the slaveholding South wrote its own constitution. As the Anglo-Saxon Texans did, just about separated from Mexico, and for the same reasons, the constitution of the Confederacy established the protection of the “Peculiar Institution” (slavery) while including a clause in favor of freedom of expression. This passage did not prevent laws that limited it to one side or the paramilitarism of the slave (well-regulated) militias, origin of the southern police, from acting as they pleased. As in “We the people” of the Constitution, as originally the First Amendment of 1791, this “freedom of speech” did not include people who were neither “the people” nor were they full and responsible humans. It was referring to the free race. In fact, the constitution of the new slave country established in 1861, in its section 12, almost like a copy of the original amendment of 1791: “(12) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (13). A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

More equitable and democratic, impossible… The secret was that, again, like almost a century before, that of “the people” did not include the majority of the population. If anyone had observed that then, he would be accused of being crazy, unpatriotic, or a dangerous subversive. That is, something that, at its root, has not changed much in the 21st century.

By the time the slave system was legally outlawed in 1865, thanks to the circumstances of a nearly lost war, The Liberator had already published 1,820 issues. Aside from supporting the abolitionist cause, it also supported the women’s equal rights movement. The first woman candidate for the presidency (although not recognized by law), Victoria Woodhull, was arrested days before the 1872 elections on charges of having published an article classified as obscene―opinions against good customs, such as the law of the women to decide about their sexuality. As has been the norm for centuries in the Free World, Woodhull was not arrested for exercising her freedom of speech in a free country, but under the guise of breaking other laws.

However, this is not an exclusive characteristic of the slaveholding South or of the United States as a whole. The British Empire always proceeded in the same way, not very different from the “Athenian democracy” twenty-five centuries ago: “we are civilized because we tolerate different opinions and protect diversity and freedom of expression.” Of course, as long as they don’t cross certain limits. As long as they do not become a real danger to our incontestable power.

An imperial power, dominant, unanswerable, without fear of the real loss of its privileges, does not need direct censorship.

In this sense, let us remember just one more example. In 1902, economist John Atkinson Hobson published his classic Imperialism: A Study in which he explained Britain’s vampire nature over its colonies. Hobson was marginalized by critics, discredited by academia and the mainstream press of the time. He was not arrested or imprisoned. While the empire that he himself denounced continued to kill dozens of millions of human beings in Asia and Africa, neither the government nor the British crown took the trouble to directly censure the professor. Many, as is the case today, pointed to him as an example of the virtues of British democracy. Something similar to what happens today with those critics of US imperialism, especially if they live in the United States: “look, he criticizes the country in which he lives…” In other words, if someone points out the crimes against humanity in the multiple imperial wars and does so in the country that allows freedom of expression, that is proof of the moral and democratic goodness of the country that massacres millions of people and tolerates that someone dare to mention it.

How do you explain all these apparent contradictions? It’s not that complicated. An imperial power, dominant, unanswerable, without fear of the real loss of its privileges, does not need direct censorship. What’s more, the acceptance of marginal criticism would prove its benefits. It is tolerated, as long as they do not cross the limit of true questioning. As long as the hegemonic domain is not in decline and in danger of being replaced by something else.

Now let’s look at those counterexamples of hegemonic power and its stewards. “Why don’t you go to Cuba where people do not have freedom of expression, where plurality of political parties does not exist?”

To begin, it would be necessary to point out that all political systems are exclusive. In Cuba, liberal parties are not allowed to participate in their elections, which are called a farce by liberal democracies. In countries with liberal democratic systems, such as the United States, elections are basically elections of a single party called Democratic-Republican. There is no possibility that a third party can seriously challenge the Single Party because this is the party of the corporations, which are the elite that have the real power in the country. Communist parties here were prohibited and now, after FBI and CIA persecution of suspected sympathizers, it has been reduced to a virtual inexistence. On the other hand, if, for example, in a country like Chile a Marxist like the current president Gabriel Boric wins the elections, no one would even think of imagining that this president is going to leave the constitutional framework, which prohibits the establishment of a communist system in the country. The same thing happens in Cuba, but it must be said that it is not the same.

Now, let’s return to the logic of freedom of expression in different systems of global power. To summarize it, I think it is necessary to say that freedom of expression is a luxury that, historically, those colonies or republics that struggled to become independent from the freedom of empires (the “free race”) have not been able to afford. It would be enough to remember of dozens of examples like the Guatemalan democracy, destroyed by the Great Democracy of the United States in 1954 because its democratically elected government decided to apply the sovereign laws of its own country, which did not suit the megacorporation United Fruit Company. The Great Democracy did not hesitate to install another brutal military dictatorship, which left hundreds of thousands of dead over decades.

What was the main problem of Guatemalan democracy in the 1950s? It was his freedom of the press, his freedom of expression. Through this, the Northern Empire and the UFCo managed to manipulate public opinion in that country through a propaganda campaign deliberately planned and recognized by its own perpetuators―not by its Creole butlers, it goes without saying.

What was the main problem of Guatemalan democracy in the 1950s? It was his freedom of the press, his freedom of expression.

When this happens, the young Argentine doctor Ernesto Guevara was in Guatemala and had to flee into exile in Mexico, where he met other exiles, the Cubans Fidel and Raúl Castro. When the Cuban Revolution triumphed, Ernesto Guevara, by then El Che, summed it up remarkably: “Cuba will not be another Guatemala.” What did he mean by this? Cuba will not allow itself to be inoculated like Guatemala through the “free press.” History proved him right: When in 1961 Washington invaded Cuba based on the CIA plan that assured that “Cuba will be another Guatemala,” it failed miserably. Because? Because its population did not join the “liberating invasion,” since it could not be inoculated by the massive propaganda that the “free press” allows. Kennedy found out and reproached the CIA, which he threatened to dissolve and ended up dissolving.

Freedom of expression is typical of those systems that cannot be threatened by freedom of expression, but quite the opposite: when popular opinion has been crystallized, by tradition or by mass propaganda, the opinion of the majority is the best form of legitimation. Which is why these systems, always dominant, always imperial, do not allow their colonies the same rights that they grant to their citizens.

When the United States was in its infancy and fighting for its survival, its government did not hesitate to approve a law that prohibited any criticism of the government under the excuse of propagating false ideas and information―seven years after approving the famous First Amendment. Naturally, that law of 1798 was called The Sedition Act, which made it a crime to “print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the government.

These resources of the champion of freedom of expression were repeated other times throughout their history, always when the decisions and interests of a government dominated by the big corporations in power felt its interests were seriously threatened. This was the case of another law also called the Sedition Act, that of 1918, when there was popular resistance against the propaganda organized by public opinion manipulators like Edward Bernays and George Creel (“the white hot mass of patriotism”) in favor of intervening in the First World War―and thus ensuring the collection of European debts.

Until a few years before, the harsh anti-imperialist criticisms of writers and activists like Mark Twain were demonized, but there was no need to tarnish the reputation of a free society by putting a renowned intellectual in jail, as they had done in 1846 with David Thoreau for his criticism to the aggression and dispossession of Mexico to expand slavery, under the perfect excuse of not paying taxes. Neither Twain nor the majority of public critics managed to change any policy or reverse any imperialist aggression in the West, as they were read by a minority outside of economic and financial power. In that aspect, modern propaganda had no competition, therefore direct censorship of these critics would have hindered their efforts to sell aggression in the name of freedom and democracy. On the contrary, critics served to support that idea, whereby the largest and most brutal empires of the Modern Era were proud democracies, not discredited dictatorships.

Only when public opinion was too hesitant, as during the Cold War, did McCarthyism emerge with its direct persecutions and later the (indirect) assassination of civil rights leaders, violent repression with arrested and deaths in universities when criticism against the Vietnam War threatened to translate into effective political change―in fact, the Congress of the 1970s was the most progressive in history, making possible the investigation of the Pike and Church Committee against the CIA’s secret regime of propaganda and assassinations. When three decades later the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq occurred, the criticism and public demonstrations had become timid, but the new magnitude of imperial aggression after 2001 made it necessary to take new legal measures, as in 1798.

History rhymed again in 2003. Instead of the Sedition Act it was called the Patriot Act, and it not only established direct censorship but something much worse: the indirect and often invisible censorship of self-censorship. More recently, when criticism of racism, patriotic history and too many rights for sexual minorities began to expand beyond control, the resort to prohibition by law returned. Case in point with Florida’s latest laws, promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis directly banning revisionist books and regulating language in public schools and universities. The creation of a demon called Woke to replace the loss of the previous demon called Muslims―who replaced Communists, who replaced N-people.

Meanwhile, the butlers, especially the sepoys of the colonies, continue to repeat clichés created generations before: “how come you live in the United States and dare to criticize that country, you should move to Cuba, which is where freedom of expression is not respected.” After their clichés they feel so happy and so patriotic that it is a shame to make them uncomfortable with reality.

On May 5, 2023, the coronation ceremony of King Charles III of England took place. The journalist Julián Assange, imprisoned for more than a decade for the crime of having published a minor part of the atrocities committed by Washington in Iraq, wrote a letter to the new king inviting him to visit the depressing Belmarsh prison in London, where hundreds of prisoners are dying, some of whom were recognized dissidents. Assange was allowed the sacred right of freedom of expression generously granted by the Free World. His letter was published by different Western media, which proves the benefits of the West and the childish contradictions of those who criticize the Free World from the Free World. But Assange continues to serve as an example of lynching. Same, during slavery and segregation a few thousand blacks were lynched in public. The idea was to show an example of what can happen to a truly free society, not to destroy the oppressive order itself by eliminating all slaves, poor, workers, critics, and other inferior people.

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A Prominent Free-Speech Group Is Fighting for Its Life

PEN America has now canceled its annual World Voices festival, after calling off its literary-awards ceremony last week. Can it survive?

A speech bubble as part of a link chain, set against a red background

In 2015, PEN America, the organization devoted to defending free speech, chose to honor the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo at its annual gala. A few months earlier, Islamic extremists had murdered 12 people at the publication’s offices in Paris. The rationale for recognizing the magazine seemed airtight: People had been killed for expressing themselves, and PEN America’s mission is to protect people targeted for what they express. For some writers connected with the organization, however, this reasoning was not so obvious. Six of them boycotted the gala, and 242 signed a letter of protest. In their eyes, Charlie Hebdo ’s editorial staff, including those recently killed, embodied a political perspective that was unworthy of plaudits. The magazine frequently mocked Islam (and, in particular, caricatured the Prophet Muhammad), and this was a form of punching down, insulting a population that, as the letter put it, “is already marginalized, embattled, and victimized.”

PEN America defended itself, the gala went on, and Salman Rushdie, a former president of the group and a writer who knows what it means to have his life endangered because of his art , was given the last word in a New York Times article about the brouhaha: “If PEN as a free speech organization can’t defend and celebrate people who have been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is not worth the name.”

Read: Salman Rushdie strikes back

Rushdie, who helped found PEN America’s World Voices festival two decades ago, had no confusion about what the organization represented. Its role was not to take a position on the place of Islam in France or comment on the French state’s aggressive secularizing policies, which Charlie Hebdo ’s editors had championed through their cartoons. No, PEN America was simply there to protect the right of artists to draw, of writers to write.

The clash over Charlie Hebdo felt, in the moment, like a blip. It was not a blip. The forces that demanded PEN America stand for more—that it fight for issues its members considered to be matters of social justice, as opposed to the squishier but essential liberal ideals of openness and dialogue—have in the past two months managed to bring the organization to its knees. Unsurprisingly, the events of October 7, and all that followed, were the precipitating cause.

This afternoon, PEN America announced that it is canceling its World Voices festival—this year was to be the 20th anniversary of the annual international gathering of writers that Rushdie conceived as a way to encourage cross-cultural conversation and champion embattled artists. A cascade of authors, either out of conviction or under pressure, felt they couldn’t take part. PEN America had already decided last week to cancel its literary awards for the year after nearly half of the nominees withdrew their names from consideration. And its annual gala, a black-tie fundraiser scheduled for the middle of May, also seems hard to imagine right now. The language of the protest, too, has reached new extremes, with the most recent salvo demanding the resignation of PEN America’s CEO, Suzanne Nossel; its president, Jennifer Finney Boylan; and its entire board. Everyone I’ve spoken with there is in a state of high panic and deep sadness.

The existential conflict surrounding PEN America—the letters and counter-letters, withdrawals and statements of principle—captures the enormous rupture on the left since Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on October 7 and Israel’s deadly response in Gaza. Can an organization that sees itself as above politics, that sees itself straightforwardly as a support system for an open society, be allowed to exist anymore? For the protesting writers, this lofty mission represents an unforgivable moral abdication at a moment of crisis. But if they have their way and PEN America doesn’t survive, where will these authors turn when they need defending?

From my own reading of the various letters of protest, the main demand of the now dozens upon dozens of writers protesting PEN America is this: They want the organization to say the word genocide —for PEN America to declare that what Israel is doing in Gaza is a deliberate effort to wipe out the Palestinian people, and act accordingly. From the perspective of the protesting writers, this interpretation of what has transpired since October 7 is both irrefutable and cause for repeating the charge as loudly as possible. “PEN America states that ‘the core’ of its mission is to ‘support the right to disagree,’” reads the most recent open letter . “But among writers of conscience, there is no disagreement. There is fact and fiction. The fact is that Israel is leading a genocide of the Palestinian people.”

Plenty of arguments exist on the side of those who do not see what Israel is doing as genocide—and they are compelling even for people like myself who believe that Israel has acted recklessly and in a way that constitutes collective punishment. But the writers protesting PEN America do not seem interested in a conversation or scrutiny or trying to contend with what Israel’s post–October 7 motives might be. They seem driven instead by an understandably deep emotional response to a devastating death toll and, like the greater pro-Palestinian movement, have decided to use the word genocide as the most resonant way to describe a conflict in which, according to Hamas’s Health Ministry, more than 33,000 Palestinians have now been killed. It has given them a sense of righteousness that is impossible to contain within an organization built on the “right to disagree.”

To follow the volley of letters and responses from PEN America over the past two months is to get a close-up look at the growing irreconcilability of these positions. The first serious sign of protest came in a March 14 letter from a group of writers, including Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, and Lorrie Moore, who declared that they would boycott the World Voices festival this year. Their stated reason was their unhappiness with what they took to be PEN America’s anemic response to the death and destruction in Gaza. They accused the organization of taking too long to call for a cease-fire and then, when it finally did, of demanding that it be “mutually agreed” (a reasonable phrasing given that, according to the U.S. State Department, it is Hamas that has rejected the latest cease-fire proposal). This was not “a clear call,” the writers said. Moreover, why had PEN America, they wanted to know, not joined the movement to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel? Sure, PEN America had put out a number of statements of concern about Palestinian writers and the worsening situation in Gaza (more than 40 statements , actually, since October 7), but where was the “action”?

The letter sought redress; it was not an attempt to burn it all down. And PEN America responded. In a letter that appeared a week later, the organization reasserted its mission without apology: “For some, referencing nuance is moral betrayal. For others, failure to do so is unconscionable. As an organization open to all writers, we see no alternative but to remain home to this diversity of opinions and perspectives, even if, for some, that very openness becomes reason to exit.” The response also included an unambiguous call for “an immediate ceasefire and release of the hostages,” an invitation for open dialogue with the protesters, and a commitment to increase the financial contribution to an emergency fund for Palestinian writers.

An excess of “openness,” the writers insisted in a response , was not their issue with PEN America; rather it was “a series of specific failures to act with urgency and substance in the face of ongoing war crimes, including a failure to use language to name these crimes as such under international humanitarian law.” To uncover what they saw as the bias behind this failure, the writers were calling for “a thorough review and examination of the conduct and performance of PEN America,” on the issue of Israel and Palestine. And they got what they wanted. On April 16, the organization announced to its staff the creation of a working group that would look back at the previous decade of statements on Israel and Palestine, and also make sure there was consistency in PEN America’s public remarks with regards to other conflicts, such as those in Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Sudan.

But things continued to get worse. As PEN America geared up to announce the finalists for its awards, a large group of authors declared that they were taking their books out of contention. In a letter last week, Finney Boylan, a writer who became the organization’s president in December, tried to stanch the bleeding, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza an “abomination” (though not a genocide), arguing for the value of “conversation,” and lamenting that “some authors would rather silence themselves than be associated with an organization that defends free speech and dissent.”

Nothing seemed to convince the growing number of protesters. On April 17, those who had boycotted the awards delivered a letter , one which was then endorsed by the original group of writers protesting the festival. This one had none of the conciliatory tone of the original letter. It accused PEN America of propagating “ahistorical, Zionist propaganda under the guise of neutrality,” of “parroting hasbara talking points,” using the Hebrew word for “explanation” that anti-Israel activists associate with Israeli-government spin. Nossel in particular was singled out as someone who apparently had “longstanding commitments to Zionism, Islamophobia, and imperial wars in the Middle East.” The letter was nasty, absurd in its histrionics, suggesting essentially that PEN America was in cahoots with the Israeli military. PEN America was guilty of no less than “complicity in normalizing genocide.”

The people at PEN America whom I spoke with were left speechless by this letter, but also felt that it confirmed their perceptions of the protesters and their true motives—I understand, for example, why some who read the letter wonder whether the personal animus directed at Nossel is not just because she is the organization’s leader but because she is Jewish. The demand of these writers from the beginning, it now seemed clear, was not about the number of statements PEN America made about Palestinian writers and whether they matched the number made about Ukrainian writers. At question was language. And if PEN America was not willing to use the word genocide , then it existed on the other side of a bright-red line, outside the encampment. The breach was complete. The organization now appears broken in ways that seem impossible to imagine repairing.

When I spoke with Nossel last week, before the news about the canceled awards ceremony and festival, she put a brave face on PEN America’s predicament and insisted that she was staying true to the organization’s mission. Nossel is a former State Department official and was the executive director of Amnesty International USA before joining PEN America as its CEO in 2013. “We see ourselves as guardians of open discourse,” she told me. “We really believe that we have to bring about a moment when these conversations can be had, and that, ultimately, the defeat of dialogue and the turning-away from dialogue is something dangerous for our democracy. We don’t want to just throw up our hands.” The festival, she said, was supposed to exemplify this philosophy. One of the events now canceled was to be a panel on “The Palestinian Exception to Free Speech,” about threats to those who speak up for Palestinian rights. Recent statements put out by PEN America have criticized the banning of Students for Justice in Palestine on college campuses and the decision by the University of Southern California to cancel the valedictory speech of a pro-Palestinian student.

The fundamental misperception at the center of this conflict is that PEN America sees itself as a free-speech organization, while the protesters see it as a channel to express their political views. I’ve read some of the letters addressed to PEN America from writers who decided to opt out of the festival—some after first saying they would participate despite the pressure—and there is a clear pattern: Many seemed worried about failing a political litmus test, that they would be throwing in their lot with the normalizers of genocide if they took part in a panel on translation or memoir writing . One letter from a prominent author who had chosen to withdraw mentioned “ongoing harassment.”

PEN America has grown enormously in the past 10 years, from an organization with a budget of $2 million to one with $24 million, and a staff that went from 14 to nearly 100 in that time. It has worked on a wide range of issues, from cataloging book banning to reporting on writers under assault in Latin America. Some of the people I’ve spoken with who have had leadership positions at PEN America have wondered, though, if an outsize focus on threats to free speech from the right has unwittingly contributed to the politicization and the current confusion about what PEN is supposed to be for. One of these PEN America insiders told me that he thought 90 percent of the issues the organization had been campaigning for could be construed as progressive causes.

The group’s free-speech absolutism may have become muddied in the process. “I would say that in the end, if we can get out of this situation,” this same person told me, “if we can find a way to come back to the preservation of the essential mission, which is to stand for free speech and free expression, and the proliferating nature of those demands and those challenges in a 21st century, and not be so exclusively wedded to our fights on behalf of the left, then I think we will have made a real step forward.”

Note those if s. At the moment, momentum is on the side of the protest, which will claim the cancellation of the festival as a victory. It now seems entirely possible that PEN America may not survive this episode. But I wonder whether these writers really appreciate exactly who will be most hurt if they achieve their goal. How many organizations exist that raise tens of thousands of dollars to support translators and emerging writers? How many festivals bring to the United States creative people from around the world to talk about their art, to debate and discuss the harsh conditions under which they work? How many organizations keep track of imprisoned authors? Does it really make sense to jettison such an entity without first thinking through what its absence would mean, what a world without PEN, without a defense of expression, whatever form it might take, would actually look like?

Or maybe just listen to the voice of a writer like Aatish Taseer, who turned to PEN America at a moment of need. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, offended by a critical article Taseer wrote in Time magazine, canceled Taseer’s overseas Indian citizenship (a special status accorded to Indians living abroad). This left Taseer “completely bereft,” he told me, unable to return to the country and see his family, including his grandmother before she died. He asked PEN America for help. “They pulled every possible lever they could on my behalf to try and bring attention to my case, and to try to bring about a change in my situation,” he said. “I’m sure that PEN has made missteps, but I would rather be able to influence the organization from within than trying to boycott it or shut it down,” he said. Given how much PEN America has done for him, the disappearance of such an organization, in spite of its imperfections, would be a “terrible loss.”

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