234 ChaPTEr 11 stUdY GUide
study Guide: review and apply
Meet Your Objectives
11.1 Explain the functions of a speech conclusion.
Your speech’s conclusion leaves the final impression of you in your listeners’
minds. The two main purposes of the conclusion are to summarize your speech
and to provide closure. Your summary should rephrase your central idea in a
way that your audience will remember, and it should repeat your main ideas
to fix them in the minds of your listeners. Verbal and nonverbal cues that the
speech is ending will help to provide your audience with closure. You can also
use the conclusion as an opportunity to suggest an action to your audience to
motivate listeners to respond in some way to your message.
Key term
Closure11.2 list and discuss methods for concluding a speech.
Conclusions may take any one of the forms used for introductions. In addition,
you can refer to the introduction or make inspirational appeals or challenges.Think about This Question
Knowing that you have recently visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, your
American history professor asks you to make a brief presentation to the class
about the Wall: its history; its symbolic meaning; and its impact on the families,
comrades, and friends of those memorialized there. Write both an introduction
and a conclusion for this speech.