In the first place the speaker runs the risk of appearing at least discourteous, if not actually rude, to his audience.  To fling his material at them, then to leave it so, would impress men and women much as the brusque exit from a group of people in a room would or the slamming of a door of an office.

In the second place the speaker runs the graver risk of not making clear and emphatic the purpose of his speech.  He may have been quite plain and effective during the course of his explanation or argument but an audience hears a speech only once.  Can he trust to their recollection of what he has tried to impress upon them?  Will they carry away exactly what he wants them to retain?  Has he made the main topics, the chief aim, stand out prominently enough?  Can he merely stop speaking?  These are quite important aspects of a grave responsibility.

In the third place—­though this may be considered less important than the preceding—­the speaker gives the impression that he has not actually “finished” his speech.  No one cares for unfinished articles, whether they be dishes of food, pieces of furniture, poems, or speeches.  Without unduly stressing the fact that a speech is a carefully organized and constructed product, it may be stated that it is always a profitable effort to try to round off your remarks.  A good conclusion gives an impression of completeness, of an effective product.  Audiences are delicately susceptible to these impressions.

Twenty-two centuries ago Aristotle, in criticizing Greek oratory, declared that the first purpose of the conclusion was to conciliate the audience in favor of the speaker.  As human nature has not changed much in the ages since, the statement still holds true.

Speakers, then, should provide conclusions for all their speeches.

Although the entire matter of planning the speech belongs to a later chapter some facts concerning it as they relate to the conclusion must be set down here.

Relation of the Conclusion to the Speech.  The conclusion should reflect the purpose of the speech.  It should enforce the reason for the delivery of the speech.  As it emphasizes the purpose of the speech it should be in the speaker’s mind before he begins to plan the development of his remarks.  It should be kept constantly in his mind as he delivers his material.  A train from Chicago bound for New York is not allowed to turn off on all the switches it meets in its journey.  A speaker who wants to secure from a jury a verdict for damages from a traction company does not discuss presidential candidates.  He works towards his conclusion.  A legislator who wants votes to pass a bill makes his conclusion and his speech conform to that purpose.  In all likelihood, his conclusion plainly asks for the votes he has been proving that his fellow legislators should cast.  A school principal pleading with boys to stop gambling knows that his conclusion is going to be a call for a showing of hands to pledge support