The Closer
Take your event to the next level with a world-class closing keynote.
You don’t have to choose between “inspirational” and “insightful”, “energetic” and “educational”, or “practical” and “provocative”.
You can choose the closing keynote that offers it all.
You can choose a “locknote” from Dom Thurbon - The Closer.
“What Dom does in his closing keynote is like magic, and for us it was no different. He delivered the perfect closing session for our 2-day event, and our attendees had wonderful things to say. He left people energized and inspired.”
Watch as Dom talks you through the perfect conference closing.
“I’ve spoken in over 40 countries at over 1000 conferences and just saw Dom. He did the most outstanding summary I’ve ever seen. Not “really good”, “outstanding”. The work he put in was phenomenal. I’ve never seen anyone do it as well. Amazing.”
The art and science of the perfect close
“…the best closing keynote I’ve ever seen”
Delegate feedback on “The Closer”
Event planners spend loads of time planning the opening of their conference… but the closing matters, too... In fact, it matters heaps!
There is an established social science phenomenon called the ‘peak-end effect’. It shows that when people rate an experience (like your event), the two things most important to their rating are the ‘peak’ (the most emotionally intense bit) and the ‘end’ (the last bit).[1]
This finding has been repeated in many cool ways. In restaurants, we tend to judge a meal by the best dish and dessert. In health, we tend to judge medical procedures by the most painful bit and the last bit, and … yup… even in events, researchers found that ‘end of conference [experiences] had the strongest effect on loyalty’.[2]
That’s why the closing keynote is so critical: it’s one of the most important determinants of what people think of your event!
I call the closing keynote a ‘locknote’. A key opens a door and a lock closes it; a keynote opens an event, the locknote closes it.
There are three things a world-class locknote needs to do:
Summarise. Operationalise. Energise.
1. SUMMARISE: Artfully capture and bring together the core themes of the event in an engaging, humorous and insightful way. Events have so many threads, and we must bring them together for people to give them the ‘a-ha’ moment.
2. OPERATIONALISE: Help people make sense of and apply what they’ve heard. The value of a conference is in the behaviour change that comes after it. Events have real impact when people take forward what they’ve heard, seen and learned. We must help people apply what they’ve heard to their lives and make plans to use it (even if just in their head).
3. ENERGISE: Have people sprint, not stumble, from the room by energising and uplifting them. Events are mentally taxing for delegates. Ironically, the better and more packed the event, the more cognitively demanding it is. The locknote needs to provoke, entertain and inspire so the event ends on a tone that excites people.
[1] Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Kahneman, Daniel (1993). "Duration neglect in retrospective evaluations of affective episodes". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 65 (1): 45–55.
[2] Godovykh, Maksim & Hahm, Jeeyeon. (2020). Does the sequence of presentations matter for academic conferences? An application of the peak-end rule in event management. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism. 21. 1-24.
“…a brilliant and generous summation of the day”
Delegate feedback on “The Closer”
“…an awesome way to end the day”
Delegate feedback on “The Closer”
“A perfect closing keynote by Dominic Thurbon”
Delegate feedback on “The Closer”
FAQs
How do you ‘summarise’ the event?
I do three things that make this different from any closing keynote you’ve ever seen.
Firstly, I take a detailed briefing and review all the conference materials prior to the event, to understand the theme, objectives, subject matter, and who is speaking/what they’re talking about.
Secondly (with permission), I review the slides and materials of all speakers to integrate parts of what they’re saying into my wrap-up presentation. I also conduct further research into the industry and themes to ensure I’m conversant.
Thirdly, I attend the entire event (rather than just show up for my speech). In reality, this can be for as much or as little as you’d like or budget allows, but ideally it’s everything. I then adapt slides in real-time during the event to insert learnings, themes, quotes, and images from the event.
The locknote doesn’t just feel like it ties the event together, it actually does tie the event together!
…Actually, delegates have frequently reflected to me that it feels to them like what I do here is ‘like a sort of magic’. I’m fortunate to have spent a number of years as a world top-10 debater, and so the truth is I’ve just had an enormous amount of practice and training at listening closely to what people are saying, organising it into themes, pulling out the most salient details and playing it back in real-time in a way that is engaging and instructive. …so no magic, unfortunately, just lots of experience and practice!
How long should it be?
My suggestion is 50-60 minutes. But as always it can be adapted to fit your agenda.
What do you need?
A place to plug-in a laptop and a lapel mic. And minds for blowing, of course 😊
It is also extremely helpful to have a short break in the agenda before the final session (my one) to be able to work with A/V to integrate content from the session immediately prior. It’s not essential, but it can help.
Does that mean you don’t send slides in advance?
Correct. If I’m going to summarise an event, I need to be able to adapt content on the day. So, no slides in advance.