How your speech begins and ends can make or break its success. Your introduction is your chance to grab your audience’s attention, and your conclusion has the final impact on how your audience responds to your overall message.

During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Barack Obama faced increasing scrutiny of his past association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. A controversial church leader, Wright was accused of making inflammatory statements in his sermons about U.S. race relations. Candidate Obama set out to dispel the criticism of his association with Reverend Wright. But he also wanted to address the larger question of U.S. race relations brought up by the controversy. Recognizing that a formal presentation would give him the opportunity and exposure to do both, he made a televised speech from Philadelphia titled “A More Perfect Union.” Obama began by quoting the U.S. Constitution to remind his fellow Americans of the common history and goals for the nation they all share:

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“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.³

³ Excerpt from “A More Perfect Union” (March 18, 2008). Retrieved from constitutioncenter.org/amoreperfectunion.

He then discussed the complex history of racial tension and inequities in the United States, and argued that Americans must first acknowledge the anger and resentment that people of different races feel before trying to confront today’s social problems. Only through such open dialogue, Obama concluded, can we move toward the more perfect union envisioned by the framers of the Constitution.

By starting his speech with the familiar language of the U.S. Constitution, Obama created a sense of community among his listeners and hinted at the thesis of his speech. In his conclusion, Obama returned to the idea of “a more perfect union”—thus reminding listeners of his speech’s theme. Let’s look at how you can create equally strong and memorable introductions and conclusions for your speeches.