How to End Your Class with Impact

All too often trainers fail to close their sessions with impact or purpose. Instead, they fill up every last minute with content or “wrap up” by asking the group if they have any questions. To avoid the dreaded uncomfortable pause, reserve the last 10-15 minutes of your session for a powerful ending.

Your course should end just as strongly as it began. Bring it full circle and end with a purpose by including these 4 steps:

1. Allow for Reflection and Action Planning
Make sure the end of your class includes time for reflection. There is a greater chance that your participants will retain more information and actually apply it if they spend time writing about what they have learned and how they will use it. 

Action planning is a self-reflective technique that allows participants to think about and consider their key learnings and what their plan is for using them when back on the job.

2. Celebrate Good Times
Your participants have invested valuable time, energy and other resources into attending your training or presentation. Take the time to celebrate their investments and achievements. Award prizes, hand out certificates or high-five group members – anything that recognizes their hard work during training.

3. Tie Things Together
Circle-back to the objectives to make sure they have been accomplished and incorporate a review. Ask participants to share their most valuable take-aways and if their personal objectives were met. This reinforces relevant skills and knowledge that might not have been familiar by others in the group.

4. Use the Power of Positivity
Make your final remark a strong one. Close with a quote, story or statement that puts participants in a good mood. The end of a class is the opportunity to hand out evaluations and surveys, so you want your participants to be in a positive mood.

The close of a training session is also a great marketing opportunity. If participants walk out of the room feeling as though their time was well spent, they are more likely to refer your training to peers and supervisors.

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