The Callback

The callback is a very effective speechwriting technique that adds a natural exclamation mark to the end of your talk.

Watch the beginning of Errol Leandre’s One Rotten Apple speech. He sets up the rotten apple motif and then he leaves it behind. By the time he finishes telling his two dramatic stories, we’ve forgotten all about rotten apples.

But then, at the very end, he comes back to the rotten apple theme.

That’s the callback.

After only 6 minutes of distraction, that rotten apple is still waiting for us at the back of our short-term memory.

Surprise! The speech is about one rotten apple after all.

—Oh yeah, I remember that apple!

We feel the whole speech pop together like a boxed present with a bow on it.

Too many speakers start at point A and then they wander off and never get back to addressing what they started with.

Though it’s one way among many to craft a speech, callbacks offer a great way to make your audience feel that you’ve landed your point and your speech.