A world champion public speaker reveals the best way to end any presentation

Courtesy of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi, the 2014 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking.

If you don't consider yourself a world-class public speaker, you probably run into some trouble figuring out how to end your presentation, whether it's a PowerPoint in front of your colleagues or a toast at your friend's wedding.

Thankfully, Business Insider had a chance to talk to someone who is actually a public speaking world champion: the 2014 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi.

He told us that most amateurs, and even some seasoned speakers, leave a lot of potential for impact on the table.

"A lot of speakers, what they do is they end their speech in a low, when they plateau out," he said. "But really great speakers, they end it on a high."

"As soon as you're peaking, you've got to stop. Have a cold stop to your speech and people remember that, because you leave them wanting more"

In his championship-winning speech, "I See Something," Hettiarachchi wrapped up his nearly 8-minute speech by getting to its emotional heart and then smoothly transitioning into an unexpected but appropriate joke that got a big laugh from the audience. Boom - cold stop. Cue the applause. You can watch it below.