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Past Present and Future
By OnTopic | July 2, 2009
It is so important to give a speech in a way that your audience can follow what you are saying.
The acronym PPF stands for Past, Present and Future tense. A structured speech sounds much better than a lot of words in one sentance.
You might be asked what you think will happen in the future. By just giving a answer will confuse your listeners. Your audience will wonder how you can make such a projection without any background explanation.
This great tool helps you to make a more accurate future projection. This technique makes it easy for your audience to follow, and the love it.
When constructing your speech you should start with the Past. This will give your speech a good foundation to state facts, statistics and examples of past events. It is a great opportunity to build momentum in your speech by from 15 years ago; 10 years ago and 5 years ago.
The Present tense is anything that is currently happening i.e. seen in the media. Recent times is another meaning for Present. Depending on the time frame you covered on the past (above), the present can even be a year ago if for example the past was 20 years ago.
Future tense is where you can draw your own conclusions with predictions. Use the words such as “by looking at the past and present, I predict or I think…. ” It can also serve as a great tool to persuade your audience to act now to prevent future disasters.
This technique is great for managers and business leaders that have to give presentation on where the company is heading. It is also great for politicians who have to address the media in a very short time and have to give an impromptu speech.
You can clearly see how this Past, Present and future tense technique can give your speech a structure.
The art of public speaking is a skill that can be taught.
Compiled by Trevor Ambrose
Public Speaking Coaches
Remember to Talk Sense, Talk with confidence.
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