Chronology, or past/present/future is one of the most common presentation organizations. It’s the form almost all narratives take. But what if we flipped it a bit?
Most of the ancient philosophers deal with the concept of time in one way or another. St. Augustine is no exception. Taking a cue from Plato, he writes that all we really have is the present moment. In Chapter 11 of Confessions, he says we have a present experience of the past and a present experience of the future. He says our experience of the past is tied to remembrance. Our experience of the present is tied to attention. And our experience of the future is tied to expectation.
What if we were to use Augustine’s concept of time to develop our content with his three experiences (remembrance, attention, and expectation) as goals? Instead of just moving through past, present, and future, could we meet the needs of our audience more fully by expanding on the chronological format?
The Goal of the Past: Remembrance
In this stage of your presentation organization, you’ll want to answer the question, “What do we need to remember?” This could be anything from catching the audience up on a process, to communicating a product or company history, to reminding them why this information is vital to their lives, to identifying problems. The goal here is to reflect on the history that has directly informed and shaped the present. This doesn’t mean you need to go into a ton of detail about remembrance. But there are powerful emotions like shame or nostalgia or anger wrapped up in the past. You might need to address some of these in your presentation so that you clear the way for attention and expectation.
The Goal of the Present: Attention
For the next part of this presentation organization, you need to ask and answer: “What needs our attention?” Identify everything that is pressing, urgent, relevant to the audience right now as it relates to your presentation topic. Give them all the information they need to attend to the problem or topic at hand. It might be helpful here to remember that Augustine’s conclusion about time is that all we really have is right now. So keep coming back to what matters in the present moment for your listeners. How does your content help them live better, more ethical, more efficient, or more enjoyable lives right now?
The Goal of the Future: Expectation
This type of presentation content seeks to answer the question, “What are we expecting?” What does your audience think will happen after the presentation? The expectation goal of the future can take one of two paths: preparation or hope.
To prepare your audience, think about what they’ll encounter in the hours and days to come, and how does the content that you provide them better equip them to face the world? Some speakers use what is called the inoculation effect to protect their listeners against future persuasion. In 1964, William J. McGuire “contended that by exposing individuals to a persuasive message that contains weakened arguments against an established attitude (e.g., a two-sided message, or a message that presents both counterarguments and refutations of those counterarguments), individuals would develop resistance against stronger, future persuasive attacks.” This, in essence, prepares them to continue to believe the message the speaker has laid out.
But expectation can also take on the form of hope. A great speaker knows that his or her message has to extend beyond the present in the form of hope. Hope for better policies and practices and information and relationships. A great presenter can meet the expectations of his or her audience by literally speaking into hope for tomorrow.
This new flip on an old presentation organization can help us not to just move through time, but to move through a set of specific time-related goals instead. We can ask ourselves, “have I developed presentation content that gives my listeners the information they need to remember, attend, and expect?”
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