One question that I am frequently asked by my newsletter subscribers is whether you can use the present tense instead of the future tense in Spanish. Well, the answer is “yes.” In this lesson, I will explain this topic in detail. By the way, the use of the present tense instead of the future tense isn’t limited to statements. Native Spanish speakers often use the present tense in questions where English speakers would use the future tense.

Here’s an example that just happened to me minutes ago. I was on the phone speaking to a friend when I told him that I had to go because I was busy writing an important email to my customers and readers. And he asked “me llamas luego?” (You call me later?)

But in English, we would ask “WILL you call me later?”

My Puerto Rican and Dominican friends back in New York would have asked “me llamas pa’ tras?” (You call me back?)

Colombians consider “me llamas pa’ tras?” more like “Spanglish” than Spanish. So in Colombia ask “me llamas luego?” And here’s another use of the present tense by a native Spanish speaker instead of the future tense. Yesterday, I saw a “joven” or “adolescente” (teenager) flirting with some “muchachas” about his age that were in a car. And he asked the driver “me llevas contigo?”

Literally, “you take me with you?” Notice that he did NOT ask “me llavarás contigo?” (Will you take me with you?)

To me it is very strange noticing this because in New York sometimes my Spanish speaking friends that were not native English speakers would say in English phrases such as “I call you” or ask “You call me?” instead of “I will call you,” or “Will you call me?”

I didn’t think much of it at the time. I just assumed that he or she didn’t speak English well. And I understood what he or she was saying and that was the only thing that really mattered. Or was that really the only thing that mattered?

Well, if you don’t speak Spanish the same way that native Spanish speakers do, and if you don’t use the present tense when they would use the present (instead of the future tense), they too will assume that you don’t speak Spanish well. Of course, they will still understand you.

So it all depends on whether your goal is to just to be able to make yourself understood in Spanish or if your goal it to be able to speak Spanish “like a native.”

Now I am not saying that native Spanish speakers never use the future tense. I am just saying that they have a tendency to use the present tense where English speakers would use the future tense.

But before I end this article, I just want to share with you my favorite phrase where my “novia” uses the present tense instead of the future tense:

Me llevas al cielo? (You take me to the sky?)

A better way to translate “me llevas al cielo?” is “will you take me to ecstasy?”

By the way, how I end my emails with “nos vemos” which literally means “we see each other” as opposed to “we WILL see each other” is another example of how native Spanish speakers would use the present tense where native English speakers would use the future tense.

If you will be presenting something in front of a live audience, you need to have the necessary skills in order for you to deliver what you want to say effectively. If your last presentation didn’t really come out as planned, you might need to improve your presentation skills in order to get it right the next time.

First of all, the work starts out way before you are in front of your audience. The work starts in the planning of your presentation. The first thing you need to consider is find out who you will be speaking to. You need this information in order to really prepare on how you should deliver your presentation.

In the actual presentation, you only have fifteen to thirty seconds to make a first impression to your audience. In this first fifteen seconds, you would want to grab your audience’s attention. This is why your opening line is also one of the most important factors in making a presentation. One of the best ways in making an opening line is to perk your audiences up with a humorous line.

The next thing is answer your audience’s “why should I care?” and “what’s in it for me?” questions. What this means is that you should give them a reason to listen to your presentation. These two questions, even though unspoken, are what everyone in your audience is asking. If you can answer these questions, you can now move on to your presentation.

So, now that you have their attention and answered the two unspoken questions of your audiences, you now have to think of a way to open the main topic. Start it out by quoting someone, or start it with a joke. With this introduction it will really carry you and your presentation very far.

The most important aspect of your presentation is the audience. If you don’t catch their attention, your presentation may and will be a failure. So, before you start your presentation, you should first know your audience.

With this knowledge, you can write about the different ways to catch their attention. Make them feel at ease while you are making a presentation. Consider adding a little humor to your presentation. Nothing makes a presentation dull and boring faster by being uptight. Loosen up a bit and make your audience comfortable listening to you.

These are some of the things you should remember when making a presentation. You can also tape your presentation and watch yourself. By doing this, you can watch your own presentation and ask yourself if the man speaking in your TV is entertaining you or not. With this, you can improve your skills in presentation.

Always remember that having the right introduction, the right attitude and also the right material are the most important aspects on making a good presentation.

Making a presentation is all about your people skills. If you have good people skills, you will surely make a good first impression to the audience. If you don’t, you can always improve your skills more.

Always keep in mind that boredom is the killer of all presentations. Depending on the news you will present your audiences with, you should always keep their attention on you. Make the audience want to hear your presentation.

A gift always brings smiles on the recipients face when you inscribe his/her name on it. It signifies that you have selected a gift with effort keeping his/her taste into account. This reveals your caring nature. On this Christmas the best way to make a person feel elevated is presenting a personalized gift. Fascinating and wonderful Christmas gift items and opulent in unique features can easily be grabbed by considering the personalized Christmas gifts.

Personalized Christmas gifts are a collection of majestic gifts that comes with the option of personalization. Personalization makes the gift dignified and also attractive. You can engrave the recipients name, a significant date or as per given provision. Most gifts such as personalized football calendar are available with the proviso to select your favorite football clubs name and the month. The calendar is really magnificent as it features newspaper headlines for the day and the year of choice.

A nice-looking gift is available with personalized Christmas gifts. You can pick gifts for all ages and considering the interest of the recipient. Replica Gold Disc sets as a good epitome. This splendid gift is presented in a quality brushed aluminum frame with a selection of mount colors. In this particular gift you can provide the details: title and artist, message for plaque, frame option- gold or silver brushed aluminum, mount options- black-blue-red-burgundy. The other collection that is much popular on this festive season is: Football Newspaper Book, Coin watch, Personalized Quotation Mug, Jigsaw Puzzle, Diana Princess of Wales, 200 years Sea Battles Times, Personalized Calendars, Personalized Gift Boxes etc.

Christmas personalized gifts are also considered to commemorate a special occasion or confer reverence to a person. The personalization provision is available with limited option. Thus, with the personalized Christmas gifts you can treat your loved ones in a unique way on this Christmas season.

It’s important that on the day you are speaking you arrive at the venue early, before the audience, and check the room. Even the best laid plans can go wrong. You may have done your homework, found out as much as you can about the venue and there is a last minute change that no-one told you about. It’s better to find out half an hour before you speak than a few minutes before.

Check everything again

Check that everything you have already been told, is correct. If there is a change, don’t insist on changing it again, unless it is vital to the success of your presentation. Sometimes your contact in the organisation is not responsible for the final setup. Adjust to the change as much as you can then just get on with it.

Check the equipment

Even if you checked your laptop and projector before you left home, set them up and check them again. Make sure you have enough adapters and cables and that they are not lying about where someone can trip over them. Don’t assume you will be provided with pens for flipcharts and whiteboards – take spares. Have a run though with the microphone, if you are using one, check the sound, adjust the height.

Check the temperature

If you are too cold or too warm, the chances are the audience will be too and this is a distraction. Ask to have the temperature adjusted before the meeting begins.

Check the lighting

You don’t want to be plunged into darkness during your speech when someone tries to be helpful and adjusts the dimmer switch only to turn the lights off by mistake.

Walk around the room

Sit in a seat in different parts of the room. Look at what the audience can see so you know where to position yourself on the stage. There may be tall pillars, plants or other obstructions in their line of vision. Make sure everyone will be able to see and hear you.

Walk around the speaking area

If you can’t visit the venue for an advance trial run, this is the next best thing. Familiarise yourself with the stage, get used to being on it, gauge the amount of floor space you have to move around and how much you need. Looking out at the audience area, decide how far you will have to project your voice and how you will make eye contact – don’t forget the back and the front of the room. Are there are any dips in the flooring or places where you can catch your foot? Are there any cables you will need to avoid? Are there any lights shining into your eyes?

Your speaking environment is important to your overall presentation. When you speak, you need to concentrate on getting your message across to the audience, not on external irritations.

Once you have gathered as much information as you can before the event and checked the room as best you can on the day you will be more relaxed and able to mingle with the audience, knowing that the stage is set for a successful presentation.

Have you ever noticed the best client meetings are those where you let the client lead and you don’t say much but listen and ask more questions? You don’t multitask; you don’t try to think ahead; you don’t pass judgement; you are simply present. There is huge success in presence. Giving people your undivided attention motivates them to work with you. By being fully present with them you are showing them the love that they crave.

One of my favorite coaching clients was a modest man who sold insurance but had never experienced even a six-figure income. Dale had a heart for people. He had the drive to achieve and he was diligent in his study of financial planning strategies, insurance solutions and selling techniques. He had the makings of a top adviser.

What he lacked was the ability to shut out the personal demons that barraged him constantly with “You’ll never be a success. You came from a poor family. You’ll always be poor. You can’t handle success.”

During a personal interview he told me that while he aspired to accomplish more he felt inferior to others in his industry. He worried a great deal over his financial future.

What Dale lacked was the ability to shut off the voices from the past and the future and listen only to the voice that empowered him to be in the present moment. When he discovered how to shut off the dis-empowering thoughts in his head and focus intensely on the moment his sales sky-rocketed.

Shutting off negative voices when life storms are raging is not an easy task but after a few coaching sessions Dale recognized he had to take control of his thoughts if he was to achieve his income potential. You can use the same techniques to put yourself in a present state of being. When you learn these simple techniques you will find your meetings to be far more enriching for both you and your customer. Listed below are three of the ten techniques Dale learned through coaching sessions.

1. Start by relaxing your entire body. Being fully present involves your body, emotions and mind. Visualize a great client meeting. As you do, move your energy through your entire body from your head to your feet. The way to do this exercise is to focus on each part of your body starting with your head and moving downward to your feet. Visualize a stream of liquid energy coursing through your body until you feel completely relaxed.
2. Take five minutes to do some slow deep breathing. Breathing helps oxygenate your brain and relaxes your body. It expands your internal sense of self so you can feel the sensation of being high on life energy.
3. Be yourself and let go of perfectionism. Nothing attracts people like authenticity. Be real. Give up the idea that you have to be perfect or say things perfectly in order to be effective. Effectiveness is not about your performance. It is about helping your customer get what they truly want.

While all languages have their positive attributes, be it structure, rhythm, sound or lexis, English has one of the most unique tenses. It is one that we tend to forget all about when we are writing. In some manner it does exist in some other languages, but not to the extent that it can be used in English.

What is it? It is the present perfect. More correctly it should be called an aspect rather than a tense, but I won’t quibble about its grammatical name. In my view it should be renamed the experience tense, the tense of the living or even the tense that can affect now. These descriptions are much more accurate and informative in my mind.

When teaching learners of English, it is the one structure that needs to be taught as a concept. A way of thinking. With other tenses such as the past simple, present continuous or future simple, time is of the essence and is therefore not a concept but an event that is defined by a clock or calendar.

I will take three examples of the present perfect to demonstrate its remarkable properties.

Example 1. Have you ever been to Spain?
Example 2. I’ve written three books.
Example 3. Oh dear! I’ve lost my keys!

Although there are other uses, these three examples demonstrate the three main functions.

In the first example, the question is searching for an experience that someone has had. If the answer is yes, the questioner can then proceed to use the other person’s experience. Perhaps by asking if Spain is hot. When the best time to travel is. What the food is like. I’ve eaten ants, have you? In this example it expresses an experience again and looks to promote a discourse from that basis.

The second example is not really about books. It is saying that the person is in fact not dead. With the present perfect, the ability to add to a list of achievements indicates that the person, or object, is alive. Contrast these two sentences. 1. Dan Brown has written many books. 2. Shakespeare wrote many plays. We now know who can add to their achievements and who is alive and who is dead.

Lastly, the effect on now example. Although the action of losing the keys is definitely in the past, it has a present effect. Such as, I can’t open the door now. Or I can’t start my car now. I’ve eaten too many slices of cake would indicate that the person now feels quite ill after they ate too much cake.

In combination with adverbs and prepositions such as yet, already, for, since, ever, never and just the present perfect can be used to describe a multitude of situations in absolute minute detail. One last use worth mentioning is that of currency. The media are the ultimate artists in this use. Imagine this headline. The economy has gone into total meltdown. Think about this phrase. When did it happen? Today or months ago. It doesn’t matter. It sounds like it happened just a few minutes ago doesn’t it?

Why are these best Christmas presents in Electronics HOT? They’re bestsellers – items many people want for themselves or want to give as gifts.

Why are they the BEST? They’re high-quality, highly rated items in either Consumer Reports top products issue or Amazon customer reviews.

Ideas For Christmas Gifts For The Athlete/Fitness Fanatic

Two items show up consistently in Amazon bestsellers lists and are also highly rated:

Sandisk Sansa MP3 Player
A true bargain item, the Sandisk Sansa Clip is an easy-to-use music memory stick that also serves as an FM radio and an excellent voice recorder. This tiny player is ideal for the fitness fanatic and the music lover. It sells for less than $50.

Garmin 305 Forerunner Sports Watch
The Garmin 305 Forerunner is a state-of-the-art sports watch. Yup, it is small enough to fit on your wrist. Its main function is to capture and track key performance measurements – heart rate, lap times, distance traveled, calories burned, elevation, etc. It’s also a GPS with basic navigation functions like mapping and routing.

Ideas For Christmas Gifts For The Student Or Business Person
Unless you’re into new specialized (and expensive) gadgets like a netbook or an iPad, a standard but high-performing laptop is a best buy. Consider a Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4036 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop, an Amazon bestseller.

Toshiba service reliability is rated high in Consumer Reports. This is confirmed by the author who is using her fourth Toshiba Satellite. Toshiba quality has never wavered – one laptop lasted more than 5 years until the screen dimmed for the last time.

Small improvements make a big difference to the total professionalism of your presentation. Think of these teeny, tiny touches as your chance to go from Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia, to Pierce Brosnan in James Bond.

By now you know the top five golden rules for effective presenting. A quick recap:

1. Don’t start with your proposition. Position the problem before you sell your solution.
2. Use pauses, which provide punch for your points.
3. Stories trump statistics when illustrating important ideas.
4. Dead voice = dead audience. Vocal variety keeps them with you.
5. Shorter is better than longer. Make an effort to keep you talk tightly structured and succinct.

Got ‘em? Good. Now let’s go a step further.

Try out these pointers if you’re a painstaking perfectionist with an eye for improvement:

1. You needn’t suffer from premature enunciation

Next time you’re in a boardroom scenario, watch and see how often this happens: A speaker is called to the front of the room to present. They deliver their first words (usually something like, ‘Okay, um, hi everyone… ‘), while still rounding the table and looking at their own shoes.

You can do better, and it’s simple. Round the table and come to a stop. Take a second to make eye-contact around the room and connect. Smile. Then begin.

2. Peripheral points dilute the juice!

Strong speakers develop one clear point. The more ‘and-that-reminds-me’ moments you include, the more you dilute your juice! Give it to them pure, proof, perfectly undiluted by other thoughts.

3. Be the light!… Don’t walk through it

It’s one of the most common errors in corporate presenting. Don’t walk through the projector’s light. Most professional speakers do not set up their projector in the middle of the room. They set it off to the side, so that they are the show, and the slides are merely visual support.

You may even want to consider whether the slides are adding any value at all.

4. Be Cautious of killer crutch-words

Some favourites include: ‘Like’, ‘Um’, ‘Ahhh, ‘Actually’, ‘In fact’, and ‘you know’. Use them often enough, and, like, the people listening will, you know, start to actually count them… You know? Your effectiveness will be diminished.

5. Don’t finish with a fizzle

End with a thought-provoking quote. End with a clear set of instructions. End with an inspiring story, or a moment of over-the-top performance. But don’t end with, “Okay, thanks, I guess that’s about it… ” Polished presenters don’t think of a conclusion as ‘merely running out of points.’

A conclusion is a structured and strategic part of the whole, to be created with thought and delivered with panache. Arguably the best way to conclude is with a quick summary of your main points and then a clear set of instructions for your audience as to what they should do next. Naturally, there are more artful options, but this is solidly effective. The most important thing is that you actually bother to design a conclusion, whichever option you choose.

Sometimes, a smattering of polish is all it takes to set the professional apart from the fumbler. Think of it this way: it’s a teeny, tiny bit of effort for a lot of applause!

If you want to spice up your married life and keep the love flame burning, then present sexy gifts to your gifts. It can be a sexy dress, a gracious act or something that will make your wife feel beautiful and comfortable in her own body. You need to be very caring while buying a sexy gift for your wife. Don’t upset your wife by presenting something raunchy and vulgar because these gifts will embarrass your lady rather than pleasing them. So be creative and consider your wife’s personal tastes and interests while buying gifts for her. Read this article to know what kind of sexy gifts you can present to your wife.

Buy some sexy lingerie for your wife that best suits her body-type and make her feel beautiful. You can buy a sexy baby doll nightie or a silk chemise if you want something more elegant and gracious. For a sexier gift, you can present her a pair of beauty panties, bustiers or silk robes.

You can also present her your special bath box which contains bath oils, body butters, scented candles and perfumes to create a very sexy and romantic mood when used.

Women love beautiful in heels. So present your wife a pair of sexy stilettos or knee high boots from her favorite designer. Take her to a fashion store and gift those sexy boots as you are getting ready to go out. While shopping, ensure you have a good sense of your wife’s personal interests. You can also seek an advice from your female friend, sister or concerned sales person.

You can gift your wife a member to a local yoga or pilates centre. Because these kinds of exercise routines will keep her body in tone and make her look sexier.

Gift your wife a spa day treat where he can enjoy the works like a manicure, pedicure, facial and massage and take her for a romantic candle light dinner. After the treat, she will feel very refreshed and appreciate all your efforts to make her feel special and arranging such a romantic night.

If your wife loves dancing, then present her an instructional DVD or book for her favorite dance form and she will lover the idea of having some sexy skills. You can also gift your wife a sexy costume and praise her efforts when she had learned a particular dance step.

You can add more spice to your married life by presenting your wife an album of sexy movies like “Out of Sight”, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, “His Girl Friday”, “Body Heat” etc. Now enjoy watching these sexy movies with your wife in your bedroom. You can include a glass of wine and lit some scented candles to make the environment more romantic.

When I was younger I used to listen to the music stations on the radio a lot. I had my favourite DJs, the ones who seemed to play the kind of music that I liked most of the time. Now I prefer talk stations and that got me wondering what makes a good presenter as opposed to a good disc jockey.

Surely the main difference is obvious – the disc jockey just spins the discs and in between has to say a few words about the artist or song. Well that is not all. If that is all that they did, they would not last very long on the air. They have to get themselves a personality and the better ones keep a lot more up to date about current affairs than the bad ones do. That is certainly true on the national stations though probably not so much on the local more specialised stations.

The presenters have a totally different role to play and here are a few areas of expertise that I like.

Good voice for radio

I have often been told that I have a good face for radio but a presenter needs a good voice. It must be one that the listeners can listen to for a long time without getting bored. I have heard some that are monotone and they send me to sleep.

If it is a phone in type program it should be a voice that people trust as they are often coming on for advice or to get something off their chest. They are not going to pick up the phone and pour out their hearts unless that trust is present.

The ability to argue both sides

The presenter has to stimulate the listeners. If an interviewee has a particular point of view the presenter should challenge that and then take the opposite side for another guest. If things are a bit slow to get going I like it when they put forward a controversial point of view which they know will attract a lot of callers.

The ability to think quickly

Talk radio is normally live and it is amazing what can happen during a live program. A caller may start using profanities which the presenter will need to deal with. A caller may be on a poor line or the line may even drop altogether. All these situations have to be dealt with.

All in all I do like it more when things do not go smoothly. I like it when there is a bit of argument and controversy. It is good to listen to a good presenter handling these situations with a bit of wit and good humour.