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January 22, 2009 by Jerry
Lesson One in Screenwriting 101 is Show Don’t Tell. In a well-made film, the story advances by action; in a lesser film, the story advances by exposition, the characters describe the action; in an inferior film, the story advances by an unseen narrator. The latter technique is drawn from books where, because of the absence of visual images, the unseen author must describe the images and the action. In books, the art of telling the story is in the author’s word craft; in films, the art of telling the story is in the director’s camera and editing choices. Three current
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January 21, 2009 by Jerry
The anticipation leading up to Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address yesterday was as emotionally loaded as awaiting the outcome of a lottery drawing, and as covered in print as much as the Super Bowl. Experts of every type from historians to speechwriters, and from journalists to speech coaches (full disclosure), offered their expectations of what Obama would say. In most cases, opinions focused in two general areas: themes and inspirations. It would be wise to allow the gold dust to settle a bit before commenting on the grand themes of this momentous occasion, so let me focus only on the sources
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January 20, 2009 by Jerry
Ever since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, security measures for our presidents have become virtually airtight. Occasionally, a breach occurs as did John Hinckley’s bullet aimed at Ronald Reagan in 1981 and Iraqi reporter Muntadhar al Zeidi’s shoe aimed at George W. Bush in 2008. The security for today’s inauguration of Barack Obama, already heightened because of the event’s exposed activities, has been heightened still further by “threats against him and intensified racist commentary on Web sites used by white supremacists,” as David Johnston reports in the New York Times. Johnston goes on to describe the $50
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January 19, 2009 by Jerry
John F. Kennedy had Ted Sorenson to help him craft his Inaugural Address; Barack Obama has had Jon Favreau, a 27-year old wunderkind, as his campaign’s head speechwriter. But Barack Obama also has himself. Before there was even a presidential campaign, he wrote his breakthrough 2004 speech himself and, in the middle of that campaign, when he had to deliver his crucial speech about race, the word is that he wrote it himself. Given the extraordinary circumstances and focus on his presidency, it would seem that his Inaugural Address, too, has to be a completely personal effort. And there is
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January 16, 2009 by Jerry
When Senator John McCain lost the presidential election, he gave a concession speech that was lauded for its dignity in defeat. After congratulating Barack Obama on his victory, McCain added: It is natural—it’s natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought—we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours. At that, his audience roared “No!” But McCain continued. I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and
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January 15, 2009 by Jerry
We’ve all been in the audiences of far too many presentations that unleash all the bells and all the whistles of PowerPoint animation with a frenetic, pyrotechnic display that challenges a Fourth of July celebration. This phenomenon is like putting a 14-year-old boy behind the wheel of a Ferrari Testarossa. That such excess happens is no surprise. All the many options in the pull down menus and ribbons of PowerPoint animation (in Slide Transition alone, there are 58 effects grouped into five categories, with three speed options for each) are as tempting as are all the many buttons, levers, dials,
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January 14, 2009 by Jerry
Valentine’s Day is a full month away, but yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearing on the nomination of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, gave the junior Senator from New York her bouquet a month early. Most of the senators spent most of their allotted time during the hearing tooting their own horns or praising Clinton rather than scrutinizing her. In turn, when Clinton had the floor, she heaped praise on her colleagues. After observing the mutual admiration celebration, Slate’s Mike Madden titled his report, “To Hillary with Love.” These high profile hearings can get very testy. Witness the sharp grilling
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January 12, 2009 by Jerry
The past weekend brought us two excellent examples of the art of interpretation by two grand masters of interpretation; one a virtuoso of words and the other of music: Abraham Lincoln and Frank Sinatra. Each example was an appreciation from a highly-qualified source. In the current edition of The New Yorker, Jill Lepore, a Harvard history professor and a novelist, in an article anticipating Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, turned to one of Obama’s favorite inspirational sources, Abraham Lincoln. Revisiting The Great Emancipator’s memorable First Inaugural Address, Professor Lepore tells us that Lincoln gave a draft of the speech to William
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January 9, 2009 by Jerry
Yesterday, in his first speech since the election, President-elect Obama spoke at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he formally unveiled his stimulus plan to address the economic crisis. But the magic carpet ride of his vaunted rhetoric ran into a snag. The New York Times, in a lead article, reported resistance to the plan, even among his senate allies. Moreover, the usually-supportive newspaper was less than thrilled about his delivery of the speech. They wrote, “Known on the campaign trail for inspirational addresses, Mr. Obama on Thursday was sober and ominous, summoning the nation to meet a daunting
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January 3, 2009 by Jerry
At the beginning of my career as a speaking coach, I spent many tortuous, torturous, and torturing hours copying the mistakes of conventional presentation skills training, treating businesspeople as performers, thus perpetuating a counterproductive approach for both the instructed and the instructor. The very word ‘‘training’’ denotes rigorous discipline; while ‘‘coaching,’’ derived from the word for a transportation vehicle, denotes movement. My goal was to move the businesspeople I coached to become successful presenters naturally. In search of solutions to my dilemma, I looked back on my days as a producer of public affairs programs at WCBS-TV in New York
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