At The Podium A speechy blog by Dan Conley

Speech of the Week

An upcoming feature of the At The Podium blog will be the Speech of the Week.  I'll link to the video and give some analysis ... pick a fight with Michael Gerson whenever possible.

This week's speech: Sarah Palin's speech at the Teabagger Convention, oddly scheduled against the Super Bowl.  I listen so you don't have to ...

Speechwriters LLC

Sorry, this isn't a blog about the California indie folk band Speechwriters LLC ... but while we're on the subject, I do rec the band.  Not bad music to write speeches to either, especially this album.

The Great Speechwriter’s Toy

I know that there's been way too much said and written about the upcoming Apple iPad already -- there was already too much said about it before it was even introduced.  However, there has been a great deal of talk in the last 10 days about who actually wants and needs this thing -- isn't it just a big iPod Touch or keyboardless laptop?  What's the point?

Personally, I think the iPad is going to be the greatest tool -- or perhaps toy -- a speechwriter could ever own.  It's going to revolutionize our work and make it a lot more fun.  Here are a few reasons why:

1. Focus.  Every writer has to deal with solitude and concentration issues regularly.  Being able to quickly and easily unplug and find  a quiet place to work is critical.  The iPad will allow us to grab a small, light slab and carry a bluetooth keyboard with us (here's hoping this one is adapted for the iPad) set up anywhere and write for up to 10 hours ... and for those who criticize the iPad's lack of multitasking, let me tell you, having a device that focuses on one purpose when you need to complete one project is a huge asset.  If you need to multitask, use a computer.
2. Keynote, improved.  I'm already a big fan of Keynote as an alternative to PowerPoint.  It's more intuitive, it's easier to drop media files into it and it doesn't force you into the dreaded bulleted list by default when you want to add a text-based page.  Having a multitouch version of Keynote is going to be even better -- this is a piece of software that should be fully hands on.  It's going to be create to be able to quickly shuffle pages around by hand.
3. Portable teleprompter.  There's already a pretty decent teleprompter iPhone app -- the ProPrompter -- but it's usefulness is limited by the small size of the iPhone screen.  An iPad, on the other hand, will be an ideal carry-anywhere teleprompter.  Every public speaker should carry one.
4. Copy and paste from books.  This is a wish more than a known feature -- the Kindle, after all, does not allow direct copying of text.  If Apple can find a way to have some (perhaps limited) copying and pasting of text from eBooks, it's going to be a huge boon to speechwriters, who will no longer have to retype quotes from books.  This feature would be great for blogging too, of course.
5. Multimedia simplicity.  Sure, you can have a lot more movies and music on your computer than on an iPad ... is that such a good thing when you just need to drop one song or one video into a presentation file?  The iPad's simplicity is beautiful in this case -- no more looking through all your video, all your photos and songs.  This will encourage more speakers to use multimedia wisely and effectively in presentations.

As the iPad matures and more apps are written for it, it will become an even better speechwriter's tool.  The only concern I have about the iPad right now:  protecting that glass screen from my 2 1/2 year old twin boys.  They've already cracked my wife's iphone screen.

Shocked?

Awards acceptance speeches follow a pretty standard formula -- you get up, look at the award, express suprise, thank the voters, thank everyone who helped you get where you are, make some sociological message based on this award (optional), say how much you love your family, then try to leave before the music starts (or drowns you out.)

Beyonce pretty much followed the formula ... and Jay-Z is shocked.  Huh?

Beyonce stunned her husband by thanking him in her acceptance speech, telling the crowd, "I'd love to thank my family for all their love and support, including my husband - I love you."

The superstar confesses she was so giddy from her win she didn't realize what she was saying - but now recognizes she overstepped the line because the couple rarely talk about their marriage.

Corporate Speech

There's an outstanding piece up on Huffington Post by UCLA Law School Professor Adam Winkler regarding the recent Supreme Court decision freeing corporations to expand their political expenditures.  Here's the nut:

All corporations operate under the dictates of state corporate law. That law mandates that all spending by a corporation be "in the interests of the corporation." Corporate executives are therefore barred from making any expenditure that they know won't benefit the company.

How does corporate law define what's "in the interests of the corporation"? Generally, that language is shorthand for maximizing the wealth of shareholders.

Corporations can develop new products, merge with other companies, and make charitable contributions. But they can only do those things if corporate executives can justify them as being ultimately in the shareholders' financial interests.

This rule now applies equally to the decision to spend money on political ads.

Corporations are "persons" legally required to act in their economic interests, which shareholders frequently define as short-term economic interests.  Any chance that a pro Green company like Apple could run pro environmental ads during an election cycle?  The shareholders could sue if these ads weren't in the company's immediate economic interests.

I’m Back

I'm back in the blogging game with a new purpose -- a blog all about public speaking. Let's see if anyone cares.