Comments on: Rehearsal Day http://mattmaroon.com/2007/08/03/rehearsal-day/ Get Marooned Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:15:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: howard treesong http://mattmaroon.com/2007/08/03/rehearsal-day/#comment-6646 Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:57:23 +0000 http://mattmaroon.com/?p=261#comment-6646 Your instincts are right on powerpoints. We’re subjected to them all too often, and all too many consist of a stack of text broken into bullets that the presenter then reads. As it turns out, human brains have a very difficult time parsing information both audially and visually at the same time. It is quite literally dozens of times more effective to use each for different portions of your presentation — use the powerpoint to demonstrate a conceptual point, which you should then talk to. Establish a hard rule that you will never, ever ever ever just read the text on your presentation.

I think I scripted my first oral argument. That lasted all of fifteen seconds. I now simply outline ideas, and then speak to them just as though I were in a conversation with you (along with the requisite “Your Honors” or similar honorifics, which would of course not translate into a conversation with you personally, although now that I think about it, it would be amusing to sprinkle in an ironic “Your Excellency” with you now and again).

I think you can plan how you’ll say a joke or a a lead or a transition, but not the actual substance of what you’re saying. I’m a big big fan of speaking to the idea off the cuff.

I wish I’d checked in a bit back — you’ve probably already made your pitch.

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