I give 4-5 "speeches" every week-- we call them "lectures" in my business...

[mike_c]

...and I've done it for more than fifteen years. I'm a pro at talking in front of groups ranging from a few people to hundreds. Those of you who don't do something like that-- think about it for a moment. It takes anywhere from a couple of hours to twenty or more hours to prepare each talk. They all contain elements of me speaking my mind, and elements of me answering unscripted questions from the audience. I'm decent at it, too, if I do say so myself.

After fifteen or twenty YEARS of doing this, I still scribble last minute crib notes on random pieces of paper, manila folders, notebook dividers, and yes, on occasion, on the palm of my hand. It's not a sign of imbecility. It's not a mark of shame. Smart people do it all the time. So, I'm sure, do some imbeciles, but the point is that writing crib notes on your hand is not an indication of one's intelligence, preparedness, or public speaking ability.

[Quantess]

1. Do you actively make fun of speakers who use teleprompters?

[mike_c]

5. I don't think I've ever spared a thought about teleprompters until you asked....

eom

[Quantess]

17. Go ahead and read notes off your hand then.

No one here will call you a hypocrite.

[LeftyMom]

2. It's kind of a different situation.

Nobody expects you to deliver an academic lecture from memory. A political speech should be given, if not from memory (and I think it ought to be as close to that as feasible) at the very least in a professional manner. Cards, written notes, even scribbles on the back of an overdue PG&E bill would all be more credible than crib notes written on the hand.

[TexasProgresive]

3. I think that the noise is because the hypocrit freepers

complain about the President using a teleprompter-

[Jennicut]

4. It is not the use of the crib notes, it is the hypocrisy to call out Obama for using a teleprompter

and then have to rely on crib notes on your hand. Plus, she is annoying as hell.

[HipChick]

6. Also she lied about not having seen the pre-screened questions in advance..

and she still had to look at talking points on her palm..

[Jennicut]

8. Yup. She deserves all the slamming every one of us can give her.

[mike_c]

9. well, I CERTAINLY agree with your last point....

I wonder-- do any politicians actually talk entirely extemporaneously? I suppose everyone does some of the time-- not withstanding LeftyMom's comment above, I do too, sometimes. But only the most arrogant person would ALWAYS think they are so well prepared that they don't need some sort of external prompting, organizing, etc.

[Jennicut]

22. I always used note cards for speeches in class for college.

Like I said, it is not really the use of the notes on her hand but the way she went after Obama.

[dmr]

34. I think it's also what she wrote on her palm

If she had written something other than her everyday talking points we might be more forgiving.

Had she written down numbers to make a point about taxes or energy, or had she written down a new talking point, or had she written down 'don't rub your legs, Sarah' it would be more understandable.

But no, she wrote her everyday talking points. If she can't remember them, then she is sorrier than sorry.

What I've been wondering is why she scratched out budget. I think it might be that she's woefully unqualified to even fudge that up in front of her wacky fan base - especially with the TV cameras present.

[Saturday]

7. I have never ever in my life seen an adult give a lecture with

notes on his/her hand.

[tallahasseedem]

13. +1

I have gone to several lectures (especially as a grad student) and have never witnessed such a horrible speech. I guess I'm one of those "liberal elite."

[mike_c]

18. note that I'm NOT commenting on the quality of her speech....

I didn't even see it.

[mike_c]

15. I'm not too proud to cop to having done it on occasion....

Usually I scrawl my notes on random bits of flotsam though, then stuff them into a folder or a notebook. Every few years I reorganize them and make all those bits and pieces into more formal notes, but that's definitely an evolutionary process.

I'm no Palin fan, not by any means. I just don't like the childish carping-- which lately seems like every third post in GD-- about how she wrote on her hand. People really do it all the time. I've written notes on the back of my hand while walking across campus to class, holding a half eaten sandwich in my hand at the same time, and continuing the notes on the greasy sandwich wrapper. Imagine if Palin had pulled a scrap of deli paper from her back pocket, too!

[truedelphi]

10. Mike, your posts are so very clear, and you are

excellent at explaining things.

A long time ago, I mentioned on a discussion how good you are, and someone else said, "Well he teaches you know."

But not all teachers are that "teacher-ly."

I am sure you are a gift to your students. Whether they know it or not.

[mike_c]

20. aww, shucks....

:blush:

[Political Heretic]

11. I understand the point, mike_c, but in Palin's case its part of a much larger pattern of ineptitude

... that makes something as seemingly unprofessional as writing notes on your hand before a major political speech seem so laughably ridiculous.

That she is getting negative attention for it is only because of her hypocrisy about Obama and telepromters and the slew of idiotic things she has already done.

That's why.

If someone without any sort of reputation had scribbled some notes on their hands, it wouldn't be a big deal.

[HipChick]

21. Exactly..

[mike_c]

24. I won't argue that....

I don't pay much attention to Sarah Palin, frankly. I don't know what talking points she's been spewing or originating. I've just seen dozens of posts on DU making fun of her for writing on her hand. I suspect that many of the folks giggling about it do NOT talk to groups of people very often, because if they did, they might find themselves doing something similar on occasion.

Palin is a twit, IMO. Not because she wrote on her hand, but because I doubt that she's had a genuinely original thought her entire life. On the other hand, that's a criticism that's probably true of many of the rest of us too, at least if we examine it closely enough.

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone actually takes her seriously. It's frightening.

[Political Heretic]

32. Yeah, I don't really disagree. And lots of the attitudes of the last weekend have troubled me.

So, your point is not lost on me.

[spanone]

12. you miss the point. SHE is the one shitting on Obama for using a teleprompter...

it wouldn't have even been mentioned if she hadn't taunted the President for using his memory device

once again it's the hypocrisy of these people that brings the slings & arrows

[myrna minx]

14. A professional would use a note card

that contained an exact quote or a few key word triggers - not 8th grade scribbles on one's hand. In addition, she criticized and mocked the President for using a teleprompter all the while she consults her sweaty jottings.

[Mz Pip]

16. A couple of things.

First, what everyone else is saying - Palin and her minions mock Obama for the teleprompter. Obama is a professional and he comes prepared, not just with a scripted speech on a teleprompter, but a clear knowledge of the issues.

But the bigger issue for me is that she had to write down 3 endlessly repeated RW talking points to refer to on questions that she'd already seen. It made her seem unprepared and unfamiliar with something she should know by heart. I guess I would expect a bit more professionalism from someone getting the kind of bucks Palin is getting. I can't see Obama writing "health care reform" on his hand in preparation for a Q & A.

In your case, you are thinking ahead. In her's, she's trying not to have to think.

Mz Pip

[TexasObserver]

19. No, good speakers don't write things on their hand.

[mike_c]

23. how on earth can you make such a generalization...?

You're certain? No good speaker does that, and anyone who does, by definition, is a poor speaker?

I will say this-- I doubt that anyone has ever SEEN me read from my hand during a talk. Mostly I consult my notes before I open my mouth. But yeah, the odd bit of last minute reminders can end up on anything handy, including the palm of my hand.

[TexasObserver]

28. Experience.

[mike_c]

25. well DAMN, sometime during the course of this conversation someone gave me...

...a heart! :loveya:

Thank you!

[mitchum]

26. Little known fact: Cicero invented the Classical Sharpie for that sole purpose

Even he wrote on his hand!

[NYC Liberal]

27. No, but we already know Palin is not intelligent, unprepared, and lacks public speaking ability

Not to mention she has made comments about the use of teleprompters by other people, which makes her a hypocrite -- the main reason why she is being mocked for it.

[RedCappedBandit]

29. Her case is different

No person who wants to run for president should have to rely on words scribbled on her palm to remind her how to answer a question she already knew was coming.
Even more so when the question is something as simple as 'what three things are your top priorities'.

How the hell can any politician not know within themselves the answer to that?

[spanone]

30. here's why it pissed folks off....'any charismatic guy with a teleprompter'.....in the same speech

[DCBob]

31. That last time I saw someone write krib notes on their hand was in 6th grade.

Not once since then and I give speeches too and have seen lots of speeches.

[mike_c]

33. well, I'm not saying I do it every day...

...or even every year, but yeah, I can remember a few occasions over the last couple of decades when I've done it. I suppose that makes me "unprofessional," as several have suggested up-thread. My university classes still fill up pretty dependably, so I don't feel too bad about the criticism.

[DCBob]

35. Just curious.. why not write the notes on a small notecard?

Much more professional and less likely to rub off when shaking hands prior to the speech. :)

[mike_c]

36. well of course....

Actually, I deliver most of my lectures multiple times, i.e. this semester, next year, the year after, and so on, so I organize each topic in a BIG binder, one for each course. I learned a long time ago to use plastic pockets to hold each "lecture" so I'd have a place to shove all those little bits of note card, scraps of paper, etc, that ultimately get incorporated into more formal notes or just thrown away if they aren't relevant enough to keep. That's the package of materials I usually review before beginning a lecture.

Occasionally though, I've found myself in a hurry, or remembered some recently learned tidbit while walking across campus, or whatever, and the only thing handy is a dirty napkin, or a scrap of paper towel, or, in a pinch, the palm of my other hand. It's not ideal, but it happens.

The larger point I think most people who don't do this sort of thing frequently don't get is that many of us feel the need to organize our thoughts when we speak in public, and making notes is one way that seems to work for lots of speakers. If you have time, a computer and printer, and a well-stocked reference library you can draft professional, nicely formatted notes that would be the envy of your colleagues. If you don't, the habit of writing things down SOMEWHERE as a reminder is hard to break.

[DCBob]

40. Understood. I guess we all have our ways of dealing with life issues..

Thanks for explaining.

[truedelphi]

44. My spouse and I were both amazed at how the media was picking Sarah apart for that

Little habit she had.

There are a thousand other discussions that the media could be showering us with, but they pick the most inane things to dwell on.

Remember the "scandal" of last year - Obama using MUSTARD on his lunch?
Which I guess made him Mustardian, rather than a catsupian.

Geez Louise, what they go on about.

[fishwax]

37. I give 4-5 lectures a week, too, but political speaking is a different ballgame

different rules and expectations and making use of different skills and types of knowledge. Palin is positioning herself for the highest office in the land, and I've never seen a politician at her level write stuff on their hand. I've actually never seen a politician at any level right things on their hands. I've seen instructors do it and I've seen luncheon speakers do it, but while these are all public speaking, they don't all have the same expectations. So perhaps writing notes on her hand doesn't mean she's an imbecile, but I certainly think it suggests she's out of her league in this game.

[Orsino]

38. Yes. Call her out for hypocrisy...

...but not for using notes.

[mike_c]

39. my point, exactly....

eom

[Marr]

41. Do you jot down vague talking points you've already repeated 10,000 times?

"Lift American Spirits". She wrote that on her hand. A few figures or names or specific references to data I could understand. But "lift American spirits"? Are you kidding me? That's beyond stupid.

[mike_c]

42. LOL-- if I had to say stuff like that I would TOTALLY write it down....

:rofl:

I cannot imagine myself saying things like "lift American spirits" with a straight face, let alone remembering a bunch of empty platitudes and poli-speak. Yeah, I'd have to tattoo that on the inside of my eyelids!

:rofl:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

43. I do a bit more...but I get to use Power Point so I don't need note cards or a teleprompter

[mike_c]

46. but SURELY you've stopped in mid-sentence, looked at the slide on screen...

...and thought "what the FUCK was I thinking when I wrote 'asynchronous, sessile, and beer' next to the same bullet point?"

:rofl:

Powerpoint is the prof's teleprompter, no question. It's just that something that seemed to brilliantly summarize life, the universe, and everything at 3:00 AM one morning six years ago so often appears cryptic and impenetrable IN THE GODDAMNED MOMENT this afternoon!

:rofl:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

47. In the 200 level courses the students are so overwhelmed it does not matter

in the grad courses, they are all asleep.

[mzteris]

45. except . . .

those are her "core values".

She can't remember those? Really?