PowerPoint
INTA Writing Workshop: Mission Accomplished
May 24, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
They came. They laughed. They learned.
After scores of conference calls, emails, and revisions to our respective PowerPoint presentations, Effective Legal Writing Workshop is in the INTA history books.
With humor, practical examples, and an engaging approach with the audience of approximately 170, our panel enjoyed a lively response.
I began with a general exercise to engage the audience. We broke up into small groups to answer this question: Why is legal writing important? Give your top three reasons.
Bob Latham talked about going beyond the form file, striking the word ‘clearly’ from drafts, and avoiding using superfluous words. Kelly Slavitt talked about the importance of language in cease and desist letters and license agreements. Joff Wild talked about the strategies that lawyers can use to effectively communicate with the media.
But there’s no resting on laurels. Jim McCarthy of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff is coordinating workshops for the 2011 INTA Annual Meeting. Last week, Jim invited me to speak. He sat through this morning’s workshop and, immediately after it ended, we began brainstorming about my topic for 2011.
david@davidkrell.com
They came. They laughed. They learned.
After scores of conference calls, emails, and revisions to our respective PowerPoint presentations, Effective Legal Writing Workshop is in the INTA history books.
With humor, practical examples, and an engaging approach with the audience of approximately 170, our panel enjoyed a lively response.
I began with a general exercise to engage the audience. We broke up into small groups to answer this question: Why is legal writing important? Give your top three reasons.
Bob Latham talked about going beyond the form file, striking the word ‘clearly’ from drafts, and avoiding using superfluous words. Kelly Slavitt talked about the importance of language in cease and desist letters and license agreements. Joff Wild talked about the strategies that lawyers can use to effectively communicate with the media.
But there’s no resting on laurels. Jim McCarthy of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff is coordinating workshops for the 2011 INTA Annual Meeting. Last week, Jim invited me to speak. He sat through this morning’s workshop and, immediately after it ended, we began brainstorming about my topic for 2011.
The Power of Public Speaking
May 19, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
This morning, I attended Just Pretend They Are All Naked -- How to Be a Better Public Speaker.
The panelists approached the topic in an inventive manner.
Marc Lieberstein of Kilpatrick Stockton and Jody Drake of Sughrue Mion opened the session with a purposefully bland approach. They talked to each other about the important points of public speaking away from the traditional table setting.
Holland Campbell of ESPN interrupted with the garb of a silent movie director -- beret and megaphone -- to motivate the panelists to change the approach. And they did.
What was once bland became dynamic, targeted, and revealing. Carla Vrsansky of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney took the reins and got to the heart of successful public speaking: Be Brief. Be Creative. Be Relevant.
Regarding PowerPoint, Carla suggested the following:
One idea/topic per slide
6 x 6 rule: 6 lines of text, 6 words per line
Be consistent
Use bullets and/or numbers
Headlines are useful
Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Use a simple readable font
If you feel you must use a lengthy sentence or paragraph, highlight the main portion with color, larger font, bold, or italicized type. An alternative is to isolate that portion in a separate slide.
Keep it simple.
Less is more.
Build rapport with the audience.
Leave something behind that the audience will remember.
Audience participation.
Map out your presentation.
Plant a 'flag' around which to center your presentation -- What is the theme?
Continually summarize throughout the presentation.
Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.
After twenty minutes, Peter Harvey of Harvey Siskind gave a brief presentation entitled Band Name Trademark Disputes as an example of public speaking. Mei-Ian E. W. Stark of Fox Entertainment Group handled the clapboard and shouted Take One!
Again, the presentation was purposefully bland to illustrate a point -- bring your passion to the presentation.
Holland Campbell interrupted with true director's insight and Mei-Ian again handled the clapboard and shouted Take Two!
Now, Peter's presentation took on a different tone -- clearer, inspiring, and effective. A true portrait of how to use PowerPoint effectively, how to summarize, and how to build a rapport with the audience. Peter's technique on this last issue is a Pop Quiz at the end of a case summary described in a PowerPoint slide. The quiz consists of asking the attendees who they think won the case.
The title also changed the tenor of the presentation from bland to inviting, boring to fun, descriptive to attention-getting.
Band Name Trademark Disputes became Trademarks Rock.
But one strong, unavoidable, inevitable lesson emerged throughout the session. Murphy's Law is true. No matter how much you check the technical aspects of the room, something will go wrong. At several points, the microphone sound skipped or disappeared completely. Towards the end, the speakers discarded the mikes, talked with projection, and invited audience participation.
So, a corollary lesson emerged though it was not on the PowerPoint. When technical difficulties occur, the technical or facilities crew will try to fix them. If the problems persist, ignore the difficulties and proceed with the presentation in good humor.
As a whole, the panelists encouraged the audience to seek public speaking opportunities with INTA. During Q & A, I briefly summarized my experience and lesson learned -- Start Early!
I first pitched a writing workshop to INTA in 2008 for the 2009 Annual Meeting. I learned that a year in advance is not enough time. INTA Annual Meetings usually require eighteen months of lead time.
The writing workshop will take place at the 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston
So, if you're passionate about a topic, pitch it to INTA during the summer for the 2011 Annual Meeting.
david@davidkrell.com
This morning, I attended Just Pretend They Are All Naked -- How to Be a Better Public Speaker.
The panelists approached the topic in an inventive manner.
Marc Lieberstein of Kilpatrick Stockton and Jody Drake of Sughrue Mion opened the session with a purposefully bland approach. They talked to each other about the important points of public speaking away from the traditional table setting.
Holland Campbell of ESPN interrupted with the garb of a silent movie director -- beret and megaphone -- to motivate the panelists to change the approach. And they did.
What was once bland became dynamic, targeted, and revealing. Carla Vrsansky of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney took the reins and got to the heart of successful public speaking: Be Brief. Be Creative. Be Relevant.
Regarding PowerPoint, Carla suggested the following:
One idea/topic per slide
6 x 6 rule: 6 lines of text, 6 words per line
Be consistent
Use bullets and/or numbers
Headlines are useful
Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Use a simple readable font
If you feel you must use a lengthy sentence or paragraph, highlight the main portion with color, larger font, bold, or italicized type. An alternative is to isolate that portion in a separate slide.
Keep it simple.
Less is more.
Build rapport with the audience.
Leave something behind that the audience will remember.
Audience participation.
Map out your presentation.
Plant a 'flag' around which to center your presentation -- What is the theme?
Continually summarize throughout the presentation.
Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.
After twenty minutes, Peter Harvey of Harvey Siskind gave a brief presentation entitled Band Name Trademark Disputes as an example of public speaking. Mei-Ian E. W. Stark of Fox Entertainment Group handled the clapboard and shouted Take One!
Again, the presentation was purposefully bland to illustrate a point -- bring your passion to the presentation.
Holland Campbell interrupted with true director's insight and Mei-Ian again handled the clapboard and shouted Take Two!
Now, Peter's presentation took on a different tone -- clearer, inspiring, and effective. A true portrait of how to use PowerPoint effectively, how to summarize, and how to build a rapport with the audience. Peter's technique on this last issue is a Pop Quiz at the end of a case summary described in a PowerPoint slide. The quiz consists of asking the attendees who they think won the case.
The title also changed the tenor of the presentation from bland to inviting, boring to fun, descriptive to attention-getting.
Band Name Trademark Disputes became Trademarks Rock.
But one strong, unavoidable, inevitable lesson emerged throughout the session. Murphy's Law is true. No matter how much you check the technical aspects of the room, something will go wrong. At several points, the microphone sound skipped or disappeared completely. Towards the end, the speakers discarded the mikes, talked with projection, and invited audience participation.
So, a corollary lesson emerged though it was not on the PowerPoint. When technical difficulties occur, the technical or facilities crew will try to fix them. If the problems persist, ignore the difficulties and proceed with the presentation in good humor.
As a whole, the panelists encouraged the audience to seek public speaking opportunities with INTA. During Q & A, I briefly summarized my experience and lesson learned -- Start Early!
I first pitched a writing workshop to INTA in 2008 for the 2009 Annual Meeting. I learned that a year in advance is not enough time. INTA Annual Meetings usually require eighteen months of lead time.
The writing workshop will take place at the 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston
So, if you're passionate about a topic, pitch it to INTA during the summer for the 2011 Annual Meeting.