Having watched the Republican and Democratic conventions featuring the usual herd of eloquent speakers, I believe one conclusion is clear: Drop the teleprompters.
Few people use them well. Even among the ones who do, a slight Stepford wife quality emerges. Eye contact becomes artificial, producing an overall lack of authenticity. Credibility suffers.
Teleprompters rank several notches below PowerPoint. That alone should relegate it to the storage room.
4 comments:
What??? And actually take the risk that a candidate might be... candid? Perish the thought!
Personally, I think an unscripted presidential debate featuring three or four parties would be idea. Having various viewpoints, and seeing how the candidates defend them would give the American public more information and insight than a year's worth of pretty speeches or mudslinging ads (paid for by special interest dollars).
CincyCat,
I'd love to see the candidates in a living room setting dealing with no set questions but just talking about the issues.
I'm not holding my breath on that one.
One problem: The best debater is not always the best person for the job. A free-form approach may be the only way to mitigate that concern but it wouldn't remove it.
Michael
Iv'e watched both conventions and have rarely seen the speakers distracted by the teleprompters - especially the most eloquent ones.
But you can tell the speakers who have the internal scroll going - and the ones who are speaking from a more informal heart.
Those are the the ones that get to you.
As far as the argument about how to structure a debate - I'll take the position that sometimes the best person for the job is not always the best debater.
But face to face confrontation reveals quite a bit about those listening and providing arguments...watch and observe, don't just listen...
- J.
Jeff,
I believe the ones who use the teleprompter well would be as effective without one and the ones who don't would be more genuine - and thus more effective - without one.
The unstructured debates would provide more fodder for those careful listeners. I see some corporate executives who would not do as well as their slicker competitors in the usual debate format but whose qualities would emerge in a less structured environment.
Michael
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