IN THEIR SHOES

Posts Tagged ‘Reference’

Inheritance taxes are paid not by the estate, but by the people who actually inherit the money. How much they pay is determined not only by how much they inherit, but by their relationship to the person who has died as well.
For instance, if you lived in Connecticut and died, leaving $25,000 to your child, that’s fine. Your child would not owe any inheritance tax. But leave $25,000 to a devoted lifelong friend, and suddenly there’s inheritance tax: 9 percent. I always tell people who live in Connecticut (or Nebraska, for that matter, where that same $25,000 would cost your child 1 percent and your friend 15 percent) that if you want to leave a modest amount to a friend, and if you have kids whom you trust, leave it to your kids and have them gift it to your friend at the rate of $10,000 a year to save that 9 or 15 percent. Anyone can give $10,000 a year to anyone else gift-tax-free, year in and year out.*

Videotapes and audiotapes can authenticate a speech and add variety to your presentation. Today’s audiences, described by Roger Williams, senior writer for Newsweek Interactive, as “the first generation that has never watched television without a remote control,” may regard such presentation aids as essential to a polished presentation.16 Videos are especially useful for transporting the audience to distant, dangerous, or otherwise unavailable locations. Although you could verbally describe the scenic wonders of the Grand Canyon, you could reinforce your word-pictures with actual photos of the site or, better still, with living scenes from a videotape. An effective speaker uses video clips for support, but still supplies “the live human touch needed to help move an audience of one, or of hundreds, to the desired conclusion or action.”
Using videotapes presents some special problems. Moving images attract more attention than the spoken word, so they can easily upstage you. Moreover, a videotape segment should be edited so that splices blend without annoying static. Editing videotapes takes special skill and equipment. Finally, it can be difficult to work videotapes into a short speech without consuming all of your time. If they are not carefully managed, properly cued, and artistically edited, they can become more of a handicap than an aid.
For certain topics, however, carefully prepared videos can be more effective than any other type of presentation aid. One student at Northwest Mississippi Community College, who was a firefighter by trade, used videotape in an informative speech on fire hazards in the home. By customizing the videotape to fit the precise needs of his speech, he was able to show long shots of a room and then zoom in on the various hazards.’9 He prepared the videotape without sound so that his speech provided the commentary needed to interpret and explain the pictures seen by the audience. Using this technique, he made his subject come to life. When in doubt about the wisdom or practicality of using such aids, consult your instructor.
Audiotapes may also be useful as presentation aids and are not as difficult to handle and integrate into your speech. If you wanted to describe the alarm
cries of various animals or the songs of different birds, an audiotape could be essential. Consult your instructor about the availability of equipment if you think your speech would benefit from such a tape.