Military Justice and How to Speak

Professor Patrick Henry Winston ’65, SM ’67, PhD ’70

Some years ago, Professor John Wyatt gave an eloquent speech in a faculty meeting on the subject of requirements and how we prepare students for the future. The memorable part is that he supported his position by analogy, noting that the Uniform Code of Military Justice prescribes court martial for any officer that sends a soldier into battle without a weapon.

Since then, I've thought that if there were a Uniform Code of Academic Justice, it would prescribe severe penalties for any faculty that sends its students into life without the ability to present and persuade. Without these skills, there is the danger that somebody else will get the job, secure the venture capital, or make the sale because he knows how to wrap up his lesser idea with a prettier ribbon.

I didn't know anything about presenting or persuading when I graduated from MIT. My presentation skills were beneath all standards, and my persuasion skills were in the MIT tradition, well aligned with those of piranhas.

This is one dimension in which today is better than the good old days. Subjects such as 6.UAT, centered on effective written and oral packaging, ensure that MIT students no longer go into battle without a weapon.

To do my bit, each year I speak on the subject of how to speak on the final day of IAP.  I offer a few more than two-dozen powerful ideas for how to start, how to stop, and what to do in between.

There being no 6.UAT when I was an undergraduate, my powerful ideas mostly come from talking with and observing MIT's star speakers. From Randall Davis, I learned to start with an empowerment promise. From Seymour Papert, I learned I could keep my hands out of my pockets by using them to point at the blackboard.

I learned one of my favorite powerful ideas in a bar in Houston where I was attending a conference. I was talking with Doug Lenat, a star speaker in my field, Artificial Intelligence.

“Doug,” I said. “Why are you such a respected speaker.”

“Oh, that's easy,” he said. “I always end with a good joke. That way they think they have had fun the whole time.”