Reading dialogue aloud is great advice, Scott. Not to minimize any of the good stuff you're saying here about the importance of dialogue, but a silent movie did win the Best Picture Oscar in 2011.

Thanks Scott, for the table read advice. dialogue is my achilles,at least it is in my mind. My wife tells me it all sounds good, but that's her job, lol. The table read sounds great, i will invite friends and family over soon, and try it out. thanks again...

This was a very helpful post. I know I should be reading my dialogue out loud but never do. The group idea is even better. Getting my friends together for some beer, pizza and table reading, would probably be fun in addition to helpful. Thanks for sharing.

> As a comedian, I put a lot of weight on dialogue. Maybe too much sometimes. When I do stand-up comedy, I don’t mime my jokes. Why, Scott? Is that a deliberate choice or just your default performing mode?

That was, itself, a joke

That will teach me to read your posts while tired. I read "mime" as "act out" not as...Marcel Marceau. Although I'm sure you could do a stunning routine about wind tunnels and glass boxes if you put your mind to it.

Table reads are fantastic, but if you can, get people who have some kind of performance experience - amateur dramatics, stand-up, public speaking, even preaching. A lot of people just aren't used to reading words aloud, let alone putting emotion and meaning into them as they read, and the results can be painful. And fellow writers often make the worst readers!