The Articulate Advocate: New Techniques of Persuasion for Trial Lawyers »

Brian K. Johnson is a courtroom communication consultant whose clients include the National Advocacy Center of the United States Department of Justice, for whom he trains assistant U.S. attorneys in criminal and civil trial advocacy programs. He is also a communication specialist for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, teaching training programs in the U.S. and overseas. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Marsha Hunter is a specialist in training attorneys how to speak persuasively and spontaneously whose client base spans the United States, Canada, and Europe. She also teaches communication skills for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Department of Justice, and upper echelon law firms. She lives in Prescott, Arizona.

Unlike other trial advocacy books that teach what to say and do in the courtroom, this reference teaches how to say and do it. Based on 25 years of experience from coaching practitioners, this handbook reveals techniques—incorporating cutting-edge discoveries in linguistics, neuroscience, and sports psychology—to help litigators look, sound, and feel natural and polished in the courtroom. Questions that lawyers face daily, such as What do I do with my hands? Aren’t gestures distracting? How do I remember everything? and I tend to talk so fast—how can I slow down? are among the questions addressed in this handbook.

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Your Body 5

Understanding Adrenaline 6

Controlling Your Lower Body 10

Plant Your Feet 11

Stand Still 13

Flexible Knees 13

Center Your Hips 14

Move with a Purpose 15

Conscious, Controlled Breathing 18

The Mechanics of Conscious Breathing 19

Breathe In and Speak Out 22

Oxygenate Your Thinking Brain 23

What Do You Do with Your Hands? 24

The Science of Natural Gestures 26

Jump-Start Your Own Gestures 28

The Zone of Gesture 30

The Impulse to Gesture 32

What Do You Do with Your Hands When You Are Not Gesturing? 34

The Ready Position 34

Never Say Never 36

The Mechanics of Readiness 37

The Secret Handshake 37

Don't Hold a Pen 38

Some Gestures Are Distracting 38

The 3 R's of Natural Gesture 39

Give, Chop, and Show 40

Gesture "On the Shelf" 43

Summing Up Gestures 44

Posture and Alignment 45

Your Neck and Head 46

Align Your Spine 46

Your Face 47

Your Mouth 48

Your Furrowed Brow 49

Eye Contact 50

Eyes and Notes 54

Summary 54

Mantras of Self-Instruction 55

Chapter 2 Your Brain 57

Adrenaline and the Time Warp 58

Seeking the Zone of Concentration 60

Echoic Memory 63

Thinking on Your Feet 65

Do Not Read 65

Do Not Recite 66

Structured Improvisation 67

Do Not Read and Talk Simultaneously 69

Notes as Your Visual Aid 70

Plan to Forget 72

Scripting as a Preliminary Step 75

Avoid Thinking Backward 75

Chunking 76

Structure: Primacy and Recency 77

Attitude as a Tactical Choice 80

Summary 81

Mantras of Self-Instruction 83

Chapter 3 Your Voice 85

Listening to Yourself 86

Your Lungs and Diaphragm 87

Intercostal Muscles and Your Ribcage 88

Breathe In and Speak Out89

Your Larynx and Vocal Cords 90

Articulators and Articulation 91

Warm Up to Be Articulate 93

Making Persuasive Choices 95

Energy Up, Pace Down 96

Speak in Phrases, Not Whole Sentences 97

The Mechanics of Phrasing 99

Vary the Pace 100

Use Your First Utterances to Set the Pace 101

Begin Sentences Deliberately 102

Eliminate Thinking Noises 103

Emphasis and Meaning 105

Volume, Pitch, and Duration 108

Why Not Just Read? 111

When You Must Read 113

Gestures and Emphasis 114

Monotone 115

Conduct Yourself 115

Be Smooth 116

Practice Beginnings with Gestures 116

Visualize Your Performance 119

Prosody: The Music of Natural Conversation 119

Walking Up and Down the Steps of Intonation 120

Ending with Confidence 123

Walking Up the Steps 124

The Questioning Curl 125

Curling and Listing 128

Tone as a Tactical Choice 130

Practicing Verbal Skills 130

Summary 131

Mantras of Self-Instruction 132

Chapter 4 How to Practice 135

To Know and Know How 137

Practice: Resistance and Avoidance 139

Don't Use a Mirror 139

Rationalizations That Inhibit Practicing 140

"I'm not an actor!" 140

"If this were a real case" 140

"I don't want to be overprepared." 140

"I feel so silly." 141

Be Patient 141

How to Practice Step-by-Step 142

Run Your Body's Checklist 144

Warm Up Your Voice 145

Speak in Phrases 145

Gesture Immediately 146

Talk First and Write Second 146

Practice Your Beginning 146

Practice Your Ending 147

Practice Transitions and Headlines 148

Practice Jump-Starting Your Gestures 149

When You Must Read Aloud: Practice! 149

When You Must Recite from Memory 150

Notes and Visual Aids 150

Practice Courtroom Rituals Aloud 152

Use a Video Camera 153

When to Use a Mirror 153

Exercises to Solve Specific Problems 154

"I talk too softly." 154

"I just can't stand still." 154

"I speak too quickly." 155

"My eyes aren't focused." 155

"I say um too much." 156

"I say okay after answers on direct examination." 157

"I begin leading questions with and...on cross examination." 159

"I'm so boring." 160

Informal Practice Sessions 162

Practice During Everyday Conversations 163

Observe, Adapt, Adopt 163

The Law of Opposites 164

Practicing for the Mental Game 165

Summary 168

Mantras of Self-Instruction 170

Appendices 173

Appendix 1 Speaking Persuasively, Thinking on Your Feet 174

Appendix 2 Video Self-Review Checklist 179

Bibliography 185

Index 187