"Brian Johnson and Marsha Hunter distill 25 years of experience coaching and lecturing trial lawyers into an indispensable guide to effective courtroom communication." -
James Carey, professor, Loyola University–Chicago School of Law"A generation of trial lawyers and teachers of trial advocacy have waited for this book from Johnson and Hunter. Here it is, a wisdom of thought and instruction for how to say and be a trial lawyer. But more, it is for anyone who would speak for others." - Thomas H. Singer, adjunct professor of law, University of Notre Dame School of Law
"The Articulate Advocate is well organized, engaging, and easy to read. I unequivocally and wholeheartedly encourage you to consume it from cover to cover . . . [It]is essential reading for anyone who wants to try cases." - Carol B. Anderson, director of trial advocacy, Wake Forest University School of Law–Winston-Salem
"A must read for anyone who makes a living in a courtroom, it belongs on the bookshelf of every trial lawyer." - William Jack, partner, Smith, Haughey, Rice, & Roegge, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"A must read . . . For lawyers in court, before the media, or in the boardroom, it is close to malpractice not to read and practice its wisdom." - Paul J. Zwier, professor of law, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Introduction
Chapter One: Your Body
Understanding Adrenaline
Controlling Your Lower Body
Conscious, Controlled Breathing
What Do You Do with Your Hands?
What Do You Do with Your Hands When You Are Not Gesturing?
The 3 R’s of Natural Gesture Posture and Alignment
Your Face
Summary
Mantras of Self-Instruction
Chapter Two: Your Brain
Adrenaline and the Time Warp
Thinking on Your Feet
Structure: Primacy and Recency
Attitude as a Tactical Choice
Summary
Mantras of Self-Instruction
Chapter Three: Your Voice
Listening to Yourself
Your Lungs and Diaphragm
Making Persuasive Choices
Eliminate Thinking Noises
Emphasis and Meaning
Why Not Just Read?
Gestures and Emphasis
Prosody: The Music of Natural Conversation
Tone as a Tactical Choice
Practicing Verbal Skills
Summary
Mantras of Self-Instruction
Chapter Four: How to Practice
To Know and Know How
Practice: Resistance and Avoidance
How to Practice Step-by-Step
Exercises to Solve Specific Problems
Informal Practice Sessions
Practicing for the Mental Game
Summary
Mantras of Self-Instruction
Appendices
Appendix 1: How Our Students Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Public Speaking
Appendix 2: Speaking Persuasively, Thinking on Your Feet
Appendix 3: Video Self-Review Checklist
Bibliography
Index
The Articulate Advocate
Introduction
There are so many ways to persuade juries. One trial lawyer has a personal style full of folksy charm, while another argues issues with the tenacity of a pit bull. One lawyer strides dynamically throughout the courtroom, yet another stands absolutely still. One fills the courtroom with a booming voice, while another proves that less is more and speaks to the jury in more measured tones. One gestures frequently, another only for emphasis. One goes for the jugular on cross examination, while another courteously destroys the credibility of the opposing witness and kills with kindness. All of these styles are effective. What an advocate needs to develop, therefore, is a disinctly individual, persuasive style.
Above all, an advocate's style must be personal. You cannot simply mimic what works for your colleagues or your mentor or your opponents, although these role models may be inspiring. Your personal style is a unique combination of elements involving the control and coordination of your body, your brain, and your voice. To discover- or polish, if you are well along in your career- your identity as an articulate advocate, you must experiment with all the varied stylistic elements of courtroom presentation and find those that suit you. Because no single choice works all the time, or under all circumstances, your style ultimately will consist of many diverse elements reconfigured and adapted to meet each advocacy challenge appropriately. In fact, all of the stylistic elements listed in the previous paragraph might describe a single advocate at different phases of trial.
Persuasive style is not based on pretending, acting, or faking it; you must look, sound, and feel authentic to be believable. It may seem logical simply to tell yourself to "be natural" or "be yourself," but that is only part of the solution- for the challenge of being natural is complicated by a surprising paradox.
The Paradox of Naturalness___________________________________
The word "natural" has many definitions: here it refers to the way you speak, think, and behave regularly and consistently in the course of your daily life. If you do something often, its natural; if you don't, its not. Paradoxically, some of these natural behaviors will make you look and feel unnatural in court. And as an advocate you need to consciously employ certain unnatural behaviors to look and feel natural. What a paradox! To complicate the issue, most people are not aware of their natural behaviors because of this pair of opposites in human behavior: When you are natural you are not self-conscious. When you are self-conscious, you don't feel natural. Therefore, you can't just tell yourself to "be natural" in court, because it is unlikely that you are fully conscious of what your natural behavior is. What you need is technique.
Your Body___________________________________
Consider some physical behaviors you display while engaged in everyday conversation. As you speak with a colleague, you unconsciously exibit certain mannerisms. Perhaps you push your eyeglasses up on your nose, or brush your hair from your face. You may jingle the change in your pocket, fiddle with a pen, or shift your weight back...