Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Speak up: Tips for combatting fear in public presentations

Speak up: Tips for combatting fear in public presentations

Listen to this article

Microphone_Lawyers are supposed to be great orators, but oftentimes, fear gets in the way, said oral advocacy professor Molly Bishop Shadel.

Given the potentially high stakes — a jury trial or a dispositive motion being argued before a judge — some attorneys struggle with oral presentations or avoid it as much as possible.

But “it doesn’t have to be that way,” Shadel, of University of Virginia School of Law, said, offering the following tips for successful public speaking.

Breathe

“Relax a little bit,” Shadel advised. “Take a deep breath and realize —you do know what you are talking about.”

Putting the speech in context also helps.

“Your job isn’t to put on a perfect show but to communicate information to people who need to know it,” she explained. By adjusting expectations and focusing on the goal — delivery of needed information — the terror level will decrease.

Know your purpose

The next step: take all the information and distill it into a central message or key points.

“Don’t start with the unimportant stuff,” Shadel said, “and don’t get distracted by a digression.”

Simplifying the message will make it easier for the audience to understand and provide the basis for a structured presentation.

An attorney who jumps into an oral argument will not be as persuasive as one who begins a presentation by laying out the message with a statement that “Your Honor, there are three important points to discuss today.”

Speaking is not the same as writing

The language that should be used when speaking out loud is very different than language used when writing, particularly legal writing such as a brief or a memo, Shadel said.

Short sentences are in order while legal jargon and acronyms such as ADA or EEOC, for example, should be avoided.

And to ensure that the central point is conveyed, “come at it a few different ways,” she suggested. State why your position is correct, then walk through the fact pattern that demonstrates why that position is correct. Maybe use an analogy as well.

“This gives the audience multiple bites at the apple,” she said, “and more opportunities to absorb what you are saying.”

Human interest

Even judges listening to a summary judgment argument want to hear a story, Shadel said.

“Put a bit of humanity into what you are doing,” she advised.

When possible, use the names of the plaintiff or defendant and explain why what you are talking about will have an effect on real people or the real world.

“People only pay attention for two to three minutes at a pop,” she said, “so your job is to keep getting their attention back.”

Practice

A presentation needs to be practiced in its entirety and in the actual format, Shadel said.

So stand up and speak out loud because sitting in front of a computer, silently reading the words is not the same.

Gestures and visual aids also should be practiced to ensure that both are used naturally and help convey the point without appearing forced. If visual aids are used, Shadel said attorneys should ensure they can be both introduced and removed seamlessly, so the audience is not distracted.

Practice also will help an attorney rely less upon a script or notes, she added. Bullet points are fine but “a written script is a mistake unless you are President Obama delivering the State of the Union address,” she said. An attorney delivering a closing argument to a jury loses credibility by reading from a page and a written script also can trip up speakers who may get sidetracked if they mess up or get a tough question from a judge that takes them out of sequence.

“Lawyers cling to notes much more than they need to and it’s one of the worst things to do,” Shadel said. “You know what you want to say, so don’t stand up there and stare at a piece of paper.”

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests