Advocacy for Paralegals (1) PDF Presentation Skills Guide

CHAPTER 8 Presentation Skills Learning Outcomes................................................. 106 Appearance......................................................... 106 Body Language and Mannerisms............................

CHAPTER 8 Presentation Skills Learning Outcomes................................................. 106 Appearance......................................................... 106 Body Language and Mannerisms................................... 106 Use of Language.................................................... 107 Volume and Clarity................................................. 108 Speed............................................................... 108 Pacing............................................................... 108 Expression.......................................................... 109 Awareness.......................................................... 109 Eye Contact......................................................... 109 Have Notes but Do Not Read....................................... 109 Practise.............................................................. 110 Exercises............................................................ 111 105 © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher. 106 PART III Preparing for a Trial or Hearing LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this chapter, you will understand n the key presentation skills of a good advocate n how to improve your presentation skills As an advocate, you must not only plan and prepare for what you will say; you must also pay attention to how you will say it. While some people are naturally gifted public speakers, most are not, and will need to develop presentation skills to improve their performance at a trial or hearing. It is likely that, as a new advocate, you will be nervous about appearing in court or before a tribunal. This is perfectly normal. The best way to combat your nerves is to be as well prepared as possible. This prep- aration includes practising your presentation skills. You will not become an award-winning advocate overnight. Good advocacy skills are developed over a long period of time through practice both inside and outside the courtroom. With time and practice, you will develop your own presentation style along with the confidence needed to excel as an advocate. This chapter discusses the key presentation skills that every advocate should keep in mind when preparing to appear in court or before a tribunal. Appearance Good advocacy starts with a good appearance. Dress appropriately for your trial or hearing. Pay attention to your hair, clothing, and accessories. First impressions can be very important and may influence the attitude of the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator toward you. Body Language and Mannerisms Stand straight and hold your head up during your presentation, and avoid slouching, pacing, shuffling about, or fidgeting. Try to be aware of any mannerisms you might have while speaking that might be irritating or distracting and that will detract from your presentation. For example, some people fidget with their keys, hair, jewellery, coins, or pen when nervous. Pens are particularly problematic. The best advice is to avoid holding a pen during your presentation. That way, you won’t be tempted to wave or point it at the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator, or to play with the clicker, if the pen has one, a common distraction for judges and other decision- makers. To avoid fidgeting, place your hands on the podium or clasp them together in front of you. © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher.  CHAPTER 8 Presentation Skills 107 Consider whether your hand gestures are distracting. Many people use excessive hand gestures when speaking. Natural hand gestures can be effective. However, long, sweeping hand movements from side to side throughout a presentation will distract the decision-maker from the content of what you are saying. Make sure you do not walk around the courtroom or hearing room too much while you are speaking. Pacing back and forth is a common habit when people are nervous and can be very distracting. When speaking, stand at the counsel table or the podium in the middle of the room, if there is one. While you may need to ap- proach the bench or a witness in the witness box to hand over something such as an exhibit, you must always ask permission from the decision-maker to do so, and you must then immediately return to the podium or counsel table. Use of Language Consider whether the language you are using is appropriate for an oral presentation. Often, words look fine on the page but sound awkward or unduly complicated when spoken. Sentences should be shorter and sentence structure simpler in an oral pres- entation. At the same time, in order to show respect for the court or tribunal, avoid using informal language or slang. For example, when answering a question, say “yes” rather than “yeah” or “yep.” Say “no” rather than “nope.” When asking the decision- maker or witness to repeat themselves, say “pardon me?” rather than “what?” Also, use words that you know how to pronounce. Make sure you check the pronunciation of unusual or foreign words that you will be using. When speaking during the hearing, you will likely be nervous. You may be tempted to use filler words. Filler words are meaningless words or sounds that a speaker uses to gain a moment to think about what to say next. They are often used as a form of pause between sentences. Some examples include “um,” “oh,” “like,” and “you know.” Fillers can also take the form of saying “Your Honour” or “Your Worship” at the beginning or end of every sentence. Many people use filler words without noticing that they are doing so. In order to cut out these words from your presentation, start by paying attention to how often you use them. Once you are aware of the problem, you can practise speaking without those words. Speaking slowly, and pausing when you want to use a filler word, is helpful. Many advocates also have a habit of starting every sentence with the words “and,” “okay,” “well,” and “now.” This is particularly the case when an advocate is examining a witness during a direct or cross-examination. It is distracting and can weaken your effectiveness as an advocate. Again, you can avoid this habit by speaking slowly and taking pauses. Use introductory sentences to take the place of headings so that the judge or other decision-maker can follow what you are saying. This is especially important during the closing argument, when you transition from one issue or argument to the next. For example, you might say, “I will next address the second issue, which is whether the notice given to the tenant was valid.” © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher. 108 PART III Preparing for a Trial or Hearing Finally, make sure the language you use is appropriate for a courtroom. Never use language that expresses your personal opinion or belief such as “I believe,” “I think,” or “in my opinion.” Rather, when expressing a position or argument, start the sentence with “I submit” or “It is the [party’s] position that …” Also, use language that is courteous and respectful to the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator. When disagreeing with a judge or other decision-maker, don’t say “That’s not true,” or “You’re wrong, Your Honour.” Rather, show respect for the decision-maker’s au- thority by using the phrase, “With respect, Your Honour,” or “Respectfully, Your Honour.” Further, make sure you practise using the appropriate honorific for your particular case—Your Honour, Your Worship, Madam Adjudicator, as the case may be. It is easy to fall into the habit of calling every decision-maker “Your Honour” when it is not appropriate to do so. Volume and Clarity Ensure that your voice is loud enough, but not too loud. Adjust your volume to the size of the courtroom or tribunal room. Some courtrooms or tribunal rooms are large and the judge or other decision-maker may be seated quite a distance away from you, in which case you need to be able to project your voice and speak clearly in order to be heard. Speed Speaking too quickly is one of the most common mistakes new advocates make. Most people naturally speak too quickly, especially when they are nervous, and also do not realize they are speaking too fast. A common practice among new advocates is to write “SLOW DOWN” in red pen at the top of their speaking notes. Speak slowly to avoid other common mistakes, such as using filler words. Always speak more slowly than you think you need to. If you sound to yourself like you are speaking too slowly, it is probably the right speed. Keep in mind that the judge or other decision- maker will be taking notes and needs time to process what you are saying. Pacing Think of pacing as punctuation in a written presentation: in an oral presentation, pacing takes the place of commas, periods, and paragraphs. Pause briefly between sentences, and pause longer between ideas. There is a common misconception among many people that silence is bad. This is not true for oral advocacy. Pauses, at ap- propriate times, can help put emphasis on certain words and points you are making and allow the adjudicator time to digest what you have just said. Remind yourself to pause by leaving large blocks of white space in your speaking notes. © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher.  CHAPTER 8 Presentation Skills 109 Expression Use your voice expressively. Do not speak in a monotone. Raise or lower your volume as appropriate in order to give expression to what you are saying. Speak with strength in your voice rather than with hesitation. Avoid “up-talk”—raising the pitch at the end of your sentences, a tendency that makes statements sound like questions. “Up- talk” makes the speaker sound tentative and uncertain, and is extremely irritating to the listener. Pay attention to your intonation so that you appear confident and certain about whatever you are saying. When you appear confident, you are likely to be more persuasive. Awareness Always be attentive to the decision-maker. Watch the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator to help you monitor the speed of your presentation. If the judge or decision-maker is writing notes, pause until you see that he or she has stopped writing or has otherwise indicated that he or she is ready for you to proceed. If the judge or decision-maker appears lost in a documents brief, case brief, or other writ- ten materials, take a moment to ask if you can provide some assistance. You must also be attentive to other people in the courtroom or hearing room, including a witness who is being examined. If you are conducting a direct examin- ation of a witness, pay attention to what the witness says in response to your questions. If you are too focused on your notes you may miss something significant that the witness says. Do not adhere to a script of questions—this may cause you to move too quickly from question to question without noticing that your witness has not yet answered your previous question. Eye Contact Good eye contact is an important part of effective oral communication. Maintain direct eye contact with the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator while you are speaking to him or her. If you are examining a witness, maintain eye contact with the witness while at the same time being attentive to the decision-maker. Have Notes but Do Not Read Do not read from your prepared notes. Look at the judge or decision-maker and talk to him or her—talking sounds very different from reading. You should be so well prepared and familiar with your case that you will not have to read. You can, and should, use notes to help you with your delivery. But do not rely on them too heavily. Look at them to refresh your memory, pause, and then resume eye contact © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher. 110 PART III Preparing for a Trial or Hearing with the judge or decision-maker. Prepare your notes so that they will help you in your delivery. Use large print and large blocks of white space to remind you to look at the judge or decision-maker. This also encourages you to read only small bits of text at a time and helps you to find your place easily when you need to check your notes. You might want to avoid writing out a prepared speech to reduce the risk of reading the text word for word, especially if you are nervous. Instead, prepare a short outline with key topic sentences and words that remind you of the most im- portant points you want to make. Never memorize a prepared script. Memorizing a script decreases the effective- ness of the delivery by making it sound stilted and robotic. It also decreases an advocate’s ability to remain flexible during the hearing. Good advocacy means being able to think on your feet. A judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator may ask you questions during the hearing. If you have memorized a script, you will likely have trouble answering those questions. On the other hand, if you prepare well and practise your presentation, you will be able to use your notes to engage in a dialogue with the judge, justice of the peace, or adjudicator. Never attempt to speak at a hearing or trial without any notes. Even if you think you have memorized everything you want to say, there is always a chance that you will forget a key fact or point. Also, there is nothing worse than being asked a ques- tion that you cannot answer because it was not part of the script you memorized! Again, notes are good as long as you do not read from them. Even the most experi- enced advocates use notes. The key is learning how to use your notes effectively. Practise Finally, practise your presentation before your court or tribunal appearance! Stand in front of a mirror or, better yet, ask someone to observe your presentation and critique your delivery and demeanour. Try videotaping yourself and watching it. You will likely surprise yourself the first time you watch your presentation on video. Many people are not aware of all the distracting things they do while speaking. Videotaping yourself is one of the best ways to improve your oral advocacy skills because it helps you identify any weaknesses you have such as speaking too fast, using slang or filler words, or making distracting hand gestures. Once you are aware of your weaknesses, you can work at improving them. Practising your public speaking skills starts before you arrive at the court or tri- bunal for a trial or hearing. Seize every opportunity to practise your public speaking skills. This is the best way to combat nerves and become comfortable speaking in front of people. There are many opportunities, both in school and in the community, to practise these skills in order to develop the confidence you need to present in the court or hearing room. For example, Toastmasters International is a non-profit edu- cational organization that helps people develop their public speaking and leadership skills. The organization has thousands of branches around the world. Consider joining one of its local clubs near you.1 1 More information about Toastmasters International can be found at. © 2017 Emond Montgomery Publications – Copyrighted material – Please do not share without consent of the publisher.