By Alan Blumenfeld
Founding Director
ACT of Communication

Over the past 42 years of working with lawyers, we’ve always focused on behavior. That is, what lawyers call demeanor and so much more. Your attitude, tone, ability to connect with all of the people in the room. This goes way past simple “eye contact”. Connection is about your passion for what you are saying and your honest ability to advocate, convey that passion…hand it over to your listeners. Judge or Jury.

The recent trial of Paul Manafort is a perfect example of a situation where the lawyers were: well prepared, experienced, professional and had found the story of their case. The prosecutors seemed to “boil down” the huge volume of evidence to a distilled story; the defense seemed to be playing jazz where it’s all about what you don’t say. They insisted the prosecutors had not made their case and so they offered very little from their point of view.

The outcome? Guilty on 8 of the 18 charges. A clear win for the prosecution. Except listen to one of the jurors, Paula Duncan, quoted in the Washington Post Aug 23:

Although she said it was “pretty easy to connect the dots” after prosecutors’ presentation, she described the special counsel team as seeming “a little bored” during the proceedings.

“I saw them napping during the trial,” Duncan said, citing in particular prosecutors Brandon Van Grack and Greg Andres. “So it kind of sent a message of ‘We’re bored with this,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Well, if you’re bored, then why are we here?’

And of the defense she said:

“They gave a very easygoing atmosphere to the whole thing, they objected to very little, and appeared agreeable throughout it all.”

From our point of view, having been teaching lawyers and their witnesses how to maximize their effectiveness in and out of the courtroom for over four decades, this was a kind of disaster.

As an attorney in the courtroom, you are always ON. There is no camera to cut away from you; no editor to show only the good moments when you are attentive.

Regardless of how you think you are coming across to the panel, perception is everything. Clearly this trial stands as a lesson in sending more than receiving. Being more involved in self rather than receiving the cues, non-verbal responses, from the jurors. Even if the jurors are giving you blank faces, you need to be constantly reminding yourself that they are more important than you are in the two-way street of communication. Your efforts will be received and rewarded.

You ARE demonstrative evidence. The jurors are hearing this and following this story, or not, for the first time. It doesn’t matter how many times you have gone over the story. Or how familiar YOU are with the material. You have to create a live, present time experience for the people in the room. And you have to do it ALL THE TIME.

Yes, it’s exhausting. Being in trial is like performing in live theater. That is why our background as performers in theater, film and TV (www.actofcommunication.com) brought us to this field of working with lawyers in the first place. It is thought that an actor performing in a 2 hour play expends as much adrenaline as someone in a minor car crash. Suit up and strap in, you are not allowed to look bored. EVER.

It’s not enough to be perfect on paper. Once you are in the courtroom, you are a performer. And not in the pejorative sense so many people have of performers. Not the ego-driven, applause seeking, face-making overactor. No. A performer in the modern sense. In the sense of the best of contemporary performance. Honesty, sincerity, the stripping away of artifice and the vulnerability to reveal a true human being. And a human being in pursuit of convincing, advocating, seeking justice. And in the courtroom, your job as a trial lawyer is to be that ALL THE TIME.

So, you must expand your skills beyond writing and an absolute knowledge of the law, the rules of evidence and procedure. You must learn to connect your mind and heart and gut with your voice and body to become a true communicator. A warrior willing to do whatever it takes.

From Alan: 

Sometimes it is important for our blog to discuss, or feature, the arts and theatre. Patsy Rodenberg’s comments here are wonderful. She talks about being authentic, telling the truth and being present. Invaluable for actors and lawyers alike. Enjoy this.

TIP: Have the courage to be your authentic self and to be present.

From Alan:

This week I bring you another remarkable and insightful talk from the TED conferences. Take some time and browse their site for the more than 900 lectures they offer….your time will be well rewarded.

For this week, I am offering Shekhar Kapur’s talk about storytelling. It is called, WE ARE THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES.

Those of you who have followed our work understand that story is at the heart of what we teach. Indeed, we believe story is at the heart of the way humans interact, process and understand the world. Here, a remarkable filmmaker talks about his understanding of story and how he arrives at the story he tells.

In breaking down his approach, he talks about the many levels of story: the psychological, historical and mythological. These levels are found and revealed in so many of the stories that we know from our childhood, our religious texts and of course in our films. And, they are all present within any one story and, as Kapur points out, they are sometimes at odds with one another. Finding the harmony within these levels of story is the conscious and most importantly unconscious job of the audience, the listener, the jury.

We have spoken often of the need to find the story within your case. And we have spoken often of the need to find many ways to tell that story – narrative, visual, emotional — and here, Kapur offers the idea that these various ways need not be repetitive. In other words, the visual story may be complementary to the narrative as well as illustrative. The emotional story may be underlying the narrative and even at odds with the visual. In finding the truth of each of these the truth of the whole story will be made clear to the listener….the jury.

TIP: While analyzing your case, determine what is the story you want the jury to come away with. What is the “tune you want them singing” as they leave the courtroom.