Attorney Persuasion in Practice: Use of Voice and Body Language, Personal Credibility, and Enhanced Memory Techniques

Paul Mellor | Success Links

Paul Mellor, author of Memory Skills for Lawyers, was a finalist in the USA Memory Championship, where he recalled the names of over 90 people in less than 15 minutes, remembered in exact order over 100 single-digit numbers after a five-minute study, and recalled the exact order of a shuffled deck of playing cards after less than a three-and-a-half minute review. His engaging and energetic CLE programs have been delivered to lawyers across the United States and Canada. A Communications graduate of Western Carolina University, Mr. Mellor is also the author of You’re Almost There, chronicling his journey as having run a marathon (26.2 miles) in all 50 states; Summer in the Saddle, about his 4700-mile bicycle ride across America; and Strokes of Kindness, about his 2300-mile solo kayaking adventure down the Mississippi River.

Rena Cook | My Vocal Authority

Rena Cook, Professor Emerita at the University of Oklahoma, is a TEDx speaker, author, voice, speech, confidence and presentation coach. She is the founder of Vocal Authority, a training consultancy serving attorneys who want to use their voice in more commanding and authentic ways. She is the author of Empower your Voice: For Women in Business, Politics and Life, and Her Voice in Law. A popular CLE speaker, Rena has an MA in Voice Studies from London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, an MFA in Directing from the University of Oklahoma, an MA in Guidance & Counseling. Her guilty pleasure is voicing animation and video game characters. www.myvocalauthority.com

Dr. Steve Wood | Courtroom Sciences, Inc.

Steve M. Wood, Ph.D., is a Senior Litigation Consultant and the Director of Research at Courtroom Sciences, Inc., a national litigation consulting and litigation support firm based in Irving, Texas. Dr. Wood uses his social psychological expertise to help clients understand the juror decision-making process and maximize the likelihood of favorable case outcomes. He also assists clients with a myriad of case-related activities, including pre-trial research, witness effectiveness training, case theme development, supplemental juror questionnaires, and jury selection. His work has been published in various peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as several scholarly magazines, and he also serves as co-host of The Litigation Psychology Podcast.

Session I – The Expressive Attorney: Voice and Body Language | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Tuning your instrument
  • Exercises to release habitual tension, and enhance alignment to project confidence and authenticity
  • Breath fuels the voice and how to breathe effectively at each punctuation or thought shift for power and clarity
  • How to make space in the mouth for enhanced projection
• Catching their interest
  • How to use inflection and pitch variety to keep the audience interested
  • How to effectively use rate and volume variety to build suspense
• Capturing their hearts
  • How to use action verbs to stimulate compelling variety and engage the listener’s imagination and emotional response
  • How to tame performance anxiety through deep central breathing
  • How to characterize using subtle voice and body variations to project the desired attitude in the hearts of jury
  • How to prepare an opening/closing to achieve optimal effect on the jury
  • Story boarding for memorization

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – The Value of Hiring a “Credible” Attorney | 2:10pm – 2:55pm

• The definition of credibility – What it is and what it isn’t
• Highlighting the research on attorney credibility and juror decision-making
• Identifying the key elements that decrease an attorney’s credibility

Break | 2:55pm – 3:05pm

Session III – Winning Your Case with a Better Memory | 3:05pm – 4:05pm

• Save time in court preparation
• Make polished presentations to jurors and judges without notes
• Become a better listener in the courtroom
• Cross-examine with confidence – no more missed opportunities because your memory failed you
• Remember names of jurors in trials and clients in other professional settings
• Develop better concentration