The Articulate Attorney: Public Speaking for Lawyers

Written by Brian K. Johnson and Marsha Hunter

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Addressing the distinctive communication skills expected of attorneys—and based on three decades of experience coaching lawyers—this manual of practical, useful solutions integrates cutting-edge discoveries in human factors, linguistics, neuroscience, gesture studies, and sports psychology. These techniques will transform any attorney into a more confident speaker, whether addressing colleagues in a conference room, counseling clients in a boardroom, or presenting a CLE in a ballroom. Including tips on bringing the presentation off of one's notes and using direct eye contact, the book answers such common questions as: How do I channel nervous energy into dynamic delivery? What is a reliable way to remember what I want to say? How do I stop saying "um" and think in silence instead? and Why is gesturing so important? Topics are divided into chapters on the body, the brain, and the voice, with an extra section specifically dedicated to practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crown King Books
• Release date: Jan 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781939506085

Reviews for The Articulate Attorney

[kara.shamy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brian K. Johnson and Marsha Hunter offer nothing more and nothing less than consistently direct, specific, and always valuable advice to trial lawyers and aspirants to that practice in their book The Articulate Attorney: Public Speaking for Lawyers. I see now that the copy I read, released this year, is actually the 2nd edition of a 2010 original; this is anything but surprising. This book seems to me to be a worthy addition to any lawyer’s library.

One aspect of the book I really appreciated was that the authors did not devote any attention to the theory behind their path to success, and indeed, this book isn’t one that purports to offer a chance at success through revelation of some Big New Idea to remedy the reader’s previous perspective. Rather, the text describes practices the reader can employ to improve her oral presentations in court; the focus is on function. To be more specific, the entire book is based on the following premise, which I personally believe to be a(n all too important) truth: how you appear and how you sound is as important or more important than what you say and how true it is. Without trying to validate or invalidate this idea, the authors present concrete techniques to allow the readers to let their clients’ stories and valuable ideas be fully heard by as much of their audience(s) as possible.

Personally, the most useful parts of this book were the detailed information about how to breathe when speaking and the authors’ suggestions about how to practice. I am grateful to the publisher, Crown King Books, for graciously offering me free access to an electronic edition of this release on NetGalley.

[janarose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the subjects that I felt was missing from law school was a good communications or speaking class. Everyone automatically assumes that lawyers have an innate talent for speaking, but this is often not the case. This book was well written, engaging and gave useful information. Overall, highly recommended.