Module 1
Why lawyers speak: audiences, purposes and the one thing to say
A lawyer's words are the product. Clients, judges and colleagues all judge you in large part by how you speak. Yet speaking is rarely taught as a skill. This module starts where every good talk starts: with the audience, the purpose and the single message you want them to leave with.
By the end of this module you can
- Describe the main audiences a lawyer speaks to and what each needs.
- State the purpose of a talk: inform, advise, persuade or decide.
- Reduce a talk to one message in a sentence.
- Treat nerves as normal and useful.
Part 1. The lecture
The audiences a lawyer faces
A lawyer speaks to very different people, and the same words do not work for all of them. The first question for any talk is not "What do I want to say?" but "Who is listening, and what do they need?"
| Audience | What they need | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| A judge or tribunal | A clear path to a decision on the law and facts, briefly, within the court's rules | Speeches that repeat the written case, ignore the judge's questions or run over time |
| A client | To understand their position, their options and what happens next, in plain words | Jargon, caveats without a conclusion, no clear recommendation |
| A board or senior business team | The answer first, the risk in business terms, a decision to make | Long legal analysis before the conclusion |
| Colleagues or a supervising partner | An accurate, concise account they can act on | Rambling, no structure, no clear ask |
| A jury or lay panel (where used) | A story they can follow and remember, in everyday language | Technical language and abstraction |
| A conference, a class or a webinar | Something useful and memorable within the time | Too much content, no thread |
Notice that the common failing is the same: speaking in the way that is easiest for the speaker, not the listener. Lawyers know a great deal, and the temptation is to say all of it.
What is the talk for?
Every talk has a main purpose, and it decides everything else. Four are common.
- To inform. The audience should understand something new: a change in the law, the steps of a process.
- To advise. The audience should know what you recommend and why, so that they can decide.
- To persuade. The audience should be moved to a particular view or ruling.
- To decide or agree. A meeting should reach a decision, and the talk is a means to it.
Mixing purposes confuses audiences. A client briefing that tries to inform, advise and persuade all at once usually does none well. Choose the main one, and let the others support it.
A useful pair of questions
What do I want them to know, feel or do when I have finished?
What is the smallest amount that will get them there?
The one message
Listeners remember little. After a talk, most people can recall one or two points at most, and often only the general impression. So decide in advance what the one thing is, and build the talk around it.
State it in a single sentence that a non-specialist would understand. If you cannot, you do not yet know what you want to say.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| “I'll be talking about the various issues arising under the supply contract.” | “The supply contract limits our liability for delay, so we should not settle for more than the price of the goods.”A message is a claim with a consequence, not a topic. |
| “There are several factors the court may consider.” | “The court is most likely to decide this on one point: whether the notice was given in time.”It points the listener to what matters. |
Everything in the talk should either support the message or be left out. A fact that is interesting but does not serve it belongs in the handout, not the speech.
Nerves are normal
Most speakers, including experienced ones, feel nervous before an important talk. Surveys regularly rank public speaking among the most common fears. Nerves are the body's alert response (see Steady Under Load), and they carry energy. The aim is not to remove them but to use them.
- Reframe it. The body's signals of anxiety and of excitement are similar. Telling yourself "I am excited and ready" can help more than "calm down".
- Prepare, but not endlessly. Know your opening and closing very well, and your key points. Rehearse aloud, not only in your head.
- Focus on the audience, not yourself. Your aim is to help them, and that takes attention away from your own worries.
- Use your breath before you begin (Stress course, Module 3).
- Remember that audiences are on your side. They want you to do well; most do not notice your nerves.
Nerves usually ease after the first minute. A strong, well-rehearsed opening gets you through the hardest part.
Practising
Speaking is a physical skill, and it improves with practice, not with reading about it. This site has places to practise: the Public Speaking simulator and the Speaking Room let you speak aloud, record yourself and review, and the Moot Court Simulator lets you argue before a bench. Use the course to learn the method and the simulators to try it.
Part 2. Lab: Know Your Audience
Each approach is how a lawyer opens a talk. Decide which audience it suits best, and what would go wrong with the others.
Situation 1 of 8
"May it please the court. The single question is whether the notice was served in time, and I will take the court through why it was not."
Where does this belong?
Part 3. Lab: Find the Message
For each situation, choose the best one-sentence message. Two points for the strongest answer, one for an acceptable one.
Situation 1 of 4
You must brief a company's board for ten minutes on a dispute with a supplier. The analysis shows a good claim but a costly process, and a settlement offer is on the table.
Which message is best?
Part 4. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. Sign in to have your score saved towards your certificate.
General education on public speaking for lawyers, using invented people and situations. It is not legal advice. Court procedure, etiquette and professional duties about honesty and confidentiality differ by court and country and must be taken from the rules that apply where you practise.
Teaching? Share this with your class
Free to use in class. The free parts open for everyone, no account needed.