In the next lines we will talk about the main aspects of the form that will highlight the most important points of the speech and bring more impact to your words, bringing the audience’s attention and facilitating the understanding of your points.
The most prominent tool when it comes to form is certainly eye contact. Whether in a hearing, an oral argument or talking to other lawyers, you need to look at everyone present. It is very common to observe a Merriam Municipal Lawyer, in an oral argument, looking only at the chairman. This attitude is bad because, many times, the president doesn’t even have a vote speak in public and you inadvertently stop looking at the other judges.
In addition to being bad because the judges feel excluded, eye contact has the function of assisting in observing their posture. Often, whoever is there on the other side judging, demonstrates through their facial and body posture whether or not they understood what you meant. If he understands, go ahead, if he doesn’t understand, bring another argument that reinforces the first.
Does it bring an initial context?
Remember that the judge listens to dozens of oral arguments every week and many lawyers (many of them!) Go there without organizing the speech, just to register that they supported it. Based on that, I want to assist you in the beginning of the speech. It has the function of showing that the speech has a direction and that it was well planned. That way you involve the judge and get him to hear your arguments, after all, it is no use having excellent arguments if those who judge are looking at the cell phone.
How to start: you have three ways to start the speech to get attention (reinforcement that I am exemplifying with an oral argument, but this can be used when dispatching with the judge, the magistrate in audience or in a conversation with other lawyers ): the lawyer can start his speech with a strong argument (something impactful, shocking and that brings people’s attention to the subject), with a brief context and the solution of the problem (talk about the problem briefly and soon after showing your optics.
Be careful not to take too long in contextualizing because the judges may raise expectations on the topic or they may get lost) or by giving the direction of the arguments (demonstrating which path will follow so that the judges understand the trail of the arguments until they reach the end). Don’t forget to show the direction to people early on.
Conclusion
Just like a person who goes to the cinema, goes to a comedy film prepared to smile and people who go to a drama film prepared to cry, you need to direct, at the beginning of the speech, which “film” people will follow.
