Waking Up The Instrument

• Let’s begin at the simplest place, the physical presence of the lawyer; the lawyer standing before the judge or jury.

Waking Up The Instrument

• What is true about this is that the lawyer is occupying space, either filling it with energy or not.

• If there is sufficient energy, then there is an interest on the other side. If not, then boredom or disinterest looms up.

Waking Up The Instrument

• This is demonstrated by the amusing yet profound words of acting legend, Michael Chekhov: “The moment you are not alive on the stage, you are dead.”

• This is a statement that an actor can understand, because every actor knows the immense pleasure of feeling alive on stage, and the profound pain of losing the audience due to a lack of energy.

Waking Up The Instrument

• The conception of a human being as an energetic force is no longer an idea that needs defending. The mind-body connection is now commonplace.

Waking Up The Instrument

• Energy is a loaded term, it means many things to many different people. Let me define it as I have come to understand it, so we have a common ground to stand on.

• It is the force that moves the body, a substance that is neither muscle nor bone. It is the life force.

• Energy is the key that opens up the doors.

Waking Up The Instrument

• As a society, we are “hard-wired” to judge people based on their appearances. The same holds true in the courtroom.

Waking Up The Instrument

• As a result, attorneys try to use appearances to their advantage. They adjust their own language, dress, and overall courtroom style to please the jury, and attempt to change their clients’ looks as well.

• But during this makeover, they overlook one, very important thing: their own bodies!

Waking Up The Instrument

• Our bodies are our front line of expression – it is what everyone sees.

Waking Up The Instrument

• Your body gives off a lot of clues about who you are.

Waking Up The Instrument

• Michael Chekhov analogized the body to that of an instrument.

• Our instrument is the same body that carries on a life: it eats; it sleeps; it laughs and cries; it experiences pain and anguish; it dies.

• More about this later.

Posture

• “Posture must reflect the dynamism of a person with a cause.” – Stephen Rench, Esq.

Alignment is Critical

• One of the saddest sights is when a lawyer’s body language and words are out of sync.

• While the lawyer might be saying one thing, his body language and posture might be saying something entirely different.

• The danger this poses is that it may cause the jury to question the lawyer’s credibility.

• Because body language reveals more than words, nonverbal language will always win out.

Example

What does the body language of each of these speakers convey? What impression is each

attorney likely to leave the jury with?

Alignment is Critical

• When the body and words are out of alignment, the jury will instantly view the lawyer as an “impostor” – someone who cannot be trusted.

Alignment is Critical

• Tip: As simple as this might sound, one of the biggest reasons why a lawyer’s nonverbal language and gestures are out of sync with his words is because the lawyer, himself, has not convinced himself that his client is innocent. One cannot expect to persuade others of that which one does not believe oneself. When defending a person accused of a crime, if you haven’t convinced yourself – lock, stock, and barrel – that your client is innocent, your nonverbal communication will reveal the uncertainty!

Waking Up The Instrument• Actors have used physicality to create

characters since time and memorial.• “Allow the physicality to inform your

character.”