CBA Record November-December 2024

Tips on Improving Your Presentation Skills By Amy Cook, Editorial Board member

are present and ready and connected to your body. You are not pushing and not retreating.

Free your body and breathe. This is something you need to practice. It starts with your feet connected to the ground. Your energy is a little forward in the balls of your feet. Feet are hip distance apart. Keep the forward connection; don’t retreat. Notice any tension in the shoulders and jaw and release unhelpful tension. Marchegiani recommends arm circles and neck stretches—gently pull your head from one side to the other. Actors and performers do side stretches to expand the rib cage. Exhale when speaking. “It’s common for us to speak on half breaths,” Marchegiani says. Try this exercise: inhale back and exhale for ward and, while making an “sss” sound train, yourself to speak on the exhale. Observe and connect. Take tips from improv and try the “Yes, and…” mindset. Listen to understand and not to challenge (unless called for under the circumstances, such as impeaching a witness). Be willing to be changed. Marchegiani says, “How can I expect someone to change their mind if I refuse to change mine?” He recommends getting into the room where you’ll be speaking. Notice textures, temperature, smells, and ambient noise. Try out how your voice sounds and make adjustments. Practice and be curious. Practice with everyday scenarios. Try to be in the second circle and be aware of first and third circle situations. Notice when someone tries to intimidate you without caving or mirroring their energy. Things you may do regularly can be cross-training. When walking the dog, practice rolling for ward through your feet. Many sports help you do the same, like skiing, basketball, tennis, and pickleball. Get curious: When do you feel you are performing well? When do you feel you’re not? Ask for feedback from colleagues and friends. A presentation is more than just what you’re going to say. Mar chegiani encourages us to “consider that freedom, and not con trol, is the path to peak performance.” “Performance Skills for Lawyers” is available on demand at Learn.Chicagobar.org.

W e all probably know attorneys who were theater majors or attorneys that have taken classes and performed improv at Second City or iO Theater. And we’re all familiar with our talented Bar Show performers. But an attor ney who is also an opera singer?

Paul Marchegiani

Paul Marchegiani, founder and CEO of Vox Vera, a consult ing firm, recently offered five tips on breathing, voice projection, and presence to enhance presentation skills. His firm helps law yers and other professionals “get out of their heads” and connect with their bodies. Marchegiani emphasized that content is only a small part of what happens when you communicate, and lawyers are good at the content part. ”Affective” communication is what happens in the body and what goes into a successful performance. Self-knowledge. Before an important meeting, negotiation, or trial, answer these questions: What do you bring to the table? Why you? What are your values? There must be mutual trust. Clients, juries, and judges can tell if a person is inauthentic. Then, move to make a connection. Connection is how you deliver the message. Be present. Marchegiani referenced well-respected voice coach and theater director Patsy Rodenburg’s three “circles of energy” that we move in and out of throughout the day. The first is falling back. You are receiving energy. You’re passive, scrolling through your phone. The attention is inward. The third (yes, it’s out of order) is pushed out—you’re trying to make something happen. You don’t care what comes back at you. This might take place at the gym, a sports game, or the airport. It’s a bullying energy. The second circle is what you want: a true give-and-take. You

Amy Cook is principal at Amy Cook Law, focusing on individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits with a special interest serving those in the creative arts and food systems communities, and CBA Record Editorial Board Member.

10 November/December 2024