Think Out Loud

“I would be loath to cast away my speech, for besides that it is excellently well penned, I have taken great pains to con it.”

Twelfth Night, I,4; Viola to Olivia

           Don’t underestimate the power of talking about your case before giving an oral argument.  I am not talking just about a mock argument before a panel of pretend judges. Simply talking about a complex subject with another person causes you to organize your thoughts.  Appellate oral arguments and even most trial court arguments require boiling things down to simple ideas that must be communicated in just a minute or two. Long answers to questions often tax the listener.

               Simply discussing your case with another person will increase your command of your material. If you are having a tough time knowing where to start, discuss your case with someone who knows nothing about it. Notice where you start and what you emphasize; let that inform your preparation for argument. Framing your case as a conversation can really put your understanding of it to the test. If you can tell the story clearly enough for a layperson to understand, you can probably argue it just as clearly. Describing the case orally can reveal where you are muddy. Note what flummoxes your listener. Have them ask you questions or tell you where they are losing you. Those are the points you need to reassess until you really know what you are writing about.

           My paralegal loves oral argument “story time.” Just ask him. (I pay him to say “Yes!”)  And the process inevitably helps me to fully wrap my head around the communication problem I am trying to solve.

            The fringe benefit is that you get to engage with another human being in the midst of an isolated activity. I also use the technique of talking about the case as a prelude to writing.  Talking to another person can breathe new life into your writing.