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School of Law

Presentation Skills for Lawyers

7 February 2015

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm
Venue: Rooms 1.1 and 1.2, CCLS, Queen Mary University of London, 67-69 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JB

This course is led by Nicholas Lloyd and Dr Pippa Heath.

Learning how to develop and deliver a professional presentation is a skill separate from academic learning that needs to be taught and practiced.

In today's business world there is a common expectation that all lawyers are strong communicators and masters at creating and delivering powerful and effective presentations. Being able to present effectively is an on-going necessity - often required during an interview, important for professional purposes - and useful at different stages of an LLM.

For most, the thought of addressing large numbers of people is in itself a daunting prospect. However, to present effectively, one must also learn to communicate a particular set of messages whilst maintaining composure, fluency and authority interspersed with a dash of humour. Also, a speaker must maintain an audience's attention until the very conclusion of their presentation.

Professionals who can present with confidence are trusted and relied upon. This was underlined in recent US research where speakers who addressed their audience with confidence and engendered the perception of authority were assessed as having 'superior ability' to others - even when their qualifications and credibility were subsequently shown to be unfounded (Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes).

Aims and Objectives 

In line with current research but with the solid understanding that lawyers must always provide solid, well- thought out information, the aims of this workshop are to:

  • Provide students with the tools needed to improve their communication skills
  • Enable Participants to design and present an effective, set-piece presentation with confidence, passion and persuasion

Topics addressed during the workshop include:

  • A consideration of the different presentation skills required by lawyers in different situations
  • An examination of communication skills and how these rely upon more than speech alone
  • Information about how to plan construct and deliver a dynamic presentation taking into consideration
      • Visual aids
      • Body language
      • Voice
      • Humour
      • Rhetorical devices
      • Your audience
      • Structure of a presentation/sequencing & signposting

Using this guidance, attendees will be given an opportunity to prepare and deliver their own presentation in a supportive environment. 

Please bring a laptop and memory stick.

Certificates of attendance will be awarded.

How to Book

This workshop is open to CCLS postgraduate students only.

Attendance is free of charge but prior registration is required via Eventbrite.

Contact

For more information, please contact the CCLS Events Team on ccls-events@qmul.ac.uk.


Photography, video and audio recording

Please note that CCLS events may be photographed or video and audio recorded. These materials will be used for internal and external promotional purposes only by Queen Mary University of London. If you object to appearing in the photographs, please let our photographer know on the day. Alternatively you can email the CCLS Events Team on ccls-events@qmul.ac.uk in advance of the event that you are attending.

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