ACTING LIKE A HUMAN BEING: SKILLS IN STORYTELLING & DEMEANOR |
DescriptionMany lawyers adopt a false demeanor when pleading to a jury. Acting the gamut from stiff and formal undertakers to bad used car salesmen, attorneys across the country are turning jurors off every day. Like the actor, the lawyer must and can learn how to strip away artifice and get rid of the lawyer persona and be himself/herself before the jury. In addition to this basic communicative need to be oneself and reach out past the footlights, the theatre offers the best arena for a lawyer to study storytelling. In the theatre, the stories are active and alive and are happening in the present moment, as if for the first time. The goal in the theatre is to have a clear, active story that moves people emotionally, intellectually and to action. This is the same goal that the attorney has. In this tape, the viewer will observe the workshop participants lose their courtroom demeanor and adapt their own. The elements of courtroom storytelling are taught through the creation and delivery of "telegrams" -- ten word messages from lawyer to juror. The viewer creates a telegram along with the workshop participants and explores his/her lawyer persona issues through reflection. |
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