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Ted Olson, former Solicitor General under President Bush, appeared on Fox News Sunday, hosted by Chris Wallace. The topic was Proposition 8 in California, and a recent victory by Mr. Olson’s legal team in Federal Court.

In terms of handling a difficult interview, Mr. Olson did an excellent job, no matter where you stand on the issue. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Message – Mr. Olson’s message was clear, and he did not waver. Nearly every answer contained one or more of the following: Fundamental Rights; Bill of Rights; 14th Amendment.

2. Composure/Tone – No matter how hard he was pressed, Mr. Olson never lost his composure, raised his voice, or indicated any sign of being rattled.

3. Pause – The pauses were not long, often only a second, but they were there. It was obvious that Olson was thinking about what he was going to say before he said it. In a few instances, when Chris Wallace was utilizing comments Mr. Olson made in the past, you could see Mr. Olson crack a very subtle smile, acknowledging the trap, and then going straight back to his message.

4. Preparation – There is simply no substitute for preparation, and it is clear that Mr. Olson had anticipated and prepared for every question before it was raised.

5. Backdrop – Sometimes you can control it, sometimes you do not have a choice; this backdrop was very flattering to Mr. Olson as it fit is appearance

6. Appearance - Mr. Olson looked the part – a seasoned, experienced legal expert who regularly argues before the highest court in the land.

7. Silence - Mr. Olson disagreed, but never interrupted. Even more importantly, when he finished answering, he stopped. This is one of the hardest, but most important, things one can do when dealing with a hostile interview – once you have answered, stop talking.

There were numerous other takeaways, including answering a question with a question, using an analogy that involved the host, and utilizing passion in a more subtle way than most of us are used to.

After over 14 minutes of sparring, Chris Wallace paid Mr. Olson the ultimate compliment:

“After your appearance today I don’t understand how you ever lost a case in front of the Supreme Court.”

1. Speak Slowly/Pause -  Sotomayor’s cadence was perfect, period.  Every word was timed perfectly, and she made sure there was no where to focus except on her message — slow speech meant no slip-ups.  I can not stress the importance of this enough.  Every great prizefighter knows the key to setting up and controlling a fight is an effective jab — Judge Sotomayor used cadence as her “jab” very, very effectively.
2. Eye Contact- Again, excellent.  She did not “ping-pong” back and forth, and her eye contact was strong throughout.
3. Annunciation – The tempo and cadence of the speech was very deliberate and allowed her to fully annunciate every word, as well as stress certain words, and even syllables.  It was a great display of confidence and power, and one that every speaker can learn from.
4. Use of Emotion – Again, the pace and cadence allowed the Judge to speak in the moment and actually feel what she was saying, and it showed.   Examples — Describing her niece “My niece Kylie — she looks like me!” Describing her mother “I am only half the woman she is.”

It was critical that Judge Sotomayor deliver her message effectively, as this was her first opportunity to do so, and her only opportunity to define herself before everyone else got a shot.

As with all things, there was room for improvement (too much dependence on prepared text) but all in all, a very impressive performance.  As with any campaign this is only the beginning, but Judge Sotomayor took her best shot at Campaign 101 — define yourself before your opposition has a chance to.

Whether presenting to a courtroom, a conference, a client, or members of the firm, the ability to communicate is essential.   This one skill often determines whether an attorney is viewed as effective, a mediation or negotiation is successful, a client is retained, a strategy is considered successful, and, ultimately, whether a case is won or lost.

While there are a few individuals who are amazing and captivating as public speakers without any training, most of us are not blessed with this skill at birth.  We have to work at it.

I have had the opportunity to work with attorneys in both one on one and small group settings, and while nothing makes up for training, the following five steps, nicknamed the Triple S, Double P, can help most attorneys, regardless of talent level, natural communication ability, or position in the firm, when it comes to basic public speaking improvement.

S 1 – Slow Down!

A well known attorney begins his presentation before a packed industry convention loaded with potential clients.  This individual has a reputation for being knowledgeable, charismatic and informed.  Sure enough, he makes his presentation, is engaging throughout, uses positive body language, yet when he finishes and looks out at the audience, there is very little reaction.  To make matters worse, everyone looks confused, and a little bewildered.

Slow Down! Slow Down! Slow Down!

Presenting is not a race.  People want to hear what you have to say, but you have to give them the ability to.

Take brief pause, a breath, a sip of water, whatever you need to do to slow your self down.  Your audience will appreciate it.

 S 2 – Smile!

Smiling is contagious.  Period.  Smiling will improve your confidence, will improve the disposition of your audience, and will improve your speaking – dramatically.  Smiling is the equivalent of body language 101. Nothing will get the audience on your side faster than an authentic, genuine smile.

One note of caution, whatever you do, never, ever, fake it.  You will not fool anyone, and nothing spells insincerity like a fake smile.  Think about your significant other.  Think about your kids. Think about how whatever will cause you to perk up even the slightest bit.

There is always something that will put a smile on your face, and you are the best person to know what that something is.  So think of it, try to put whatever has you upset out of your mind (I know – easier said than done), laugh at how impossible that is, if you have to, but whatever you do – SMILE.

S 3 – Stay Brief!

Stay brief. Keep it simple.  Less is always more. Always.

We have all heard the descriptions – “the lawyer’s disease” or “talking like a lawyer.”  It is important to remember that less is always more.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best, “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”

P 1 – Pause!

Do you want to reduce the number of times you use ummmm, uhhhh, ahhhh, and other uncomfortable sounds when you speak and are trying to gather your train of thought, or are nervous, or both? Learn to pause.

Do you want to keep control of your message and what you want to communicate? Learn to pause.

Do you want to ensure that your audience, or the jury, understands the emphasis you placed on what you just said, or what you are about to say? Learn to pause.

When you a jury of 12 or a convention of 5,000, every second of silence feels like an eternity — to you.  It does not feel like an eternity to your audience, it feels like – a second of silence!

P 2 – Practice!

Trials, presentations, client pitches – these are not situations where you want to wing it!  Attorneys routinely spend hundreds of hours preparing for important litigation, and it never ceases to amaze me how often litigators decide to “wing it” with the presentation angle, spending barely any time practicing the opening statement, getting feedback on it, tweaking it, and practicing it some more.

It is often said that Sir Winston Churchill practiced one hour for every one minute of speech he was delivering.  Imagine that – for a five minute speech, Churchill would practice for five hours!

There are a few naturally gifted speakers who don’t need much practice, just like there are a few athletes who are can get by with little practice.  However, for the rest of us, practice is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Becoming a great public speaker requires a significant amount of time, patience, and training. However, by employing these 5 steps your public speaking will improve, your ability to hold your audience’s attention will improve and you will feel more confident as you speak.

Litigators effectively utilize focus groups to test key messages (full disclosure – I often run them for litigators around the country).  I find the true value in a focus group, whether used in politics, the corporate world or the legal world, not necessarily is the ultimate decision – we like your candidate, your product, or we decide for your client; but rather – here is what we don’t like, this is what we do not like about your client, your product, your message, your argument, etc.

I also find that focus groups are very effective to test any case message, even those in more routine matters who may not need a formal focus group. Here are a few steps to set up a quick, effective focus group before your next legal matter:

1.  Know your audience -  The group does not have to big, nor does it have to be formal – it has to be representative.

2. Friend are not always your friends – When running focus groups for litigators, I shy away from having a firm member participate as a focus group member- if you are involved, you are involved.  What you are looking for is distance from the issue.  People you know, respect and trust, but do not necessarily spend all of your time with, often offer the best feedback.

3. Friends are not always your friends, Pt. II – For this reason, I try to avoid having people who are very close to each other participate as well – it tends to skew the dynamic and often overpower the group, leading to missing key feedback.

4. Preparation – I like to throw just about everything that I am planning on speaking about out there – sometimes I am just too close to the topic, and miss things that might be more effective and more beneficial to my audience; An unprepared speech or presentation will focus all of the attention on delivery and not much on the message – meaning that you will get half of the value.  Spend some time preparing.

5. Ask! -    The key is to identify the right person to participate.  You are looking for a very small group, again, not to validate how “good” you are, but to offer opinions and bring a different perspective.

I will be teaching the class along with Kevin O’Toole, Managing Partner of leading legal crisis management law firm O’Toole Fernandez Weiner Van Lieu, Tom Scrivo, Partner, McElroy, Deutsch and insurance expertAnthony Slimowicz, Of-Counsel to the O’Toole law firm.  The course will address issues ranging from research/investigations; crisis communication, dealing with the media and public presentation; risk mitigation and risk management.

The course will be approximately 1.5+ hours and will satisfy 2 CLE credits, and the next available course date will be December 20, 2011.  Please contact me for more information,  if you would like to inquire about scheduling a seminar for your company or organization, etc.

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