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1. Opening Statement as Speech
• I view opening statement as if it were a
speech.
• There are two cardinal rules.

2. Opening Statement as Speech
• First, it should follow the fundamental
principles of speech and drama.
• Second, the presentation should be tailored
for your audience. The first rule of persuasion
is to know and adjust to your audience. In
terms of trial, this means that the preparation
and delivery of your opening will be focused
on the jury. This process is jury-centered.

3. Opening Statement as Speech
• When preparing for my opening statement, I turn
to the world of acting for inspiration.
• Often times, actors are given material which is
foreign to them, and they have to learn how to
make it their own by making it personal to them.
That is how they prepare for a role. The
Playwright provides the script. And the actor’s job
is to fill the role with life. To do this, actors must
always have a point of view: they must know
what someone else’s words (i.e., playwright’s)
means to them.

4. Opening Statement as Speech
• For example, if my scene partner says to me,
“I’m going to buy you a red tie from Brooks
Brothers” and my response is, “Not red!” I
have to know how I feel about the color, red.
• If I go from looking delighted when hearing
the first part of the line to grimacing on
hearing the word, “red” and my line bursts
forth, “Not red!” it becomes blatantly obvious
how much I despise the color red.

5. Opening Statement as Speech
• Even though the material already exists, the
life the actor brings to it is his own. It’s unique
for each person who does it because it’s made
out of the human being who does the work.
• When it comes right down to it, it’s Mike’s
emotion. It’s Mike beside himself. It’s always
Mike.

6. Opening Statement as Speech
• The difference in litigation is that you get to
write your own opening and closing – they are
your words and no one else’s!

7. Opening Statement as Speech
• This makes you less hampered because the life
that you bring to your opening and closing is
your own.

8. Speech Methods Which Do Not Work
• Written speeches which are read or memorized
and recited or otherwise “scripted” will fail
miserably.
– Remember: A trial is a clash of ideas which requires
flexibility in order to adapt and change on the fly.
Operating from a notepad is dull and unpersuasive.
– Memorized speeches are rigid and inflexible – like a
stuffed animal adorning the bumper of a hunter’s car.
As such, they cannot be adjusted to keep up with the
changing circumstances of a trial.

9. Speech Methods Which Do Not Work
– Half-memorized speeches aren’t any better. They
result in an interrupted delivery and are not “in
the moment.” Worse yet, the energy put into
struggling to recall lines prevents the attorney
from being present and connecting with the jury.

10. Speech Methods Which Do Not Work
• Why detailed notes are an albatross:
– The notes become the focus of the speech instead
of the jury.
– The lawyer considers his or her preparation
commensurate with the amount and detail of the
notes.
– The lawyer is merely a conduit for what is written
on the pad.

11. Speech Methods Which Do Not Work
– The lawyer does not rely on himself as the source
of the subject matter, but instead relies on the
notes. The lawyer relies on the notes to such an
extent that he becomes tethered to them,
clasping onto them like a mountain climber
clasping onto the edge of a cliff as his feet are
dangling in mid-air.

12. Speech Methods Which Do Not Work
– Instead, it is imperative to immerse yourself in the
subject matter so that you are the source.

13. Why We Do It
• Why do we memorize and/or rely so heavily
on our notes?
– We are afraid that we are going to leave
something out and that by the time we go to sit
down, it will be too late to say it.
– As a result, meeting legal requirements and
ensuring nothing is left out are top of mind, to the
detriment of connecting with the jury.

14. My Opinion on the Use of Notes
• Not using notes is too much to ask. Don’t
hesitate to use notes so long as you are only
using them as an aid to jog your memory and
you are the source of the information.

15. My Opinion on the Use of Notes
• Tip: When there is a need to be sure that
certain things are mentioned, simply create a
checklist.

16. Extemporaneous Method
• Comes from the creative genius of Stephen C.
Rench, Esq., faculty member of NCDC.
• The extemporaneous method is very effective.
• It comes from the heart and is natural and
real.
• It requires deep preparation but leaves the
speech to be made at the moment of delivery.

17. Extemporaneous Method
• Characteristics:
– The focus is the jury and the source of the
message is the attorney, not the notepad.
– The notepad is merely an aid. The lawyer is not a
conduit for what is on the notepad.
– The attorney’s immersion with the subject matter
allows for flexibility and spontaneity so that he
can adapt on the fly.

18. Extemporaneous Method
– The attorney is emotionally available and allows
himself to be affected by the jurors. He pauses,
allowing the jury to respond through facial
expressions and body language. It’s as though the
lawyer is having a conversation with the jury even
though the jury is not speaking back.
– When there is genuine contact between the
attorney and the jurors, the relationship between
the two lives.

19. Extemporaneous Method
• The extemporaneous method is natural and
conversational and heightens the credibility of the
attorney.

20. Extemporaneous Method
• The extemporaneous method requires an
effective organizing and note system.

21. Extemporaneous Method
– Related thoughts should be organized into points.
Each point and its supporting material should be
put into a chapter.
– The chapter should be given a name, like a tag
line, which expresses the point or subject-matter.
This name will help jog your memory.
– The purpose of the “jog note” is to remind
yourself of the point or subject to be covered. The
material supporting the point should then come
from you – as a result of your immersion with the
material – without so much as having to take a
furtive glance at your notes.