63. Effective Oral Communication, with Mark Caldwell Artwork

May the Record Reflect

If you’re a litigator or trial lawyer, your life is full—in and out of the courtroom. May the Record Reflect is the podcast of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and we know that if something related to lawyering is interesting to us, chances are it’s interesting to you, too. Trial skills, office life, personal development, and more—it’s all fair game on May the Record Reflect.

All Episodes

May the Record Reflect

63. Effective Oral Communication, with Mark Caldwell

February 19, 2025 • National Institute for Trial Advocacy • Episode 63

NITA Program Director and former Resource Director Mark Caldwell joins the podcast to chat about how to effectively communicate with the various audiences in the courtroom to ensure they get — and comprehend — the information they need from you. He shares how to talk to jurors about unfamiliar courtroom procedures and substantive information, why sounding like a tv lawyer is a huge turn-off to jurors, and recommends some of his favorite lawyers from pop culture whose techniques can help trial lawyers refine their courtroom communication style.

Topics

3:05 The needs of the courtroom audience
7:14 What “talking like a lawyer” means
10:10 Juror impressions of “lawspeak”
13:53 Communicating procedural and substantive complexity
20:06 How not to sound like a lawyer
27:50 Pop culture examples of legal communication
29:00 Why my cousin Vinny is a great trial lawyer
31:42 Movies and a book to recommend
51:55 Implicit bias training

Quote
“Don’t be a tv lawyer, but take lessons from what you see on television.” Mark Caldwell

Resources
Mark Caldwell (bio)
Colorado Deposition Skills and Trial Skills (programs)
Films, shows, and book (list)