OFF THE WRITTEN TRANSCRIPT:

Nonverbal Cues and Emotional Voices In-House and in Court

Presented by David B. Givens, Ph.D.
Center for Nonverbal Studies

Morning, Part 1
One-on-One: How to Build Rapport, Detect Uncertainty, and Uncover Deception in the Consultation, Deposition, and Personal Interview

9:00 a.m. - 11 a.m.
• Nonverbal communication in the Decade of the Brain
• How to reawaken observation skills and underutilized human instincts
• Using nonverbal cues to plumb below the usual depths of inquiry
• Identify your personal repertoire of body-language cues
• Gestures that put people at ease and encourage them to tell you more
• The deposition is your nonverbal "reading room"
• When clients hesitate, what are they trying to say?
• How to break the innate stranger barrier
• The most compelling nonverbal signs of verbal deception
• How to probe beneath gestures and misleading words
• Using the palm-up cue to establish rapport
• Two telling signs of hidden uncertainty
• A pattern of eye contact to reduce threat and build rapport
• Emotional cues: aiming, flexing, and shrugging the shoulders
• How to read and respond to the hand-behind-head cue

Morning, Part 2

Meetings: Getting Your Message Across a Desk or Conference Table

11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
• Nonverbal psychology of meetings and tables
• Office designs for the optimal interview
• When to conceal (or bare) your throat
• The emotions of clothing
• The significance of cuffs, lapels, and shoulder pads
• Using the palm-down gesture to accent key speaking points
• How and where to sit with clients to enhance information exchange
• Postures that encourage people to be more forthcoming
• How to tell opponents from allies by reading their lips, hands, and shoulders
• Pausing adds drama to verbal remarks
• Mastering the rope-a-dope principle of timed delay
• The power centers in a boardroom
• How to establish rapport through isopraxism and the principle of angular distance
• The best way to show emotion and commitment with your body (below the neck)
• Five clothing strategies to increase your presence, credibility, and authority across a table
• Learn three nonverbal ways to help win a verbal argument

Afternoon, Part 1

Courtroom Signs (incoming): Deciphering the Body Language of Judges, Jurors, and Witnesses

1:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
• Neurology and physiology of body-language cues
• Nonverbal intelligence gathering–your checklist of cues
• Decoding body-language signs of disagreement and opposition on the bench
• A nonverbal questioning technique for the reluctant witness
• "Insignificant" clues that can make or break a case
• Nonverbal cues of witness response: faces and postures
• Specific cues to use to recognize witness evasions and lies
• How to monitor jury feedback and renew juror response
• Four involuntary signs of unvoiced agreement
• How to coach clients and witnesses about their nonverbal demeanor
• Special mention: lips and hands
• Three "high-yield" cues of uncertainty and hidden resistance
• Nonverbal emotion in the younger witness

Afternoon, Part 2

Courtroom Signs (outgoing): Nonverbal Ways to Make Your Argument Convincing, Credible, and Memorable

3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Principles of nonverbal learning in the litigation process
• How jurors think and feel apart from spoken words
• Golden rules to master the entirety of courtroom space
• Nonverbal techniques to lock your argument in verbal memory
• Using physical approach to reclaim jury attention
• Using body language to address your opponent's psyche
• Nonverbal signs to mark key points of your cross
• Using positive demeanor to dominate a hostile witness
• Targeting emotion centers of the brain with gestures
• How and why to steeple when your opponent cross-examines
• Eight clothing signals that foster credibility in court
• How and when to vary your tone of voice
• The wisdom of knowing when to touch the jury railing
• A benefit of "invading" your opponent's personal space
• How to mark your oral argument's structure nonverbally with body movements

Copyright 1999 (David B. Givens/Center for Nonverbal Studies)
Detail of photo by Dan Weiner (Copyright Fortune)