In this episode, Kristi explores the critical distinction between being conversational and being presentational in courtroom communication. Attorneys must maintain a conversational style with live audiences—even while delivering highly prepared content. Kristi explains how over-rehearsed delivery can unintentionally distance jurors instead of building trust and connection.

She also dives into breath support and vocal stability, breaking down how breath and muscle coordination work together to create a grounded, reliable voice. She illustrates why vocal strength isn’t about forcing or muscling through, but about coordinated support throughout the entire vocal system.

LISTEN HERE...

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• The difference between:
  • having a conversation vs. being conversational
  • giving a presentation vs. sounding presentational
• Why jurors need conversational energy—not performative polish
• How over-rehearsed delivery can create distance instead of connection
• When presentational polish is useful
• What breath support actually is—and why it matters for vocal stability
• How tension, imbalance, and poor coordination create shaky or weak vocal tone

Key Takeaway:

Jurors don’t connect with perfection—they connect with presence. A courtroom presentation should feel human, connected, and conversational, even when highly prepared.

Favorite Moment:

“If I can make eye contact with someone, it’s conversational.”

Links & Resources:

90 Minute Trial Voice Consult - https://calendly.com/fostervoicestudio/90-minute-vocal-consult-session

FREE Vocal Snapshot Session - https://calendly.com/fostervoicestudio/30-minute-assessment-clone

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TRANSCRIPT:

—WELCOME—

So, just last week, in last week's episode, I talked through all the reasons that you should be conversational in your courtroom style. I broke down the difference between having a conversation vs being conversational, and why you HAVE to know the difference. In jury selection, you are having a conversation, but in opening the conversation stops. It's just one-way at that point. It's not interactive. Yet, it's important to maintain the conversational STYLE as you move into your presentation—for just personal continuity (they need to see the same person, get the same vibe from you that they got in voir dire), but also for the sake of juror learning (keeping all the language accessible, and analogies relateable).

Now THAT discussion was framed within the context of how to structure your opening—with teaching first and telling the story second instead of intertwining them (like you would in a conversation.) Go back to Ep. 71 to brush up on how I suggest you structure your opening with these things in mind.

Today, I want to take another, maybe a different look at staying within the conversational realm. Today, I think it's important to break down the difference of being conversational vs presentational. There are merits to each and it's important that you know when to use both. And, let's just remember that a conversation is different than being conversational, and a presentation is different than being presentational. Conversation and presentation are NOUNS, whereas conversational and presentational are ADJECTIVES. We're addressing the adjectives today. We're talking about having conversational presentations, or presentational conversations.

Okay, are you thoroughly confused now? hahaha! Well, here's why this came up and I felt a need to talk about it.

Several weeks ago, I was coaching a client who wanted to practice their presentation. This was intended to be just a 5-minute, quick action, quick hit type of thing as part of a larger structure. LOTS of presenters, back to back, 5-min each, sharing tips, tricks, strategies, etc.

Now, given that the time limit was really strict (limited to only 5-minutes), they had to have their presentation buttoned up—neatly edited, pacing on point, no margin for improv or spontaneous exchanges. Their powerpoint was clean, clear, and their script was sharp, compelling, and easily actionable. And vocally? They were excellent. Good shifts of pitch to mark changes in energy and introducing new key points, arching phrases that kept things dynamically interesting, using emphasis to infuse meaning into modifiers and color words.

All good things, right? So why was I so uptight when I was listening to them practice?

That's when it hit me. If I was watching this presentation as a YouTube, or as an OnDemand online course, it would have been PERFECT. Like chef's kiss. No notes.

But i wasn't watching a YouTube or taking an online course. I was on a Zoom call with a live person. And when they did their presentation for real, they would be on a Zoom call with a living, attentive audience. That's when I realized that this otherwise stellar presentation FELT presentational, and it completely turned me off from wanting to learn from them at all. Their presentational style was too performative. It's just not how you would naturally talk when you are making eye contact with real people. It was too distant. TOO polished. TOO practiced. I needed a conversational style for that presentation in order to be invited into the learning.

On the flip side, I have watched some YouTube presentations that were too conversational and I just couldn't learn from them either. I felt something like anger bubble up as I say to the screen "Pull it together man! How 'bout you practice a bit before you just press record." They may be experts and have great information, but not enough polish, too conversational in their style, and they lose credibility with me.

So, what's the tipping point? How do you know which to use?

My general guideline is that if I can make eye contact with someone, it's conversational. These are moments to connect interpersonally, create that spark of chemistry—not romantic chemistry, but just human energy exchanges. Jurors want conversational style in your courtroom presentations.

Now, that doesn't mean you get to be all casual and forget all about decorum and professionalism. You can be professional and demonstrate how prepared you are while still maintaining connection and this conversational style. And THIS I think is the reason that there's merit to the idea that you shouldn't read your opening. I didn't say you couldn't WRITE your opening and create a script for yourself. (I don't think you always need to and I think you use it as a crutch sometimes and need to trust yourself more, but that a discussion for another day). If writing it all out helps you organize you thoughts and create clear sequencing of key points, I can totally get behind that. I'm 100% okay with you having a script, but then you have to present it in a conversational way, like you're shooting from the hip and creating it on the spot, easy & natural. That's where a lot of attorneys falter. They keep it presentational and it ends up distancing the jury instead of creating rapport and connection.

So, where CAN you use the presentational style? A lot of you are doing videos for your website, for marketing, and even for OnDemand CLEs. That's a great time to be more performance-based. Get the polish out for those moments.

This is not a distinction of good/bad. Not even good/better. You need to be able to do both, and know when to use each. Both styles are good but are for different applications. So, remember my basic rule: If you have people you can make eye contact with, even if only over a zoom screen, keep your presentations conversational.

And, you might not know if your too performative. That's why it's important to work with a coach, even for short term, targeted practice. They should be able to tell you if something feels too presentational and tell you specifically how to adjust without throwing out all your preparation. I'd love to be that sounding board and coach for you. Contact me anytime to set up a Trial Voice Consult Session. I've put the link to sign up and my email address in the show notes for you.

—BREAK—

Do you ever feel like your voice is a little shaky? Probably only YOU notice. Let's just remember that you are the only one experiencing your voice in the way you experience it. You are the only one that has internal listening. You're hearing your voice inside your head. I'm not doing that. I'm hearing your voice externally—once it leaves your body, bounces off surfaces, and gets to my ears. I'm not inside your head to hear the sound wave conduct off your skeletal structure. That's just you, baby. hahaa!

You're also the only one who can FEEL your voice in action. You alone feel when things are scratchy, or when you mouth is dry, or when your allergies are acting up, or when you inner ear is itchy. THAT sensory data informs your perception of your voice.

And finally, you're the only one who carries the emotional history, maybe we say emotional baggage, that surrounds your voice. How you speak is informed by your upbringing, your personality development, the community structure and expectations you live in, cultural expectations, and personal (maybe embarrassing) vocal moments. Only you know that.

So, I mention all that to say that your voice probably isn't as shaky as you FEEL like it is. The only way to really know is to get external feedback (either from listening to a recording, or getting feedback from a coach).

BUT...if it FEELS shaky or weak to YOU, whether because of personal wellness on a given day, spikes in anxiety, or untethered adrenaline, the number one way to give it more stability and structure is through your BREATH.

This is called Breath SUPPORT. I've talked a lot about breath management and breath regulation in previous episodes, but breath support is different that both of those.

Let's break this down. Your vocal cords come together, or rather, they're brought together by a partnership between breath and muscle. Air comes up the breathing column and creates a vacuum effect which pulls the vocal cords together, and the surrounding muscles respond in kind by activating and then vibration happens and sound is produced.

It's a delicate balance. Most untrained vocalists (and that's you, trial attorney. You are a vocalist in that your voice is your primary tool for communication), the untrained vocalist usually relies too much on muscle. This is where we get vocal fry, and vocal fatigue. The muscles are doing too much of the heavy lifting.

Too little muscle though and we get a breathy tone. While infusing some breath to capture awe, wonder, something incredible or amazing, habitually talking with a breathy tone results in weakness, lack of power, not enough presence.

So, we need both muscle and breath to work together. We need the breath in motion AND the support of the muscles (postural muscles, abdominal muscles, and laryngeal muscles) to work in conjunction with each other.

Have you ever helped someone move? Or had to move yourself? I mean, of course you have. We ALL have. My neighbor is moving soon and I did NOT offer to help. She didn't ask either. She's got professionals coming to do the job, but I certainly have done my fair share of moving through the years. It's the worst.

But, let's use moving as a little breath support analogy, okay? Think of that heavy item that you've had to move—your couch, an upright piano, a hutch. It's not a one person job. You need extra hands and what do you do? Everyone gets to their assigned spot and someone counts in and everyone lifts together. It's a coordinated movement; a system.

And what happens if someone accidentally drops their corner, or muscles things up too quickly? Everyone struggles. If one person overworks or drops out entirely, the load becomes unstable and inefficient. The team has to strain to keep things controlled, or everyone drops the couch and you just pray no ones feet are in the way. (okay, now i'm thinking about the Friend's episode with the couch. PIVOT! PIVOT!)

Anyway, this is very much how BREATH SUPPORT works. It's not one muscle doing all the work. It’s a coordinated system. The ribs, abdominals, pelvic floor, back muscles and the breath are like several people carrying one that object together. In this case, your voice. When the team stops coordinating well, overcompensation happens—strain (too much muscle), weakness (too much breath).

If you are feeling like your voice is shaky and unstable, take stock of the vocal support system you have in place. Make sure all parts are carrying their weight and keeping the balance and coordination up to snuff. Increase you breath support to prevent those spikes or uncertainties.

if you're a trial attorney who wonders if you've got enough breath support and vocal strength, or need help with this, reach out. I'd love to do a free Vocal Snapshot Session with you to discover your vocal strengths and identify some areas of vocal growth for you. All the info is in the show notes.

Until next time, keep fostering your voice.