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In this lesson, you will learn all the reasons to be assertive during the litigation process. You will also learn the elements to show assertiveness in the best way during trial.
Be assertive
- Be firm, direct, and clear about what you want, and take responsibility for your case.
- Speak in a strong, clear, and confident voice as if you’re in charge.
- Make eye contact, stand tall and erect with your shoulders back, and your head high.
- Know laws, cases, and courtroom protocol, so you’ll know the language to use.
- Practice.
Transcript
Why be assertive? In litigation, assertive people are firm, direct, and clear about what they want and need and take responsibility for their own cases.
This attitude gets respect from both lawyers and judges.
Assertiveness requires the right tone of voice. You should have a good delivery expressing yourself firmly and confidently. A quality of speech that lacks fear and a strong voice.
Push those words out as if you\’re in charge.
Use the appropriate body language.
Don\’t cower to lawyers and judges.
Make eye contact. Widen your stance. Stand tall and erect with your shoulders back and your head high.
You\’re representing yourself.
Be proud of it.
To use appropriate language in court and in writing, you need to know laws, cases, courtroom protocol, and written legal formatting.
Remember when you were a kid and learned yo-yo tricks like Sleeper, Around the World, Rock the Baby, and so on. Once you learned them, you were confident using them and showing them off. Same thing for litigation, practice, and show your stuff.
At a hearing, a judge and lawyer were discussing issues in the case when the self-represented party to the case interrupted.
The judge told the litigant not to interrupt, but the litigant kept politely interrupting.
His theory was that he needed to assert himself into the conversation or he would be left out.
He reminded the judge that they were there on his motion. He had the judge\’s attention and respect thereafter.