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Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here. How are you? I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney and where we like to make the practice of law fun. And today we’re going to look at the power of diplomacy in practicing law.
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Scott Benton: Today, in order to help assist your overall use of the success cycle, we’re going to look at the power of diplomacy in practicing law. Now there’s a depiction on courtroom television shows and in movies, usually where attorneys behave in an aggressive, combative manner to fight for their clients and cross examine witnesses.
So sometimes there’s this idea that spills over that attorneys are aggressive and hostile, and that they behave in combative ways in order to win whatever it is they’re fighting for. But is that theatrical portrayal of attorneys accurate? And does this kind of behavior actually populate the courtroom and mediation rooms, where two sides work through an issue together where they both hired attorneys to negotiate?
The answer is [00:02:00] Sometimes. Yes, sometimes attorneys act in this familiar aggressive manner that we see on TV or in the movies, but is that the only way to behave when you’re an attorney and when you’re in a trial or in a hearing? The answer to that question of course is no.
There are other options you can choose from and how you show up and how you present yourself as an attorney. And one of those behavior styles is called diplomacy. Which means you would use this diplomatic style while interacting with your clients and the opposing party. In fact, using diplomacy can often be an even more powerful presentation style to use than the aggressive or hostile one, if only because it plays against the expectations of an attorney showing up with the usual aggressiveness and overly combative personality type.
Diplomacy, however, is largely the opposite of what we see in the aggressive style. And this is worth exploring. A diplomatic [00:03:00] style is much more about maintaining an agreeable demeanor at all times, which can actually make the attorney who uses it more intimidating and even more effective as an opposing counsel.
So it turns out that there are many benefits to being agreeable, which includes the use of empathy. active listening and polite disagreements to create an upper hand in negotiations, depositions, and in courtroom interactions.
Even though the use of diplomacy can often be seen as soft, it nonetheless can have a strong psychological impact on the opposing council and even set the stage for successful negotiations and for winning courtroom victories. Overall, there’s a nice counterintuitive nature of using this kind of diplomatic strength.
Using diplomacy breaks through the myth that aggression equals intimidation. It creates a subtle sense of control and authority by maintaining [00:04:00] a calm demeanor. that communicates respect and understanding. In fact, with the use of diplomacy, the opposing counsel may feel off balance. Now that’s not normally the type of courtroom behavior attorneys prepare for, so they’re really unable to use some of the usual responses that they would utilize.
And in the meantime, as a diplomatic attorney, you’re busy using empathy as a strategic tool, which is completely unexpected. You’re showing the opposing party and the courtroom empathy and understanding to your opponent’s point of view. You’re listening intently and you’re not interrupting anyone.
And even so much as offering agreement on small points that can lead the opposing side to lower their guard down, which ends up giving you a lot of leverage. So if you want to use diplomacy as a tool for your overall practice, then you want to hone the traits that this particular style uses. If you’re already [00:05:00] the aggressive type, this might be a difficult style to adopt, but really it’s not impossible.
The strengths it offers may simply outweigh the difficulties incorporating these strategies into your presentation style. Some of the key elements of a diplomatic practice include active listening.
Active listening can provide crucial information that allows you to make strategic moves or anticipate arguments or Even avoid common pitfalls. Active listening gives you a deeply focused ability to really hear and interpret much more of what a speaker is saying simply by providing them with all the room that they need to say whatever it is that they need to say.
This kind of layered listening skill means you’re going to be walking away probably with twice the amount of information that you would have with a normal level of listening. It’s the same conversation and the same words that are being spoken, and it’s the same speaker speaking them, [00:06:00] but you’re doubling the amount of valuable information that you walk away with.
Next is polite disagreement, which is where you disagree without being combative. And which can often deescalate tense situations while maintaining a mutual professional respect. So when it comes to the use of polite disagreement, you might hear phrases such as, I see where you’re coming from, but I would argue that, whatever your argument it is.
In polite disagreement, you’re looking for common ground, and there tends to be a significant amount of focus looking for agreement. So even if there are minor agreements, you still want to look for a place where you agree. You’re using a diplomatic communication style so you can build trust and weaken resistance.
You’ve essentially built a strong relationship with the opposing party, and even if they’re trying to maintain their battle position, the diplomatic communication style can often break through those more [00:07:00] rigid positions. For instance, during settlement negotiations, you can present compromise offers with a calm and reasonable tone while still holding firm to your core demands.
In depositions, an agreeable demeanor Cann put witnesses at ease, which sometimes leads them to reveal much more than they intended to reveal. And polite differential behavior can help you build credibility with the judge, which will also have the benefit of making your arguments much more persuasive.
So there are many benefits in using diplomacy. If you can develop this counterintuitive ability, you can make yourself even more intimidating than aggressive attorneys. So you might want to consider this as a long term strategy. And finally, keep in mind that being agreeable doesn’t mean or communicate weakness.
It means you’re in control of the conversation, and In control of the outcome. I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thanks so much for checking out this episode. Now, if you like this podcast and you’d like to [00:08:00] get more information about us, you can always go to our website at classroom2courtroom.com.
That’s classroom the number two, courtroom.com, where you can send us a message to keep in touch with us. You can even inquire about our seasonal associate programs. We have available for law school students, if you like. You can apply to come and work with us. And as always, don’t forget to like share and subscribe to stay on top of all of our latest episodes.
And until next time we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place. One client at a time.
