Do your knees tremble and your hands shake when you have to make a speech in public? Would you rather do your filing than speak in front of a group?
Public speaking DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL! Even the best speakers have their critics. They too can make mistakes, get tongue-tied or forget whole segments of their speech. So here are the top 10 tips to help you overcome some of those fears:
If you have completed studying the English Legal System on the Diploma Course, you will be aware that the two main branches of the legal profession are solicitors and barristers. These parts of the profession work together in some cases to ensure the best chance of success. When it is appropriate to use a barrister, the barrister is sent ‘Instructions' (when asked to give an opinion on a case) or a 'Brief' (if the barrister is to appear in court). Good instructions should give background on a case and will generally include the following:
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Are you a perfectionist? Do you keep checking and rechecking documents? Or perhaps you ‘butterfly’ from task to task? Being a perfectionist or a butterfly will steal your valuable time unnecessarily. So here are the top 10 tips to help you overcome time obstacles.
It is well recognised that one of the best ways to focus the mind is to write things down. This can help you in your personal and working life. By writing we are not only using the conscious (thinking) brain but the subconscious (emotional) brain as well: the two parts of the brain working in harmony harnessing our rational thoughts and observations as well as tapping into our creativity.
The most effective communicators use a style that can change on each occasion and be adapted for each individual. This brings out the best in everyone, especially if you are a manager or team leader. These skills need continual practice and fine-tuning until they become a natural response which is seen by others as appropriate across a wide range of situations. So here are the top ten tips to help you:
How many times have you bitten your tongue recently and then afterwards beaten yourself up for not saying what you thought? Or maybe you said what you thought, only you wished you hadn’t. Delivering a message assertively takes confidence and practice. And the more practice you get, the more your confidence grows, helping you develop the skill of assertiveness. So here are the top ten tips to help you deliver an assertive message:
If you want to build or improve skills for yourself generally and for your career development in particular, here is an exercise sometimes known as the “shoe-stepping exercise” which is well worth using. By tapping into your own experience and observations you can select behaviours and strengths which you admire in others and learn to cultivate them yourself. Step into the shoes of a role model of yours; this could even be a colleague or a friend.
This technique is a powerful technique to calm the emotional subconscious brain and to build positive expectations, especially for 'one-off' situations like potentially difficult meetings or presentations. You can use this technique at any time when you are relaxed – first thing in the morning before you get up is often a good time. You don’t need to go into very deep relaxation, although you can.
For Legal Secretaries and PAs, it is important to know the vast array of abbreviations currently used in the legal world, and I seek to shed some light on the meaning of some of the most widely used legal abbreviations. Getting to grips with lawyers’ abbreviations will spring you forward in the right direction professionally. Secretaries are expected to research or look up commonly used legal abbreviations and, in particular, case references.
I worked for a Family Division Senior Partner who often recorded his dictation almost entirely in abbreviations. He would, for example, say, ‘at the FPC the judge in the case of Re: M (a minor) referred to [2004] 1 FLR 837 and FPR 4.2 when deciding with the CG whether to place the child in the care of the LA...’ Such phrases are common and probably even more complex now than ever before.
Speaking in meetings and making mini-presentations in meetings can be nerve wracking at the best of times. Even experienced speakers can feel nervous and anxious when speaking at meetings. So here are the top 10 tips to make sure your presentation is enjoyed and remembered by everyone: