Thread by @MatthewStiegler

As a young appellate lawyer, I got the idea that one must keep one's hands on the lectern during oral arguments.

I don't remember where I got that idea, but it's fairly common advice. The idea is that OA is formal and gesturing is too casual and can be distracting. 1/

Hands dutifully on podium, my next argument or two stunk.

I'd be at the lectern giving my argument, and the voice in my head listening to myself was shouting, "hey idiot, stop the deadly monotone!" and I couldn't. I had no idea why. Nerves? It was strange and unsettling. 2/

Then I read a book called The Articulate Advocate, by Brian Johnson and Marsha Hunter. Drawing on a robust body of scientific research, they argue that gesturing with your hands and arms is important for effective communication. 3/

The passage that changed everything for me was this:

"When your gestures are restrained, your speech tends towards monotone. Ideas are not delivered clearly and emphatically because the gesture needed to accompany the word is absent or underpowered." 4/

"Both your langauge and your listener suffer," they concluded. 5/

Ever since reading that book almost a decade ago, I've used gestures freely during oral argument. I've never had a judge (moot or real) tell me to quit the Kermit-the-Frog arm waving. And my monotone problem has never come back. 6/

I had one argument where I prepared a specific gesture to go with my most important line, a big, bold arm gesture I'd never have dared to try way back when. Afterward, the presiding judge told the courtroom how unusually good both sides' arguments were. 7/

So, my advice:

1. Don't keep your hands on the lectern during your OA. Instead, learn to use gestures effectively.

2. As a young lawyer, don't assume that all the advice you get, or the SOP you see around you, reflects the high standards you aspire to. /end

Don't miss @BryanGividen's great thread collecting argument videos of famous advocates using gestures effectively.