Download Communicating with many audiences

Communicating with
y audiences
many
Judicial training on
communication
Justice Helen Winkelmann and
Janine McIntosh
New Zealand Institute of Judicial Studies
George Thomson and Katherine Kehoe
N ti
National
l Judicial
J di i l Institute
I tit t off Canada
C
d
1
Workshop Topics
The importance
Th
i
t
off effective
ff ti
judicial
j di i l
communications
 The unique challenges of judicial
communications
 Building support for and designing
a skills-based course
 Selective methods of teaching the
good communications
elements of g

2
Judicial Resistance
Traditional
T
diti
l emphasis
h i on content
t t
 Education unnecessary on generic
skills most adults think they have
 Challenge
g of experiential
p
learning
g
 Turning judges into performers;
g with the judicial
jud a role
o
interfering

3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odxM_oJLF3A
4
Changing the Focus
How to
H
t ensure the
th message is
i
received?
 Focus moves from the judge to the
recipient

Effective Communications
o
u
o s is
s the
process of ensuring intended
g in the minds of others
meaning
5
The Elements of
Communication
Content
2. Voice
3. Non-Verbal Communications
4. Engagement:
1.
– listening skills
– adapting
p g to y
your audience(s)
( )
“There is something to learn here-it’s
a more complex skill than I thought”
6
Understanding the
Challenge
1.
Audience(s)
2.
Types of communication
3.
Different situations
7
Academics
Future litigants
Counsel for Parties
Parties
Counsel giving advice in future
Victims
Politicians / Public Servants
Law reform
Other judges
Public
Witnesses
Business community
Those who wish to know law to regulate their behaviour
Court staff
8
Pre-court communication
Oral – in court
Verbal / non verbal
Written
Listening / understanding
Post court communication
9
Self represented litigants
Keeping your cool
Talking to juries
Underlying needs / wants / drivers
Unfamiliar environment
Victims
Interpreters
Unexpected events
Cross cultural communication
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Getting Their Attention

An opening
A
i
that
th t demonstrates
d
t t poor
performance they can identify
with,
ith followed
f ll
db
by a demonstration
d
t ti
of better performance
11
Questions: Version One
• Wh
What d
do you observe
b
about
b
the
h
communication in this clip?
• What do you think the parties’
experience was?
• What do you think could have made it
better?
13
Questions: Version Two
• Wh
What d
do you think
h k off this
h version??
• Would the experience
p
of the pparties
have been better?
• Any
An other
ther comments?
c mments?
15
Essential Features of a
Communications Course
Skills-based, experiential learning
 A chance
h
to:
t practice
ti all
ll the
th subb
elements and perform the full skill
i ffamiliar
in
ili context
t t
 Sufficient length
 Faculty who can teach the skills

16
1. Voice
Speed;
S
d volume
l
 Tone; empathetic
 Preserving the voice

17
2. Non-Verbal
Non Verbal
Communication

If words disagree with the tone of
voice and nonverbal behaviour,
behaviour
people tend to believe the
tonality and nonverbal behaviour.
behaviour
(See Handout 1, Albert Mehrabian
Communication Studies)
18
Body Language
Three elements
Th
l
to face
f
to face
f
communication
i i
• words
• tone of voice
• non-verbal behaviour
19
Body Language
• IIn pairs:
i seated
d back
b k to back
b k
• One person talks for 1-2 minutes
(and subject)
• The other p
person makes no response
p
at all
• Discuss experience
20
3. Engaged: Listening
Skills
Posture and eye contact
 Communication
C
i ti
as a two-way
t
process
 Identifying and adjusting your
listening preference

21
Active Listening
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Body
B
d language/demeanour
l
/d
Minimum encouragers
g
Genuine curiosity
Paraphrasing
Normalising
o a s g state
statements
e ts
Summarising
Reframing
22
Minimal Encouragers
• IIn pairs: seated
d face
f
to face
f
• One pperson talks and the other listens
(swap roles from previous session)
• Listener: no
n eye
e e contact
c ntact and no
n
response at all (verbal or non-verbal)
• Discuss experience
23
Paraphrasing
• K
Key still
till tto showing
h i empathy
th
• Reflecting
g back the content and
underlying feelings of what you
have just heard
• E.g. “You are upset that your case
will not be resolved today”
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Advantages
•
•
•
•
•
Conveys d
C
desire
i tto understand
d t d
Prompts
p correction,, if necessaryy
Facilitates further disclosure
C ffacilitate
Can
ili
moving
i fforward
d
Can defuse conflict
25
Paraphrasing Practice
“ When
Wh I heard
h d strange
t
noises
i
outside so late, I went around the
house and checked to see that all
the doors and windows were
locked. It was a long time before
I could get back to sleep
sleep.”
26
Which one is best?
A Y
A.
You were afraid
f id that
th t someone might
i ht
try to enter your house.
B. You were concerned that someone
might try to enter your house.
C. Did you think of ringing the police?
D Your
D.
Yo r actions were
ere entirel
entirely reasonable
in the circumstances.
27
However
Need
N
d tto consider
id th
the line
li
between effective listening and
creating or agreeing with the
witness’ story
witness
28
Listening Styles
Li t i
Listening
St
Styles
l Inventory:
I
t
People oriented listeners
People-oriented
 Action-oriented listeners
 Content-oriented
Content oriented listeners
 Time-oriented listeners

Each style can assist and can impede
good communications
g
29
e.g. People Oriented Listeners



Appear caring and concerned
Are good at identifying emotional
states
Give good verbal, non-verbal feedback
But




agreeing not
Can be perceived to be agreeing,
listening
Too much focus on the emotional
context
Too expressive in feedback
feedback, reasons
Time problems
30
4. Engaged: Adapting
to your audience(s)
Choosing your primary audience
 The
Th potential
t ti l b
barrier
i off iinevitable
it bl
cultural difference:The Barnga card
game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9KMksUIH2Q)
 Engaging strangers in an artificial,
high-pressure environment

31
Barnga
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NeedsDifferent Needs
Different Capacities





Cognitive challenges
M t l illness
Mental
ill
Children and adolescents
Self-represented litigants
Inter-cultural
Inter
cultural communications
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Example: Adolescents
IImpactt off brain
b i development
d
l
t
 The impact of non-verbal
communication; youth describing
their court experiences
 Managing simulated courtroom
situations with feedback

34
Building the Skill
5. Content
Judgment writing course
 Language
L
and
d the
th intended
i t d d
message: the judge’s “voice”;
avoiding
idi
obvious
b i
b
barriers
i
e.g.
metaphors; legal terms etc.

35
Integrating the
Elements of Effective
Communications
Realistic chance to practice full
skill, with feedback from experts
and colleagues
 Individual feedback to each
participant
i i

36
Conclusion
• A generic
i skill
kill being
b i
employed
l
d iin a
very unique environment
• Importance to the rule of law
• A fundamental part of the judicial
education curriculum
• It can be taught
ta ght but
b t only
onl through
th o gh
experiential learning
37