Week 4
Preparation Tasks
Aims of the session
Appreciate the need for self- awareness and perceptual sensitivity in developing oral
communication skills
Understand the importance of effective oral communication skills in legal practice
Appreciate the essentials of good interviewing
Be aware of the key skills of listening, questioning, and advising in legal practice
The skills that you will be developing are:
Reflective practice
Oral communication skills
Effective listening
What to do
Preparation/Research
Essential Reading
Read chapter 11 of your textbook, Legal Systems and skills
Refer to the lecture notes.
You were asked to give consideration to verbal and non- verbal communication skills and in
particular to concentrate on increasing your perceptual sensitivity in relation to your own
actions and those of others around you.
You were encouraged to observe family and friends, attempt to interpret their
communications, and possibly explore techniques like mirroring and active listening and
note their effects.
You were asked to make full diary entries on your observations on your findings. Please
bring your diary entries to this session. NB These will also be really useful in your reflective
diaries
Please watch the following videos as part of your preparation for this week
[Link]
Active listening
[Link]
Effective questioning
Prepare answers to the Tasks below
Exercise 1 – Listening
Your client tells you “My husband just walked out after 30 years of marriage and three children”
1 What do you think is the most appropriate listening response and why?
Passive (silence)
Responsive (e.g. “I see” “Hmm” “quite”)
Receptive (e.g. “ I am sorry”)
Active (– a reflective statement which shows you have heard and understood
what is said)
2 What precisely (if at all) would you say?
3 Is there anything you would wish to know before deciding which listening response is
appropriate?
4 Consider whether any of the following would be an appropriate listening response and if so
explain why.
A I understand how you feel
B It’s quite normal to feel bitter
C We’ll be able to get maintenance for you
D He must have been very unhappy
Exercise 2 - Questioning
A Label the following questions from the list below:
Open/ Closed/ Multiple/ Leading/Loaded/ Hypothetical/ Probing/ Reflective
Are you married?
Would you prefer to stay here or move away?
How did you feel after the accident?
How have things been since the settlement?
Do you like where you live, how long have you lived there and what type of neighbourhood is it?
Surely you didn’t hit him back?
I suppose you came out on strike?
How can I help you?
What happened next?
How close was the van?
Why have you come here today?
Do you want a divorce?
Why do you think he said he was thinking of going away for a while?
I wonder what made her start drinking?
How many times did he hit him, where and how hard?
If he’d have apologised would you have forgiven him?
B Your client has been run over and injured by a car.
Write 3 open questions to find out what happened.
Write 3 closed questions to find out what happened.
Write 3 yes/no questions to find out what happened
Exercise 3 - listening
Think about the following topics and be prepared to talk about these to a partner for approx. 2
minutes in the workshop, you may need to do a little research to have enough to say! Both topics
relate to “soft” skills that employers hold in high esteem
Wellbeing and managing stress
Time management.
Exercise 4 - interviewing
Think of a potential legal scenario comprising a number of issues for your paralegal counterpart to
discuss with you. You must prepare this scenario prior to this week’s workshop so that you can get
the most out of this practical practice session. This scenario should be sufficiently detailed that the
interview will take about 10- 15 minutes.