You probably already know the bare essentials of moot court preparation; know the relevant case law and how to use it in your responses; practice your opening/road map/closing; and participate in as many scrimmages/moots as possible with other students to hear other viewpoints, get comfortable competing, and practice answering questions and doing impromptu rebuttals.
But in this post, I want to share with you some tips that you may not have heard in your introduction to advocacy class. These are tips I used that helped me win an intramural moot court competition at GW Law, join the Moot Court Board, and place in the semi-finals at a regional moot court competition.
1. Operate in a positive mindset.
The Bible says, “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7 (KJV). Thus, if you think you are an intelligent person who was able to make it this far and is capable of going farther, then, as that person, you need to operate in that way! How would an intelligent, confident law student (you!) preparing for a moot court competition think and act? He or she (you!) would think positive thoughts as you prepare and present, and maintain your confidence by remembering where it comes from.
As a person of Christian faith, I get confidence to do things I feel nervous about through my relationship with Jesus Christ and knowing that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 (NKJV). This means I can go as far as win a moot court competition with the confidence I get through knowing Christ, or I can even get through losing a moot court competition by getting my strength to overcome the setback through Christ and knowing that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NKJV). See also Jeremiah 29:11 (“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”) (NIV).
Operate in a positive mindset before, during, and after the competition (and anything else in life!) to maintain your confidence and forward progression!
2. Do proper preparation.
The Bible also says “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead,” James 2:17 (NIV) (or, more popularly known, “faith without works is dead”), so of course you still need to pair your prayer and positive thinking with preparation. 🙂 As mentioned at the beginning of this post, you want to know the relevant case law and how to use it in your responses. In order to properly do this, it is not enough to just know the facts. You need to know how you’d use good and bad facts in answering questions relating to your arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttal arguments, and the potential implications of your legal positions and answers. Judges look for how comprehensive your understanding of the law is and your answers can often serve as the basis for the judges’ questions, so make sure you spend some time thinking through which facts, issues, and key messages you want to communicate are really important.
3. Learn to effectively pivot.
One of the easiest ways to get tripped up during a moot court oral argument is to get taken down a rabbit hole (or several!) by the judges’ line of questioning. When I serve as a moot court coach and act as a judge with law students practicing their oral arguments, I purposely ask them difficult questions based on alternative theories to prepare them for if this happens to them during an actual competition. You have to be mindful of striking a balance between answering a judge’s off-topic question directly and knowing when it is appropriate to say something like “Your Honor, those proposed facts could change the outcome, but, under the facts in the instant case, [insert key message/argument/item on your road map that goes directly to the position you are advocating for instead]” and keep going!
4. Make a list of more polished language to use.
Counting the number of times you use filler words like “um” or “uh” is widespread advice, but have you ever thought about noting when you use unprofessional/more colloquial terms during your statements or impromptu answers? For example, instead of saying “stuff” or “things,” saying “items” would sound more polished. Try making a list of key “lawyerly” phrases to use in your oral argument if you catch yourself slipping into unprofessional or colloquial speak. Consistently using professional language adds to your credibility and overall perception of your depth of understanding!
5. Read up on general public speaking tips.
Similar to the previous tip, sometimes it isn’t what you say but how you say it that has the most impact. Knowing general public speaking tips that apply to any type of public speaking and not just oral argument, such as proper pacing/pausing between words, body language, voice intonation/inflection, pronunciation, effective use of hand gestures, etc. improves your “stage presence” and makes you seem like you are confident in what you are saying even if you are not! Try watching this short video on hand gestures to get started.
Please tell me in the comments below which tip(s) resonated with you the most, if any!
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