Communication Masterclass

An event presented by the Section on Public and Professional Interest and BARBRI, supported by the IBA Academic and Professional Development Committee, IBA Law Firm Management Committee, IBA Senior Lawyers' Committee and IBA Young Lawyers' Committee.

The legal profession has always been aware of the value that human skills add to the provision of our services. However, in an age where knowledge can be delivered at the click of a button, law firms (and their clients) are aware that lawyers often fail to engage these human skills. This masterclass is intended to help lawyers develop the human skill of ‘effective communication’.

This session, presented by Alisa Gray, Director of Learning at BARBRI Global, will consider how to become a great communicator by thinking about:

•  what you communicate, besides your words;
•  how your delivery method affects your message;
•  what you need to think about in terms of who you’re communicating with; and
•  top tips and best practice for improving your in-person communications.

Both the challenge and beauty of human skills is that no one size fits all, which should come as a relief in an age of artificial intelligence. How you act and interact with another person is dependent on the two human beings in that dialogue – yourself included. No one communication will be like another, no working relationship will mirror another. Good communication skills are not ‘copy and paste’; they are both proactive and reactive and you can all learn to be experts.