Photo by Stone Hood on Unsplash
Every year about this time, I participate as a faculty member in a training workshop. The workshop designed to teach lawyers how to better use technology in the courtroom, in mediation, or in any setting where they seek to persuade others. We show lawyers of various levels of experience how to use tech to enhance what they are trying to communicate. We limit attendance at the workshop to about 25 people. It’s a 2 ½ day session of intensive training on technology tools. This is followed by the opportunity for each person to give a presentation to the group using the tools about which they have learned.
While we certainly emphasize technology at the workshop, in the beginning, we also stress something else. We always try to impress on students the truism that they must start with the story they want to tell. Based on that story, they can then select the best tech tools to help tell that story. Persuasion is almost always best accomplished by telling a story that communicates what you want the listener to take away and believe. As I have discussed before, storytelling is an essential skill of lawyers and the foundation of what we do.
People don’t remember Toy Story for its technology. They remember it because it was a great story.
Think about the computer animated movie Toy Story. Yes, when Toy Story first came out, people marveled at the technology. It was the first full length computer animated movie, and it was terrific. But people don’t remember Toy Story for its technology. They remember it because it was a great story. It was a hit and is still watched by millions because it was a great story about friendship and loyalty. No amount of technology