Welcome to this Bonsurl on Expert Witness video. I'm delighted to have Ross Adler with me today. Ross is a professional voice coach at Truss. Tell us a little bit about your sap Ross. Well, you covered it. I'm an actress and a writer and I coach people with communication skills and voice work is part of that and I've worked with expert witnesses before, as you know. Clearly, experts have to be authoritative in what they say. What is an authoritative voice? What do they need to know? An authoritative voice, I think, is not as scary as it sounds. It's a voice that can convey what you need to say in the way you need to say it, as well as it possibly can. So it's a voice that's capable of a lot of variety that is powered from the centre of your body. That's to do with lots of work on breathing and that is free and easy to listen to so that people are listening to what you're saying and not the way you're saying it. Often it's a problem for experts in that there is quite a dry or technical information and any thoughts on that. Yes, my first thought on that really would be to do what a good tabloid newspaper would do. Have a headline and then fill us in with the article underneath. But really, if something's dry or technical, you need to work on it. This is the time to use metaphors, to use analogies. I don't know if you read The Guardian has a thing on Saturday in the magazine. A basket grown up. And you have to be under 10. But it's very interesting to hear, you know, fiercely expert people describe something very complex to a young child. So this Saturday it was explaining what is our universe expanding into. And all you have to say is that it could be that we're expanding into a multiverse and say that's a bit like a bath full of bubbles and some are popping and some are expanding. Then you have your image in your listener's head and then you can give a bit more information. But your job as a speaker and as a witness is to make the initial image clear. So people have got something to cling onto and then they're better equipped to cope with the harder stuff that follows. Now some judges say to X but speak up, we can't hear you. Hmm. Only thoughts about a quiet voice. Yes, that it is, it is, there is no such thing as a naturally quiet voice. Those of us who have children know that. That just isn't so. So although it may not always feel like it, the volume of your voice is always under your control. There are reasons why your voice may be quiet. The same reason probably that people often mumble or people speak too quickly. It's often a lack of faith. Perhaps not in what you're saying, but a lack of faith in the interest of your audience. So if you feel they might not be gripped, oh this is boring, Villa, then there are ways that we apologise for our voice. Well anxiety is the biggest you thought. Yes. It's particularly going into a witness box. And you thoughts on dealing with anxiousness. Be glad it's there. I know that sounds a little bit glib, but you are, you have a heavy responsibility as a witness. You're serving, you're trying to get to the truth of something very important. The stakes are high. The main thing I would say about overcoming anxiety, well I'd say two things. One is that you're not there because somebody wants you to show off. So you're not there. I'm in the limelight. I don't want to be you're there because what you're about to say is a genuine practical benefit to somebody else, the judge, in this case really, that's the person you're having a relationship with in the courtroom. He or she needs to understand what you're saying, the evaluation, the interpretation you're making of your facts. The other way of tackling this is that when one feels anxious, an emotion is a physical reaction to a thought. And anxiety is a thought about what might happen in the future, even if it's the very immediate future. And so because it attacks us all physically, if you get sweaty palms or a dry mouth or wobbly knees, there are things you can do about that. I have got a glass of water with me now because in case my mouth goes dry, I don't want people listening to this to think, oh her mouth is sounding clicky, why hasn't she drunk water? And there are things you can do to stop your body getting so petrified almost literally before you begin, that it then goes into spasm at the critical moment. Move it about, go for a run, go for a jog. Before you get your expert testimony. So there are plenty of very simple exercises you can do, tackle that both psychologically and physically, the nerves. Now we're talking about after lunch now, your voice goes to a dull monotone. That's the expert, those that's happening. What can they do about it? Again, the reason people's voice starts flat lining is usually too full, it's usually to do with you are finding what you yourself are saying, boring, or you're probably not because you're talking about your baby and the thing you spend decades developing expertise in, or as I say, it's because you think that nobody really wants to listen to you. That's a leap of faith and you have to make sure that what you're saying is engaging. You could go on about that for hours. And the other reason people's voice flatlines is they're not nothing dynamic is happening in the communication. You are never, never, never, never, just giving information, ever. Your job as a speaker is to shape this information, to interpret, to evaluate. Otherwise, that's why you're there. Now often in a case there's a lot of information to get across, but perhaps not enough time. How do you compact that information in the way that makes sense for people? Well, a councilor perfection would be to not allow yourself to be rushed, to edit, edit, edit, edit, to run through what it is you need to say, to make sure that anything you are going to say is serving your objective, and that is to throw light on this particular set of circumstances. You could maybe talk for a long, long time, but everything you know about a particular subject, but does it serve the reason you're here in this courtroom now? If it doesn't hurt, though it may, you have to throw it away, throw it out, and just use the essential information, but you can't be hurried. And part of being a good speaker is having the courage to hold the floor. And as I said, that's not about ego. That's because you need to hear what I'm saying, not because I'm a great big show. Well, it may be some experts don't like being the centre of attention. You know, they're very good at writing a legal report, but when they're in the spotlight and they're witness books, they don't really enjoy it. No. And he thoughts on that. Well, yes, it's not about you. It's not about, although it doesn't feel like at the time, but it really isn't. It's about the, as I say, the cause you're serving, it's about the relationship you're creating with the judge. It's about being as clear and concise and as inventive as you can be in your communication and getting somebody to see things through your eyes because it's important, because you believe that your, at least the inference as you're drawing or your interpretation is, is a correct rather incorrect. That's how to take the, your thoughts off yourself. You don't really matter the information and what you're getting across does. Now, of course, the cross examining Council has a different view on this, and they can often become aggressive, and that can scare witnesses. Yes. What should they do then? Well, nobody likes a bully. Try not to play that game. I mean, I know, or I believe I know, that your advice is in a courtroom, plant yourself literally, your feet, so you are facing the judge. That's the relationship you're having in the courtroom. So you hear whatever's coming at you. Try to sort of throw away the emotional nastiness that's accompanying it and respond only to the judge. He or she is the person who needs to understand what you're saying. The prosecuting Council's job is to throw you off. Of course, of course, but you don't engage with that. And perhaps the final point is often experts in the witness box for several hours, and perhaps the voice starts to get out. What should they do then? Have plenty of water with them. Keep breathing when they have a moment when they're listening rather than speaking, and prepare their voice by lots of breathing. This is homework over weeks and months of being a good speaker, so that your voice is always being filled up from your belly, from the centre of you. It won't run out then, and it won't put undue strain on your poor throat. Your voice goes because your throat is doing the work that your tummy should be doing. So it's just a question of rearranging the furniture slightly. Well, if you've mentioned some quite technical things, so do you actually prepare witnesses yourself to help experts? I do, yes, yes. And so experts can contact you. They can indeed. Yes, I offer a two hour one-to-one session. People can come and we can see where your particular problem areas lie and work through them, and have exercises to take away to last, I hope, a lifetime. Thanks very much indeed. Thank you. Thanks. Well, thanks very much, Rose, and thank you for watching. Thank you very much.