Robbie Crabtree on Performative Speaking: Learning Persuasion from 102 Jury Trials

Robbie is a former trial attorney with 102 jury trials under his belt. Through that his experience he developed a truly groundbreaking approach to speaking, which he calls Performative Speaking. Robbie now teaches his philosophy and method in a popular online course and to law students at Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas.

In this episode, Robbie and I talk about how he developed this innovational performative speaking practice and how he applied these skills to trials in court and general success in life.

We unpack the importance of storytelling and emotional connections to an audience.

We even draw some inspiration from Mike Tyson!

Please enjoy!

Trailer

Full Episode

Guest Links

Show Notes

Robbie taking us back to the beginning. What drew him to the field of law? (1:15-3:40)
Was it always the plan for Robbie to study law? (3:40-5:14)
You make a series of unrelated decisions, and when you look back at it you almost feel lucky that you had made that specific series of choices. (5:22-4:40)
What makes a great trial attorney? (4:41-8:11)
What do your skills look like when you are preparing for a big case? (8:20-10:42)
Robbie on how long it takes to reach the milestones and the ultimate goal? (10:50-12:58)
Mike Tyson – Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. (11:15)
The importance of practice. Does roleplaying help with strategizing about different scenarios? (13:00-16:35)
What was Robbie’s approach to learning about people and the law? (16:46-21:40)
The turning point: At what point did Robbie commit to put in the time and when did he turn to performative speaking? (21:44-26:48)
Who was Robbie’s mentor or coach? Andrew Barry – Each one teach one. (27:00-32:00)
What role does reflection play in learning from mistakes? (32:20-35:20)
Testing yourself and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. (35:32-40:08)
Support systems in high-profile cases. (40:08-41:56)
How long is the lead-up to a case? (42:10-43:30)
What does Robbie’s practice regime look like? And the importance of managing systems.(43:35-48:28)
Was there ever a point when Robbie felt like quitting? (48:28-52:52)
What role did friends and family play for Robbie? (52:53-55:44)
What were ways Robbie measured his improvement? How important is feedback? (55:50-58:55)
What are the lessons Robbie learnt from performative speaking? (58:57-61:12)
Why are emotions important to consider? (61:13-63:00)
How do you instill the desired emotion into the audiences’ mind? (63:15-67:12)
Robbie’s next steps. (6:47-69:34)

Selected Links from the Episode

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