Like learning golf or the piano, advocacy is a skill that can be learned, practised and developed into artistry.
Advocacy Hub lists courses to help transform the skills of any practitioner.
There are three types of courses to consider: courses for barristers (run by the Australian Bar Association), courses for all practitioners, and voice and performance coaching
As a trainer at the Australian Bar Association Advanced Trial Advocacy Course each January, I can personally vouch for it. The same can be said of anyone who has attended these courses. When I first participated in the course in 2008, there was a monumental shift in my abilities.
I have also participated in the ABA’s Appellate Advocacy Course, and thoroughly recommend it to any experienced barrister.
Junior barristers would benefit enormously from the Essentials Course.
The courses run by the Australian Advocacy Institute in Sydney, and the Leo Cussen Centre for Law in Melbourne are directed to all practitioners who appear in Court. I have not attended any of them, but I have only heard positive things about them.
Voice and performance coaching can make a profound difference to any advocate. Your investment into this aspect of your practice will bring you rich returns.
Ben Katekar