THE ART OF STORYTELLING

PROF. DELAINE R. SWENSON

LAWYERS AS STORYTELLERS

•  One of the principle jobs of an attorney is to communicate simple, plot driven – fact based narratives.

•  When do we do this? •  When relating case facts. •  When making legal arguments.

•  Examples: •  A Judicial Opinion •  A Trial Argument •  A Case Brief •  Letters, Phone Calls

LAWYER STORYTELLING HAS LIMITS

•  LAWYERS STORYTELLING IS SHAPED AND LIMITED BY:

•  THE EVIDENCE

•  ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

•  THE CONTEXT AND METHOD OF TELLING THE STORY

LAWYER’S STORYTELLING GOAL:

•  TO TELL AN EFFECTIVE, PURPOSEFUL AND PERSUASIVE, COMPELLING AND FACTUALLY CORRECT (TRUTHFUL) STORY.

STORYTELLING AS ART AND SCIENCE

“The truth of a story is in its telling” •  ART OF STORYTELLING

•  A SKILL AND ABILITY (BORN OR DEVELOPED)

•  SCIENCE OF STORYTELLING: •  THE TECHNICAL CRAFT BEHIND

EFFECTIVE STORY TELLING

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD STORY

•  PLOT •  HUMAN DILEMMA •  CAST AND CHARACTER

•  SCENE

•  TIME FRAME

PLOT

“THE SELECTION, SHAPING AND TRANSFORMAITON OF RAW MATERIAL INTO EVENTS, AND THE ARRANGING OF THOSE EVENTS INTO THE ORDERED SEQUENCE OF A STORY” PROFLUENCE: THE PURPOSEFUL FORWARD MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE EVENTS IN THE PLOT OF A STORY

UNFOLDING OF A PLOT REQUIRES:

1)  AN INITIAL STEADY STATE OF ORDINARINESS

2)  A DISRUPTION CAUSED BY A TROUBLE 3)  WHICH IS RESPONDED TO BY HUMANS 4)  AND WHICH IS RESOLVED RETURNING

ONE TO THE STATE OF ORDINARINESS (CHANGED)

PLOT DIAGRAM:

PLOT: THEME AND THEORY OF THE CASE

THEME: “the core idea or insight of a story” THEORY OF THE CASE: “the position of a party in a legal dispute that meets legal requirements”

•  Theme and Theory of the Case are related, but are not the same.

PLOT: MELODRAMA

In Melodrama two themes are important: •  the triumph of moral virtue over villainy, •  and the consequent idealizing of the

moral views assumed to be held by the audience.

•  Classic battle between good and evil. Good has to struggle against evil and win.

•  “The more successful the villain, the more interesting the story.”

OUTLINE OF A SIMPLE PLOT

1.  INTRODUCE THE PROTAGONIST (GOODGUY) AND THE SETTING.

2.  INTRODUCE THE ANTAGONIST (BADGUY) 3.  CREATE POINT OF TENSION, CONFLICT OR PROBLEM

(HUMAN DILEMMA) 4.  EFFORT AT RESOLUTION OF PROBLEM

5.  THEAT OF FAILURE

6.  HAPPY OUTCOME

SEVEN STANDARD PLOTS

1.  OVERCOMING THE MONSTER: Protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force which threatens him or his family. 2.  RAGS TO RICHES:

Poor Protagonist get riches, loses them, gains them back and learns valuable lesson, becomes better person. 3. THE QUEST:

Protagonist (and companions) set out for an object or location, facing many obstacles or temptations along the way. 4.  VOYAGE AND RETURN: Protagonist voyages, overcomes hardship, threats, returns.

SEVEN STANDARD PLOTS 2

5.  COMEDY: Happy Character overcomes problems in a humorous way 6. TRADEGY:

Protagonist is a villain with a fatal flaw who falls from grace and whose death is a happy ending. 7. REBIRTH:

Protagonist is a villain who redeems himself.

THE HUMAN DILEMMA

All stories need conflict. It is the movement toward resolution of the conflict that gives us an interesting story. That conflict is the Human Dilemma – the problem that needs to be solved.

CAST AND CHARACTER •  Legal Story telling is plot driven, but we

still believe in character. Why? •  We regard people’s behavior as determined by

their innate character traits. Personal Disposition.

•  In criminal cases there is often a direct connection between character and action.

•  Motivation is tied in our minds to character and vice versa.

•  We root for the characters we like, and against those we dont.

CHARACTER TYPES:

FLAT CHARACTERS: “a character endowed with one or very few traits and highly predictable in behavior” - Often the villian ROUND CHARACTERS: “a complex, multidimensional, and unpredictable character” - Often the hero

FACTORS THAT LEAD TO VIVID CHARACTERS

•  PHYSICAL DISCRIPTION

•  DIALOGUE OF THE CHARACTER

•  ACTIONS OF THE CHARACTER

SETTING THE SCENE

•  HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SCENE TO THE PLOT?

•  CREATE A VIVID IMAGE OF THE SCENE THROUGH DESCRIPTION AND VISUAL PRESENTATIONS.

•  YOU CREATE THE VISUAL IMPRESSION OR THE AUDIENCE DOES

•  TIE SCENE TO PLOT, THEME, THEORY OF THE CASE

TIMEFRAME

TWO TIME FRAMES INVOLVED: •  Actual Time Frame of the Incident in the

Story •  Does the audience understand it?

•  The Time Frame of Telling the Story Itself

STYLE MATTERS

•  PERSPECTIVE (Who’s talking? Voice) •  Neutral (?) An omniscient narrator who is

well informed, unbiased and trustworthy. •  A particular person or party?

PERSPECTIVE: (Viewpoint) •  From what side is the story being told?

EXERCISE:

•  GROUPS OF 2 OR 3 •  CREATE A STORY: FOLLOW THE OUTLINE, USE ONE OF

THE CLASSIC PLOTS •  BE CREATIVE – MAKE IT FUN

•  CREATE A SCENE TO BE PERFORMED IN THE NEXT CLASS

•  NOT COMPLETELY IMPROVISATION – MUST SUBMIT A WRITTEN SCRIPT OR STORY OUTLINE.

•  PERFORMANCES WILL BE VIDEOTAPED!!!