NAME.

:KALUNGI PEACE HILDA

STUDENT NO:2001000703

COURSE UNIT :COMMUNICATION SKILLS

QTN
Body movement is the unspoken element of communication that we use to reveal our true feelings
and emotions. This element of communication reinforces or emphasizes what a person is saying
and also offer information about emotions and attitudes of a person. Body movement includes
facial expression, body posture,gestures,eye movement ,touch and use of space. In the legal
profession this element of communication is greatly used by many in the profession ;lawyers
,judges,solicitors,Attorney among others as a tool of speech delivery. Despite being used by many
in the legal profession body movement has proved to be of a disadvantage .

Body movement can damage a case. While making decisions in courts judges not only depend on
what is said but also on what can be visualized .This is common in matters to deal with divorce
or family .Judges have a lot of discretion in terms of what is done by the parties during the court
proceedings .For example ,in case of a witness ,while trying to express themselves judges not only
listen to what they have to say but also look at how they react when asked questions .Therefore a
body movement like looking down can illustrate to the judge that the witness is not confident with
what they are saying and this damages the case.

Misunderstanding between parties. Use of body movement in speed h delivery can lead to
misunderstanding as parties may understand the meaning of certain gesture differently. Due to
difference in cultures ,different people understand different gesture differently.differentlyWhile
trying to argue out their points trial lawyers might misinterpret judge and jury's response making
them to have hopes in winning the case and due to their misunderstanding of the response these
end up losing the cases.

Body movement distorts concentration of listeners .Too much use of body movement like making
of faces , over smiling tends to shift listeners concentration and instead be eager to see what gesture
is going to be made next and this makes them to miss out on the important information trying to
be past. For example, in law school while a lecturer could be trying to bring out a point before the
students and in his or her endeavor to do so uses body movement ,this can distort the students
concentration on the matter at hand and instead focuses on the different body movements being
made by the lecturer.

Body movement can easily give someone in .Failure to control body movement most especially
facial expression can easily give someone in .In court while parties and witnesses are being cross
examined judges not only look at what they say but also their body movement .For example once
a witness is being cross examined and before answering a question they first look a round ,this
means that they are not sure with the information they are going to give or they are scared of
something or someone hence giving them in .

Body movement can not be relied upon completely. Being that it’s a non verbal communication
method ,one can not rely on it completely in trying to deliver a message to an audience due to the
fact that not everybody understands certain gesture therefore its used as a supportive add on by
lawyers in trying to reinforce and emphasize their view on certain subject matters.

Ineffective in speech delivery .In using body movement most lawyers do so to emphasize a point
but however this is less effective in large gatherings as some people may not be able to look at
their body movement and in the end of it all down not take the information past serious or may
even fail to understand .When giving a presentation looking over people's heads ,staring at a point
on the wall or letting eyes start all over the place ,the audience finds this unnerving thus not feeling
as connected to the message being passed hence reducing effectiveness.

Body movement is imprecise and inaccurate .Many people use different body gestures to
demonstrate different feelings and pass on different messages .What a lawyer understands by a
certain gesture may b different from what another lawyer understands by that gesture which at
times may be vague and in the end the two have different understanding .

Loss of confidence while delivering information .Body movements can threaten ones confidence
and in so doing they fail to deliver information .For example ,in case a counseling is arguing out
their point and the judge frowns at them this may trigger their loss of hope in winning the case and
in so doing loose confidence and fail to deliver.

Some body movements can hinder one from getting employment for example over smiling and
failure to hold eye contact might illustrate that one is un serious and very shy a person .In the legal
profession there is an expectation that one has to be serious and confident .For example during
interviews for employment in law forms they not only look at your education background but also
body language .Once your always smiling and unable to hold eye contact ,it illustrates that you
lack confidence and that too and un serious person .
In conclusion, body movement as a tool of speech delivery tells a lot and if not controlled and
understood becomes a communication barrier. In the legal profession ,the use of body movement
in speech delivery may to some extent prove to be of disadvantage as discussed above.

REFERENCES

1. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/communication-for-business-success/s15-03-
movement-in-your-speech.html
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language
3. https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-Body-Language-
PC28PRE3G