Being a barrister will require you to employ a wide range of skills. These skills will determine how good you are, and will have a big impact on your career. The good thing is that there are some skills you can develop and take full advantage of. Try building on these skills and you will start to see improvements in the work you do. This skills will also come in handy in other aspects of your life.
Distilling key points and taking in lots of information
This is an important skill that will be needed in almost all the fields you are going to practice. You need to work out the relevant information and be able to explain it to a superior or client so they will be able to get an understanding of where you stand. This will help in making decisions. Law school will prepare you for this because you will be faced with a lot to read in a short period of time. There are some exercises you can use to improve this skill.
People skills
When working in the legal field, you have to remember that what you do is client-centric, and merely being good at what you do is not enough; you need to be good with people too. Good people skills will also come in handy when working as a team. Your reputation will have a big impact on your practice, making it a good idea to improve it. You need to be interested, polite, and interesting. You should not be over-personal because it can have a negative effect.
Asking the right questions
You will need to get more information from a client and this applies to all the areas of law. Most clients don’t know what information is important or relevant. You need to know beforehand what you are looking for. There are instances when you will need background information so that you will be able to know how things will work in the future.
Public speaking
You need to learn how to put across your points in a clear and interesting way without looking nervous. There are many different types of activities you can do to improve your public speaking skills. Practice will help, and you will be able to see some great results within a short period of time. You should also look out for things you tend to do when feeling nervous. Clients will place great importance on your communication skills, as you can read about here, so this should not be overlooked.