Say What You Mean – Mean What You Say

Words have meaning.  That meaning can be literal, figurative, simple and straight-forward, or nuanced to the point of obscurity. The intended meaning is a creation of the speaker.  The perceived meaning is a creation of the listener.  When, for example, a lawyer says the word “clearly,” it is intended to mean “obviously.”  Clearly, if something is obvious then, by definition, it need not be pointed out.  As such, when a judge hears the word “clearly” (usually preceding an argument that sounds purposefully obscure) it is perceived to mean, “Your Honor, I have no idea how to explain this.” When preceded by the statement, “I’ll be brief,” “clearly” means the same thing, but signifies to the judge that it will take much much longer to not explain.

Both intention and perception are best appreciated in context.  When a lawyer says, “may I approach the bench” while en route to the bench, they aren’t asking for permission - they’re announcing their presence.  “May I approach?” can mean anything from “I need to discuss a pressing matter of law” to “I have a pressing need to go to the bathroom.”  The intended meaning is made apparent from the circumstances surrounding the request/announcement, the tone in which it was made, and (particularly with respect to the latter) the way the lawyer walks as (s)he approaches the bench.
 
The best example of the interplay between intended and perceived meaning is the dreaded, “with all due respect your honor.”   It could mean, “I acknowledge and appreciate the deference that should be afforded to someone in your esteemed position."  It might not mean anything - just something lawyers sometimes say as a prelude to saying something else, like “may it please the court” or “let me ask you this.”

I can assure you, however, that whatever the lawyer/speaker is trying to say, the judge/listener only hears: “Hey stupid! Let’s go over this again, only this time I’ll speak more slowly and use smaller words so that even a nitwit like you can follow along.”  “With all due respect” is to good Southern lawyers what “bless your heart” is to good Southern mothers.  It is meant to both provide fair warning about and seek absolution for the scurrilous observations to follow.

​Words have meaning.  Choose your words carefully in the hope that what you meant by what you said doesn’t get lost in translation.

---

SIDEBAR

How you say what you say is, as it should be, influenced by who you are saying it to.  However, and especially when it comes to communicating in the courtroom, if you want to increase the chances that you will be understood then you should talk how people listen.  I see/hear that not happen every day as lawyers adopt that stilted and stylized speech peculiar to the trade.  For example, instead of asking a witness, “where do you work?” they ask, “Could you please tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in your own words, where is it that you are currently employed?” Judges do it too.  They might ask a defendant during a plea colloquy: “What is the highest level of education you have achieved” instead of “how far did you go in school?” I’m not sure why they/we do that, but I think it is has something to do with wanting to sound smart.  The irony being, of course, that it sounds stupid.  Using $5 words doesn’t improve a 5¢ argument, it just makes it harder to follow.  If what you are saying is important, then it’s important that say it clearly.  You’re not “dumbing it down” by saying it in a way that the people listening will understand it – you’re actually “smarting it up.”