| Moot Court Tips| Things You Shouldn’t Do During an Oral Argument:

Rush. Keep calm and speak with deliberate speed.

Read an argument. Memorize your preferred order of ideas and approach with those simple outline points.

Miscite the record or authority. If your opponent miscites something, then carefully and respectfully point it out – but you’d better be right!

Guess. If you don’t know the answer, admit it.

Try to avoid this by anticipating every question the judges might ask. (Actual practice tip: If necessary, offer to write a supplemental brief if it would help the court.) 

Speak over a judge. Even if the judge interrupts you, stop taking. 

Immediately.

Chew your fingernails. Or twiddle your thumbs. Or any other distracting habits: playing with your tie or necklace, fiddling with papers, swaying at the podium, etc. Nervous ticks can be very distracting to the judges on the bench; experts say that 55% of your impact on an audience is your appearance, not your words.

Ask how much time you have left. It’s your job to keep track, so do so.

Ask the judges questions. You’re there to answer questions, not ask them. You can verify if your understanding of a question is correct, and if the court has further questions, but that’s it.

Present your argument as an opinion. Tell the court what the law is, not what you think it should be. Avoid first person singular and “appellant contends, it is our position that, in our view . . .”