Persuasion: The Science and Art of Effective Influence

Persuasion lies at the heart of your professional career as a lawyer.  You must persuade clients, other lawyers, judges, juries, and government officials.  Whether your goal is to convince one person in a face-to-face conversation, influence a small group, sway an entire organization, or win over the public, inducing others who are initially skeptical or opposed to your goals—persuading them—will be your greatest challenge and the key to your success.

This course extracts from our knowledge of human behavior proven principles and techniques of persuasion that apply to speaking, written communications, small group meetings, and one-on-one interactions.  Students will hone their practical persuasion skills through narrative case studies, lectures, discussions, video examples, exercises, and role plays.

Professor Orren taught a version of this course for many years at Harvard’s Kennedy School.  For the School of Law at UCLA, he transformed that course into one that speaks directly to the interests of law students.  That transformed course was taught by Prof. Orren at the Law School in the Spring of 2023.