“Passion leads to eloquence.” Harriet Johnson on persuasive speaking and writing.

Takeaways from London Writer Salon’s interview with author, barrister and advocate Harriet Johnson.

This week Parul and Matt from London Writers Salon interviewed author, barrister, and advocate Harriet Johnson. Johnson is a barrister with the Doughty Street Chambers, and her work has focused on criminal law and human rights law. She is an advocate for women’s rights and has recently published the book Enough: The Violence Against Women and How to End It.

In this engaging interview, Johnson brilliantly shows us her process of researching and writing her book, as well as how her experience with writing and formulating persuasive speeches informed how she wrote the “argument” for her book. Through the parallels she drew between persuasive writing and storytelling, she showed us how we all can be come for effective writers.

Here are my favorite takeaways.

The key to writing persuasively.

Writing persuasively takes more than writing a convincing argument. It’s also showing the reader or listener why opposing arguments don’t interfere with your argument. Johnson discusses using this technique in both speeches and writing.

“The art of a good speech is something that I’m a bit geeky about, but I think part of it is not just presenting the side of the argument that you’re wanting your reader to agree with at the end. Not just saying violence against women is terrible but dealing with what you know will be the pushback points…You address it, then you explain why that’s not what you’re focusing on or why that’s actually supporting your argument… That’s a thing I’ve stolen from my time in criminal courts because you have to deal with what your opponent says, so a huge part of it is addressing head on their evidence and then explaining why its not that big a deal. That’s a huge part of persuasive writing. I think is talking about what your opponent is going to say or what the naysayers are going to say then explaining why that’s not right.”

Engaging a listener (or reader) in the story

As a barrister, Johnson has a lot of experience with writing speeches. I’ve never considered how this form of speechwriting is a lot like telling a story, but there is an inherent arc to storytelling that captivates the listener. Even if you’re not writing a speech, there’s something to be said of pulling in your reader in the same way.

“If you’re actually writing a speech, you’re writing something that’s designed to be said out loud, so the music of it and the rhythm of it is really really important- - pulling back sometimes, building this momentum then getting to that point where you’re just about to crest the wave and you stop. When you get them [there] that’s when you know you’ve got [them] leaning forward.”

The rule of three.

When asked if there was any technique of speech writing that Johnson was particularly fond of, she said—

“The three…it’s classic because it works so well. If you’re seeking to make a point, then if you can make three points that support that point, if you can make three arguments that support that point - [for example] if you’re saying violence against women is pervasive, toxic and dangerous, it’s so much more powerful than saying pervasive and dangerous.”

Creating momentum off your work.

In the interview, Johnson discussed why she added “And How to End It” to the title of her book. To her, it was not just about getting people to see that the problem exists. It was about informing people what can be done to solve it. In specifically defining the purpose of the book, Johnson turned something that could potentially be a sad narrative to an empowering book inciting people to take action.

“When you’re looking at the problem, it’s not just thinking, ‘How can I convey this to people in a way that makes them care?’, but also, ‘How can I get people to care? If I can get people to care, how can I use that? How can I get them to use that?’…In my experience, it can be quite powerful in keeping that momentum and transferring it to action, which is the crucial part.”

On speaking eloquently.

“Decide you want to be a barrister and spend a lot of time practicing in the mirror.” Luckily for those of you who don’t want to study law, Johnson offers another option for becoming a good speaker.

“The unifying contributor for eloquence is passion. Passion is the thing that leads to eloquence. If you find the thing that you’re passionate about, it’s easy to be eloquent about it because when you’re saying one thing, you already know the next two things you want to say, and it flows much better.”

Look at statistics critically.

When asked what guidelines Johnson would recommend for people less well-versed with statistics, but who want to write about important issues, she responded —

“I would say just check the source. Look at who commissioned the survey. Look at what the study was. How many people it was. A good way to approach it is, ‘What would my enemies, what would people who want to argue with me about this, what would they say about this study or this statistic?’….That’s a common sense thing. That’s not necessarily a training thing. It’s looking at the source and evaluating it and crucially [which is] a really good skill when you’re trying to write persuasively…Thinking, ‘What is my hypothetical opponent going to say about this?’”

Empathy is a superpower.

Especially in today’s world, having too much empathy can be exhausting and, yes, like a curse, but Johnson reminds us that it’s actually a powerful tool in helping others understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

“I think the best barristers are storytellers. Of course, there are different types of advocates, but certainly when you’re dealing with a jury, it’s all about empathy. It’s all about storytelling. As much as empathy, I think, can feel like a curse to some of us, sometimes it’s also a genuine superpower because if you can put yourself in other people’s shoes then you know how to help other people to get there.”

Understand where you are and how you are feeling.

Working in this field can be emotionally exhausting, and Johnson spoke about how she personally takes care of herself. Maybe one day, she’ll write a book on the topic, but for now she shares this small piece of action for those wanting to help.

“It’s exhausting sometimes looking at this work, and burnout from looking at it and compassion fatigue is a real thing — especially because statistically so many women are survivors of sexual violence, it feels like a huge ask to say to those women, go on a mark or write your representative. If you want to help, but you don’t know how, you haven’t got the emotional energy, send a fiver to a charity that you want to support. You’re delegating that responsibility to people who know what they’re doing and who are trying to it and just need funds.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Johnson’s work, check out her book and support her work.

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