“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder next time.” – Michael Jordan
One of the (many) things that causes law students the most angst is the dreaded cold call. The fear is so pronounced that before I even attended a single 1L class, BC Law had shown me the famous cold calling scene from Legally Blonde multiple times. I understand why cold calling induces anxiety, especially in your early days of law school when you have likely never experienced it in other classroom settings. To be clear, this post should not be taken to suggest that cold calling does not make me nervous or that I never get a cold call embarrassingly wrong (I definitely do). But getting things wrong is kind of the point of learning and law school; otherwise, we’d be practicing attorneys already.
Despite the nervousness it may create and the fear it might inspire, there are significant merits to the cold call method. Cold calling allows students to gain valuable experience that will serve them in their careers. Democratizing opportunities to participate in the classroom gives less talkative students a chance to participate in discussions and share their knowledge. Finally, the reality of botching a cold call does not damage a student or their reputation nearly as much as they may think.
Cold calling puts you on the spot and forces you to speak extemporaneously in front of people and under the eye of an expert in the material. It requires students to prepare, to think, and to stay focused on the discussion, even if they are not directly involved in it. These are skills that will prove immensely useful in the working world. When you are in a meeting and are asked to discuss a topic or issue, or make a presentation, you will find yourself in a very similar circumstance. A senior partner will be the hectoring proctor, testing your knowledge and the depth of your preparation. Co-workers and clients will be expecting an engaging and concise presentation of the work you are doing or plan to do on whatever matter is at hand, whether it’s litigation or transactional. When you make a mistake or sound unprepared or ramble endlessly in that environment, the stakes actually matter. Consider that during a cold call, making mistakes, rambling on, and revealing the weaknesses in your preparation or public speaking ability is really not a big deal. The whole point is to make a mistake and learn from it. As a professor at this university who loves a good cold call often says, “You learn more from your mistakes than from getting it right.” Too true, and an axiom more of us should embrace. (I’m wrong all the time, and potentially from a reader’s point of view, I’m wrong in this very post!).
Another valuable aspect of cold calling is that, as much as the quiet student may dread the call, when the bell tolls, they must participate, and we, their classmates, are all the better for it. We have all had classes with those students who just love to hear the sound of their own voice. (Once again, this is an accusation that may be fairly leveled at me!) But, very often, some of the most insightful and on-point answers I heard in my classes came from people who literally would not speak unless called upon. I had a 1L professor who described a conversation he had with a student like this, and to encourage her to participate more, he told her something like “Don’t rob us all of your brilliance by not participating.” I do not think I could say it better myself. But I understand, the classroom can feel intimidating, sometimes it’s easier to let those who want to prattle on endlessly to do so, and if you’re not a naturally loquacious person, it is understandable that you would not suddenly become one in the crucible of law school. These are the very reasons that we should embrace the cold call. It removes those potential holdups from the equation. Maybe you do not want to volunteer yourself or cut off someone else who raises their hand as fast as possible, but thankfully, with the cold call, you do not have to worry about that. And thankfully for your classmates, they get to hear what you have to say.
Finally, the most important aspect of this discussion: no one cares or judges you messing up a cold call, or seeming nervous, or losing your train of thought, or whatever it is that keeps you up at night when you’re on panel or on-call the next day. If someone does judge you for that, then it reveals far more about their character and intellect than your own. In general, everyone wants their classmates to succeed under the glare of the professor’s questioning, and the response to any fumbling, in my experience, is almost uniformly empathetic (hey, we’ve quite literally all been there) than derision. Understanding this reveals two important insights: 1) empathy from your classmates will bring you closer to them and enrich your learning experience, and 2) more often than not, the pressure you feel comes from inside, and your classmates and professors are not judging you as long as you give a good faith effort. When you remember those two things, the pressure diminishes and you may (MAY!) actually find yourself enjoying the cold call.
A great discussion can bring even the most droll subject matter to life, and don’t we all want our classes to feel fun and engaging? In a way, that comes from letting go of your pride and ego, a tough thing for law students, but hey, less ego in the legal and political world is much needed, so let’s start here. The next time you get the call, just cut loose, have fun, and remember that we all get them wrong sometimes, but I bet if you do, you won’t get it wrong when it counts (on the final).
Ian Hurley is a second-year student at BC Law. Contact him at hurleyia@bc.edu.
BC Law: Impact 