How students choose to collaborate and communicate can have a significant impact on the outcome of a workplace project as well as their legal career. Additionally, the importance of face-to-face communication, body posture, and learning to interpret body language cues is crucial for building professional relationships. Through these interactive exercises, students get the opportunity to practice responses in a setting that fosters student development and growth. Furthermore, improvisation provides the legal profession with tools that can be used to enhance communication, active listening, collaboration, agility, trust, authenticity, and resilience.
An important emphasis in externship courses is a focus on cultivation of the habit of self-reflection. Equally important is the need for externship teachers to provide a safe space for students to practice immediate reactivity to challenges that they will face in a law practice setting. Improvisation exercises provide a tool for responding to workplace challenges by teaching techniques that will enhance communication skills while at the same time bolstering law student wellbeing.
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