Jennifer Gardner is a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer and persuasive communications consultant. Her three-decade career spans entertainment litigation, serious criminal cases, and business and real estate disputes.
Jennifer teaches high-performing professionals how to grow their influence, impact, and executive presence through her programs The Art of Influence and The Power Lab. She also consults lawyers on courtroom presence and strategic messaging, and delivers CLE workshops including Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins and How You Can Have Bad Facts and Bad Law and Still Win Your Case.
She has received Certifications in Influence and Persuasion, Leadership, and Using Neuroscience to Obtain Better Business Results from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT THE ART AND SCIENCE OF INFLUENCE TO BE A MORE PERSUASIVE LAWYER
What separates a good lawyer from a truly persuasive one? According to trial lawyer and communications consultant Jennifer Gardner, it’s the ability to harness both the art and science of influence. Mastering persuasion isn’t just about confidence or charisma, it’s about emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and your ability to create real human connection.
Jennifer draws on decades of courtroom experience and advanced training in storytelling, behavior, and communication to help lawyers tap into their full persuasive potential. She shares how legal professionals can elevate their impact by learning to regulate emotions, read others more effectively, and challenge the cultural norms that prioritize intellect over influence.
In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Jennifer about how to become a more powerful communicator, why emotions drive decision-making, and what it takes to lead in a way that’s both strategic and authentic.
2:03 – What sparked Jennifer’s pursuit of influence and persuasion
4:49 – How early messaging shaped her sense of power and self-expression
7:23 – The neuroscience behind why storytelling works
10:02 – Lawyers as leaders and why emotions matter more than logic
11:53 – Why Jennifer launched The Art of Influence and The Power Lab
14:02 – Cultural programming and lawyers’ resistance to emotion
17:01 – How to start developing persuasive power
20:23 – What marketers know about influence that lawyers need to learn
Mentioned In Using the Art and Science of Influence to Be a More Persuasive Lawyer
Jennifer B. Gardner | LinkedIn
Chris DeSantis | Why I Find You Irritating: Navigating Generational Friction at Work
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