The Art of Influence with Trial Lawyer Jennifer Gardner

What happens to your communication when someone pushes exactly the right button? Strategy can disappear quickly when the nervous system feels threatened. We become defensive, rush to prove our point, or get pulled into the emotional energy of the person across from us. The conversation may still be happening, but we are no longer fully present inside it. Amy and trial lawyer Jennifer Gardner explore what it takes to remain grounded when the stakes are high. Drawing from decades inside intense courtroom situations, Jennifer shares why self-regulation is not separate from effective communication. It is what makes clear thinking, presence, and persuasion possible in the first place. Their conversation moves from grounding through the body to the deeper work of humanizing the person on the other side. Jennifer also examines the line between ethical persuasion and manipulation, including how likability, empathy, and emotional connection can be used either in service of understanding or as tools for control. The goal is not to become impossible to trigger. It is to recognize the moment you are losing yourself, return to what matters, and choose how you want to respond before fear, ego, or defensiveness chooses for you. Moments That Create Momentum: Don’t Take the Bait – Explore why regulating yourself first can keep conflict from deciding how you communicate. Come Back to the Body – Learn how grounding and breath can help restore clarity when the pressure around you begins to escalate. Humanize Before You Persuade – Discover why understanding another person’s reality can make communication more compelling without abandoning your own position. Notice the Shadow of Persuasion – Recognize how likability and emotional connection can create influence, and when those same tools begin to feel manipulative. Hard Truths Still Need to Be Spoken – See how difficult conversations can create greater inner peace when your actions remain aligned with what you believe. About the Guest: Jennifer B. Gardner is a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer, speaker, and persuasion expert who helps high-performing leaders strengthen their executive presence, communication, and influence. She has operated her own litigation firm for more than 30 years and has handled complex business, real estate, and criminal matters through trial. Jennifer holds executive certifications from the Wharton School in leadership, influence and persuasion, and neuroscience for business. Through The Edge Education, she teaches leaders and lawyers how to communicate more effectively, navigate high-stakes situations, and achieve stronger results with less stress. https://jenniferbgardner.com/ About Amy: Amy Lynn Durham, known by her clients as the Corporate Mystic, is the founder of the Executive Coaching Firm, Create Magic At Work®, where they help leaders build workplaces rooted in creativity, collaboration, and fulfillment. A former corporate executive turned Executive Coach, Amy blends practical leadership strategies with spiritual intelligence to unlock human potential at work. She’s a certified Executive Coach through UC Berkeley & the International Coaching Federation (ICF) In addition, Amy holds coaching certifications in Spiritual Intelligence (SQ21), the Edgewalker Profile, and the Archetypes of Change . In addition to being the host of the Create Magic At Work® podcast, Amy is the author of Create Magic At Work®, Creating Career Magic: A Daily Prompt Journal and the founder of Magic Thread Media™. Through her work, she inspires intentional leadership for thriving workplaces and lives where “magic” becomes reality. Connect with Amy: https://createmagicatwork.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/create-magic-at-work https://www.facebook.com/112951637095427 https://www.instagram.com/createmagicatwork https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnEm4h3fUgaq8qgvZpz6dGg Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.