The EULETA External Speaker Training Series features speakers who are experts in their fields and external to EULETA. The talks are on topics which are connected to our work as legal English teachers and which help our continued professional development.
Our next external speaker training event will be on Tuesday 17th November 2026 from 7.00 to 8.30 pm CET.
Our guest Paula Klammer will be speaking about
"Beyond Words: Understanding Emotions and Adapting Communication in Law Practice."
About Paula Klammer:
Paula Klammer is a lawyer-linguist with more than twenty years of experience in legal linguistics, professional communication, and education. California-raised and now based in Germany, she brings together expertise in law, language, and emotion coaching to help professionals communicate with greater intention and emotional attunement.
Before moving to Germany, Paula led the English division of the Language Center at one of Latin America’s foremost international law firms in Buenos Aires and taught legal writing and communication at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Across these settings, her focus extended beyond whether language was technically correct to what it accomplished: whether a question elicited useful information, an explanation created understanding, or an exchange moved a negotiation forward.
In Germany, Paula qualified as an emTrace® Mastercoach, connecting her legal and linguistic background with a deeper focus on the emotional dimensions of professional interaction. Today, her communication coaching and training combine language pragmatics, the Wholeception Compass®, and Mimikresonanz® to help professionals recognize emotional signals, understand motivational patterns, and adapt their language as conversations unfold.
Paula works with lawyers, coaches, and others in emotion-sensitive professions through individual coaching, courses, and training for companies and law firms. She is also co-developing English for emTrace® with Dr. Dirk W. Eilert, the developer of emTrace® and Mimikresonanz®, contributing curriculum design, terminology development, and English-language learning resources.
About Paula Klammer's talk:
A carefully worded explanation does not always reassure a client, and a technically precise question does not always reveal what matters. How can lawyers recognize what is happening in a conversation and respond more effectively? And how can legal English teachers be better equipped to help learners make communication choices that build understanding, uncover concerns, and strengthen trust?
Through practical examples from client consultations and negotiations, Paula Klammer explores how language, voice, and body language work together in law practice. She introduces an approach to noticing emotional signals, interpreting them in context, and adapting communication as an interaction unfolds. Participants will consider how different motivations—such as wanting certainty or retaining control over a decision—can influence how someone responds to questions, explanations, and advice.
For legal English professionals working with law students or practising lawyers, the session offers a broader perspective on the interactions they prepare learners to navigate. Participants will learn to explore why the same explanation can reassure one client and frustrate another, recognize how question wording can invite disclosure or provoke defensiveness, and use emotional and nonverbal signals to guide follow-up questions and adjustments in wording, tone, and pace.
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This event is for EULETA members only. If you are not a EULETA member, you are welcome to join or renew your membership to attend this event.
Registration is free and closes on 16th November.
Please register here. After you register you will receive a confirmation email (check your spam). If you do not receive this, it means you are not registered correctly and you should contact us.
We will send out a Zoom link on the day of the event.
If you have any questions about this event or any suggestions for potential speakers who are not EULETA members, please let us know at: internal@euleta.org.
