Persuasive Litigator

A Picture Really Is Worth a 1,000 Words - Harness the Power of a First Impression

by: Dr. Shelley Spiecker

Clearly visual presentation is important in persuasion.  I remain consistently surprised, however, at how little import is placed on visual impression formation in witness testimony. 

 

In my experience how witnesses look when they testify and how they sound when they speak their words has a profound impact on the impression they make on jurors, judges and arbitrators.

 

Questioning this experience need only be met with common sense.  When was the last time a serious message delivered via email had the same impact as the identical message delivered with moderated vocal inflection, direct eye contact, and highlighted use of gestures in the right sentence breaks?

Provide the Science Jurors Expect, and the Emotion They Require

by: Dr. Kevin Boully

Jurors demonstrate increasingly demanding and complex expectations for scientific proof in the courtroom.  Gone are the days of extreme concern about over-presenting your case or looking “too slick” in trial.  In most venues, slick is the new standard.  Jurors see high-level graphics and video animation on their televisions at home, on their computers at work, and on their cell phones everywhere else they go.    

Whether you believe in a measurable “CSI Effect” in civil litigation or remain skeptical, trade journals, blogs and academic research all highlight jurors’ evolving expectations of high-tech evidence and high-tech trial presentations.  You and your experts must approach trial ready to give jurors the science[1] and the dynamic presentation of evidence they expect.   

But do not underestimate the critical influence of emotion-based attitudes and beliefs on jurors’ interpretation of evidence – scientific or otherwise.  Science is important, but you must address in equal weight the emotional motivators that drive jurors’ decisions, because those motivators can and do drastically impact the weight of the actual evidence.  When speaking to your tougher audience on the jury, remember a few things: 

Steward Your Product

by: Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm

From exploding automobile gas tanks to faulty cribs, the history of jury verdicts is littered with cautionary tales of what can happen when a company fails the perceptual test of protecting its customers and standing behind its product.  While these lessons apply most obviously to products liability, a parallel concept applies to any company that sells a product or delivers a service: The company is either a good steward or a poor steward of the goods it brings to market, and jurors’ assessment of that will determine the company’s credibility and fault.  Comments from recent interviews of jurors who had recently completed their trial service has reminded me of five rules or themes that companies should use in order to, ideally, avoid litigation, but also to defend themselves should they find themselves the target of a lawsuit.  The rules may boil down to common sense, but after all, the advantage of common sense is that it is so…well, common.  These are the five that stood out in recent interviews: