The Jury-Swaying Power of “Little” Words

You’d think a little word like “a” or “the” wouldn’t have any importance, when you’re crafting your opening or your closing. And yet . . .”a” and “the” are powerful ways to focus the jurors’ attention where you want it. Not where the jurors’ attention will roam, left to its own devices.

“A” refers generically to an undefined object. “The” refers specifically to a defined object. “Did you see a man with a limp?” does not focus the jurors’ attention in the same way as “Did you see the man with the limp?” does. The use of “the” presupposes that the man exists, the limp exists, and thus that the only thing in question is whether or not the witness saw the man. People will search their memories more assiduously given the subconscious message that the man with the limp exists, than they would if asked whether they saw “a man” with “a limp” – which contains no such subconscious assumption.

Similarly, notice the differential impact of such words as “frequently,” “occasionally,” “sometimes” and “often.” Studies have shown that when people were asked if they had headaches “frequently,” they answered, on average, “2.2 headaches per week.” Whereas if asked if they had headaches “occasionally,” they answered, on average, “0.7 headaches per week.” Such is the power of “little” words! Use them wisely.    

Jurors Live By “What You See Is What You Believe:” Ignore It At Your Peril

“What you see is what you believe” – is true not just of how jurors gauge the veracity of your witness’s testimony, but also of how jurors assess you when you sit at counsel table.

Jurors assess your demeanor according to stereotypical interpretations; they have no personal knowledge of you that would allow them to determine otherwise.

For example: are you sitting hunched forward, leaning heavily on your forearms or elbows? Jurors may conclude that you are worried, defeated by that last response your witness made. Are you sitting straight, but with your arms crossed in front of your body? Jurors may take that as meaning you are angry with your witness, or upset by whatever just transpired. Are you fidgeting with your pen? Your glasses? Jurors can readily interpret such mannerisms as indications of your anxiety.

The nonverbal messages you express – consciously or otherwise – are as important to juror impression as are the words you speak.

You must exude self-confidence (not arrogance!) in body as well as voice, for the jurors to be willing to be led to the conclusions you want them to make. They will be reluctant to be led by an attorney who appears anxious, worried, or defeated.

“Grace under pressure” is not a cute aphorism. It is a truth that successful attorneys embody in every aspect of their demeanor.  

Visuals – Cut to the Chase

The importance of visuals in presenting your case to the jury is well known, and increasingly trumpeted, as ours becomes a society of glowing screens, large and small. As you decide which visuals, what part of the story they are to tell, and how best to design your visuals accordingly, one aspect is often missed: pace.
It’s easy to forget pace in your ardent desire to communicate as much as you can with the assist of visuals. But here’s the thing: look at any primetime dramatic TV show, and you’ll quickly realize that images succeed each other at lightening speed until a dramatic moment requires everything to slow down, so the audience can absorb this critical sequence. Then the pace picks up again.

So too with your visuals. Cut to the chase. Make your visuals easy to see, uncluttered, highlighting one important fact or bit of testimony, so that the jurors aren’t hunting through your visual for that important fact, having to parse through lots of relatively less important items. The pace of presenting such clear visuals can be quick, because that’s what jurors are used to from the media. Then, when you hit that one piece of evidence critical to your case, you can slow down and take your time with it.

The jurors, having not been bored or confused with your set-up or establishing visuals, will be better able and willing to give their full attention to the crux of your case.

Will Juror Empathy Help or Hurt Your Case?

Delving into the group affiliation tendencies and reading habits of your jurors can give you valuable clues to whether or not a juror will be empathic, meaning able or willing to help others in need.

We’ve usually taken this to mean that the nature of the groups people join, and the material they read, are good indicators of how jurors will assess facts. Persons joining a law-and-order type group are more likely to be defense oriented, persons volunteering at a handicapped facility more likely to be swayed by plaintiff, and certainly that still holds true.

However, what researchers at the University of Iowa have found, is that the mere fact of belonging to groups of whatever ilk, is more likely to be connected to concern for others. Persons who are socially isolated tend to be less generous towards others.

The same appears to be true of reading. Just the fact of reading seems to be connected to one’s empathy. A line of research, conducted at York University in Toronto, has shown that persons who read little may be less empathic, and, more specifically, that persons who read less fiction report themselves to be less empathic.

As always, the types of jurors you want to include/exclude depends on your case. The more you know about what goes into decision-making, for example, empathy or the lack thereof, the more likely you are to choose appropriate jurors.