How Vocal Pace Can Contribute To Your Trial Success

 With the unrelenting pressure and time constraints of litigation, it’s easy to forget certain basics of persuasive trial communication. One of those is the judicious use of pace.

Pace refers to the speed of your voice. If you speak too quickly, jurors will have trouble following what you are saying, and will eventually stop trying. If you speak too slowly, everyone in the courtroom will fall asleep. Neither is conducive to making a convincing point.

A desirable pace is one that is easy to follow but quick enough to remain interesting.  Good pace reflects good energy, Good pace, reflecting good energy, is the vocal equivalent of walking at a brisk pace. Use this as your basic rate of speech.

Anything done the same way for long periods of time, however, becomes monotonous. Vary your basic pace by:

            1. slowing it down

- when you wish to appear thoughtful

- when you have something particularly important or serious to impart

- when you wish to show great respect.

            2. speeding it up

                        - when you review information you have already covered

                        - when you wish to make something seem unimportant.

Persuasion is grounded in a variety of factors, including good vocal pace.

The Question’s Not the Problem: The Answer May Be

How many times in your youth, were you told by a benevolent, or at the very least, good-hearted, coach or teacher, "There’s no such thing as a stupid question." You’ve probably said that very phrase to your children as well.

And yet, when jurors ask during deliberations to have something explained to them, or ask a question that clearly reveals their lack of understanding, lawyers will frequently roll their eyes and mutter about "the decline in average intelligence" or mumble about the impossibility of getting “bright jurors” on the panel.

Similarly, in focus groups, when it’s obvious the mock jurors have completely missed a lawyer’s point, the lawyer will often blame the jurors for their stupidity . . . which drives me absolutely berserk.

Jurors are people who are good at what they do! Whether that’s repairing cars, or managing a convenience store, or cleaning houses. And just like the show "Undercover Boss" reveals the inability of most bosses to accomplish the mundane tasks of their employees, I defy any attorney to walk in the shoes of any juror and accomplish their tasks in life, from bus driver to pediatric nurse, with the same level of expertise as said juror.

There are no stupid questions. There are simply different arenas and levels of experience in the world. Run your cases by focus groups whenever you can to ferret out what are the issues critical to your case that jurors are likely to misunderstand, or fail to comprehend.

Then do all that you can, with the aid of visuals whenever possible, to clarify matters for those who will be your "real" jurors.

There are no stupid questions. But there are some mightily confusing, obfuscating answers.