Reaching Jurors on Different Levels

A successful lawyer is one who knows how to persuade jurors, that much is obvious. What is less obvious is that jurors are persuaded on several different levels. One level that is often ignored is the difference levels in how we each perceive information, our unique perceptual modes.

An individual’s perceptual mode determines the primary way that individual perceives events and situations: we see it, hear it or feel it. That is not to say that people who favor a visual mode, for example, only experience the world through their eyes. Rather, they first and predominantly experience the world in visual terms. Visually oriented people make use of the auditory and feeling modes, but only secondarily.

How does this apply to the courtroom?

Each of us tend to express and receive information in our preferred perceptual mode, to the relative exclusion of the other modes. Many men, for example, are visually oriented, and thus are focused on the visual. Women are frequently more kinesthetically (feeling) oriented, and relate to kinesthetic expression.

Figure out how you see the world: are you more likely to say “I see what you mean” “I can’t picture it” (visual), or “that sounds good to me” “Doesn’t ring a bell for me” (auditory), or “I understand how you feel” “I want to get a handle on this” (kinesthetic)?

Deliberately express yourself in all three modes during trial; make a conscious effort to communicate in those modes that are not your predominant one. In so doing, you will more effectively reach and therefore persuade all the jurors, not just those who resonate to your native mode.

Use Analogies to Facilitate Juror Identification

Dictionary.com defines an analogy as “a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification,” which is the very thing that makes analogies so powerful in persuading jurors. Your jurors come from a variety of life experiences, and may not have a clear understanding or ability to relate emotionally to a given issue of key importance to your case. An analogy is an efficient and effective way to accomplish that. For example, the critical importance of cooperation on a surgical team may be compared to that on a baseball team. However, analogies only persuade under certain conditions.

1. Make sure your analogy suits your jury. If your jury is young, analogies from the Depression or WWII will not only fail to have the desired impact, they may bore your jurors. Not good. If your jury is primarily female, sports-oriented analogies should be used sparingly. Respect the life-experience of your jurors (most often revealed through juror occupations), and tailor your analogies accordingly.

2. Make sure your analogy is accurate. If it isn’t 100% accurate, opposing counsel will be quick to turn your analogy against you.

3. Avoid overstatement. An analogy is persuasive only if it is backed up by your facts. When you seek emotional connection with the jurors without paying sufficient attention to the logic underpinning your analogy, you lose credibility.

Two Easy Tips For Persuasive Expert Testimony

Experts are experts in their subject matter, but not necessarily experts at testifying, as many a lawyer has found out at trial, much to his/her dismay.

One way to make sure your expert testifies in a way that will persuade the jurors, is to have your expert formulate "umbrella statements." These are statements that give an overview of what is to follow.

For example, an expert might begin with the umbrella statement "Upon examination, I found significant differences between X and Y," rather than launching immediately into a description of the features of X, not mentioning Y until 10 minutes later, and not discussing the differences between the two until another 10 minutes has elapsed. Jurors need to be guided. Without the benefit of an "umbrella statement," jurors don't know what they should be listening for. Your expert's excellent points may be lost in the clutter.

Another way is to have your experts bottom line key points as they conclude a given

segment of testimony. Phrases such as "To sum it all up," or "What this means is" are helpful in introducing a concise, condensed, easy-to-remember version of  the critical point just made.

With a jury, clarity and easy-to-grasp concepts/points make for the best testimony.