How to Create a Powerful, Persuasive Chart: KISS

Charts and graphs are among the most persuasive of the array of visuals you have available to you to bring your case home to jurors. As old-school as they may seem, well done charts/graphs can sometimes have more impact than hi-tech options.

Here’s a great example, created by the Prison Policy Organization.  

 

The chart explains itself. You hardly need any words to point out the higher USA incarceration rate. It’s a brilliant visual translation of a concept (“off the chart”).

What else is right with this chart?

- It only expresses one idea; the high USA incarceration rate.

- It is uncluttered; the bars and numbers tell the story, no need for icons.

- It follows the logical order people are used to; low numbers on the bottom to high numbers on the top.

- “Bold” font is used only for the title of the chart and the numbers, so people’s eyes are drawn to what is most relevant. They don’t have to figure out what’s the pertinent information, which happens most often when too many words/numbers are bolded.

- A single color is used for the bars, which highlights the importance of the longest bar. If different colors were used for the different countries, for example, the chart would lose some of its startling clarity.

Can Visuals Interfere With Your Argument/Testimony?

Our world has become a ‘world-in-pictures’ with virtually everything translated into a visual format, or at the very least, accompanied by an icon or picture of some related sort. Given this reality, litigators have been encouraged to create visuals and graphics to support the presentation of their case, to the maximum allowed by the Court.

All this is well and good, and indeed, has been proven effective in case after case. However, which visuals, and how they are designed to be most persuasive, can be elusive.

Lawyers are often tempted to load up visuals with as much information as possible, understanding that the visual is more compelling than the spoken word. In theory, this is accurate. However, you and your witnesses still need to be heard as well as visually represented. Too much information on any given graphic can lead to “inattentional deafness” (Macdonald and Lavie, UK, 2011). Simply stated, the more complicated and comprehensive the visual material, the less subjects were able to respond to what they heard.

This is true for jurors as well. Over-complicate your visuals, and jurors will not be able to absorb what you’re saying. If your case is such that you must present an information-loaded visual, be that in still or video form, be quiet while that information is imparted visually, at least for a few moments, and then speak, preferably with the information-loaded visual out of view.