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.  

Neglect Jurors’ Need for “What Happened?” at Your Peril

Your primary focus in preparing for trial is inevitably the issues in the case. You may not focus much on “What will the jurors want to know about this case?” because you figure they’ll want to know about--the issues. Of course they will! But they’ll want a lot more than that.

Jurors want enough information to be able to construct a coherent story of what happened. This is true regardless of the type of case, and whether you’re defense or plaintiff. If you don’t give that information to them, they’ll make it up for themselves. That fact alone should be enough to give you nightmares.

For example, in an accident case involving any kind of vehicle, jurors want to know the speed of the vehicle/s, whether the driver/s, pedestrian or whoever else was involved had been drinking or taking drugs, and the driving records of the parties involved.

Jurors want to know these factors regardless of whether speed, drugs or driving records have anything to do with the case. It’s as if the jurors' common sense demands that these facts be known before they can look at other factors. Don’t for a moment assume that if alcohol, for example, is not at issue, that simply not mentioning it is sufficient for the jurors. Hardly! To the degree that the law allows, these factors and other "common sense" issues should be made known.

From business cases to medical malpractice and everything in between, jurors want information that allows them to reconstruct “what happened,” even if liability is already stipulated. And in the absence of having evidence of “what happened,” which occurs frequently, at the very least your expert should have a strong opinion as to the most likely “what happened.” 

It’s Not Just What You Ask, It’s How

How you ask a question of a witness is every bit as important as the subject matter of the question, for the simple reason that the way you ask your question can greatly influence the response.

Choose words that presuppose the response you want to hear. For example, asking "How long did that go on?" will usually prompt a very different response than "How soon was it resolved?" “How long” implies the situation went on for quite some time. “How soon” implies the situation was resolved fairly quickly. "How many people were involved?" implies many people were involved. "Who else was involved?" implies just a few people were involved.

Other common examples are: "How fast was the car going?" (suggests high speed). "At what speed was the car traveling?" (suggests more moderate speed). "How far was the intersection?" (suggests the intersection was far away). "How near was the intersection?" (suggests the intersection was close by).  

As you craft your direct and cross questions, once you’ve got down the information you’re after, hone your questions so the words you use encourage and support the answers you want.

Second Edition of Connecting With Your Client Now Available Through the ABA and Amazon

The just released second edition of Dr. Noelle Nelson’s Connecting With Your Client (2015, ABA Publishing) gives attorneys the most up-to-date communication and persuasive tools needed to achieve greater client satisfaction.

The book contains updated information on:

• Effectively communicating using the latest technology
• Creating rapport that builds your client's trust and confidence
• Communicating billing and other case management issues in ways that support good client-lawyer relations
• Training your associates, legal assistants and support staff to adopt the appropriate attitude toward clients
• Step-by-step exercises that can help defuse uncomfortable situations

Connecting With Your Client includes discussion on how to maintain control over difficult situations and clients, as well as professional solutions drawn from real-life, real-case experiences. Managing partners, executive directors and marketing directors of top-level firms contribute their perspective and share their solutions for attaining client satisfaction and cooperation.

Connecting With Your Client is available at Shop ABA, Amazon or call by 800-285-2221. It is available in print and as an e-book.