From Hostage To Hero Blog

Is It Possible to Accurately Read a Juror's Body Language? PART 2

8/19/2019

Last week we discussed the first thing you can read: permission.

Today let's look at the second thing you can read: what mode jurors are in.

Every single communication situation tends to fall into one of two buckets: Issue & Relationship.

You're either tending to the relationship or dealing with an issue when conversing with someone.

Likewise, people tend to be in issue or relationship mode, depending on the circumstance. You can read this nonverbally.

Issue-oriented communication looks like this:

Juror sits upright, head is straight, not tilted or bobbing
Juror gestures with palms down
Juror's voice curls down at the ends of statements

Relationship-oriented communication looks like this:

Juror leans forward, head is tilted or bobbing
Juror gestures with palms up
Juror's voice curls up at the ends of statements

We like the relationship-oriented jurors, don't we? They smile and nod and make us feel good. But the issue-oriented jurors are scary, aren't they? They stare and cross their arms and make us feel bad.

Stop making up stories.

Issue-oriented jurors are interested in logistics. "What's this about? Is it worth my time?" It doesn't mean they disagree with you.

Relationship-oriented jurors are simply being polite by nodding and smiling. It doesn't mean they agree with you.

Here is what this body language actually means:

Issue-oriented jurors are motivated by facts, evidence and logic.

Relationship oriented jurors are motivated by emotion, stories and the human element.

This means that if you have a primarily relationship-oriented jury, you need to use more relationship-oriented body language and tell more stories and use more emotion.

Conversely, if you have a primarily issue-oriented jury, use more issue-oriented body language and focus on facts and logic.

Stop trying to memorize hundreds of nonverbal cues and just focus on reading permission and what mode your jurors are in. This will allow you to focus on the job at hand instead of being distracted by irrelevant details.

Is It Possible to Accurately Read a Juror's Body Language?

8/12/2019

As an expert in nonverbal intelligence, I am often asked how to accurately read a juror's body language.

Here's the short of it: you can't accurately read a juror's body language if what you're looking for is whether or not they'll vote your way.

But there are things you can read: permission and what mode jurors are in.

Let's discuss permission first.

Permission is how receptive someone is to you or your message. It's conveyed nonverbally. Meaning, even if someone says, "Yes, you may do that," you may not have their real permission.

For example, have you ever been in voir dire and asked a juror if you could ask them a question, and they say yes, but then you still have a hard time getting them to answer? They gave you verbal permission, but not real permission.

You can read permission by watching a juror's breathing. Is the juror sitting still, head resting on top of his shoulders, conversing easily? He's most likely breathing well. Conversely, is the juror sitting stiffly, shoulders up, having trouble finding words? She's most likely holding her breath or breathing shallowly.

When a juror holds his or her breath, they go into fight or flight mode. This means they're in survival mode and cannot be receptive to you or anyone else. This is why breathing is an indicator of permission.

Carefully watch a juror's breathing to gauge whether you have permission or not. You can also just tune into how the interaction feels: cold and stunted? You don't have permission. Warm and inviting? You most likely have permission.

Next week we'll discuss the second thing you can read: what mode jurors are in.

Until then, check out this podcast: How to Read Body Language.

How to Use Your Mistakes to Your Advantage

8/5/2019

In order to be truly great, you have to be willing to fail.

But failure doesn't help you learn if all you do is beat yourself up when you make a mistake.

If you want to take your communication to the next level, you have to stop wasting your mistakes.

What does wasting your mistakes mean?

Beating yourself up
Quitting
Refusing to look at what went wrong
Trying to be perfect
...and so on

You're going to make mistakes, so why not use them to your advantage?

Here are some steps you can take to help you learn from your mistakes instead of throwing away the opportunity you have to learn:

Start where you are. The only thing you'll learn when you attempt to "start at the top" is that it's impossible. You can't decide on Friday that you're going to run a marathon on Monday. Start where you are and work up from there.
Critique in 3rd person. In our studio classes, I force the attorneys to debrief their video in third person, ie, "David didn't hold his gestures out," vs. "I didn't hold my gestures out." Research shows you'll learn more when you separate yourself from your critique by speaking in 3rd person. It sounds weird, but it works.
Program in 1st person. Say, "Next time I am going to try..." etc. While you're at it, give yourself a compliment in 1st person. "Great job Sari!"
Ask yourself why. If you notice your gestures are small, or that you failed to really go after the doctor on cross exam, as yourself why. Maybe it's because you were afraid. Maybe you think you'll screw up. Whatever it is, there's always a thought beneath any action and when you change the thought, you change your result.

Use your mistakes to your advantage. Start really digging in when you make a mistake and use it as an opportunity to learn. Failing for failure's sake is a waste of time. Failing your way to greatness is possible when you learn from your mistakes.

Give this podcast a listen to learn more.