The Three Things You Must Master in Trial

I know it seems like you are doing an endless number of things both before trial and during.

But when it comes to communication, you're really only doing three things.

Teaching, storytelling and dealing with resistance.

Teaching

Teaching is where you impart information. You teach throughout trial. For example, if your case involves angiograms, you begin your teaching in voir dire by asking jurors about their familiarity with specific medical terms in your case. 

"Who here has any familiarity with angiograms?"

"Was your father's angiogram that you just mentioned diagnostic (performed to diagnose a problem) or interventional (performed to fix a medical issue)?" Etc.

You teach in opening when you tell the jury what angiograms are and how they're used.

"An angiogram is where the doctor punctures the femoral artery..."

"There are two types of angiograms. Diagnostic and interventional. Diagnostic angiograms are performed when..." Etc.

But you also teach in closing when you show the jury how to fill out the verdict form and clarify what the legal terms mean.

And during trial? Your expert witnesses teach on the stand.

Storytelling

You begin storytelling in voir dire by listening to the juror's stories and experiences. You continue storytelling by telling two stories in opening: the story of how the defendant caused the harm, and the story of the effect of that harm on the plaintiff.

But you also tell a story in closing; the story of the plaintiff, projected into the future, where they received no help from the jury.

And during trial? Your lay witnesses tell stories on the stand.

Deal with Resistance

You deal with resistance in voir dire by discussing the very things that are detrimental to your case. 

You deal with resistance in opening when you undermine the defense arguments. And in closing you deal with resistance when you teach the jury how to deal with resistance from fellow jurors in the verdict room.

And in trial? You deal with resistance when you conduct your cross exam of the defense's witnesses.

Why is This Important?

It's important to understand the three things you're doing at trial for two main reasons:

First, it helps simplify things. If you know you're teaching, storytelling or dealing with resistance, you can organize your content that way so that it all comes together at the various points at trial.

Second, it informs what body language you should use. Teaching requires you adhere to presentation rules: proper stance, gestures, visuals, etc. When you're storytelling, however, you throw those rules out. Now you can and should "act." Bring the characters to life.

And when you deal with resistance? Adopt the same tone of voice jurors might use should they vocalize their thoughts out loud. "Shouldn't he have told someone?" they might be thinking in a sex abuse case. So say it, just like they'd think it, with proper inflection. This creates a connection between you and the jurors.

Trial can be overwhelming. Simplify your communication by focusing on these three things.

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