By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one of the central messages of witness preparation: Be confident, because if you’re confident, you’ll be more credible. Once, I got the reply from a witness, “But I don’t feel confident,” and the question, “Should I act confident even if I don’t feel it?” The short answer, “Yes.” The longer […]
Project Your Voice Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm The title asks a provocative question: “When it comes to jury trials, should you tell a story or stick to the facts?” The piece in the “Your Voice” section of the current ABA Journal is written by Drury Sherrod, a litigation consultant with the LA firm Mattson & Sherrod. The author
Don’t Choose Between Facts and Stories Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When civil litigation is being discussed by those outside the courtroom and outside the legal field, what stands out is often the perception, at least, of very high damages. The high-dollar figure being awarded, based on a questionable claim, is the poster child for the abuses of litigation. But for
Normalize Your Damages: Five Ways Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You might notice that my blog posts, at least those on the blog’s home page (www.persuasivelitigator.com) always have a photo at the top to catch the eye and help frame the content. I get my photos through a pay-site, or through various sites, like Flickr Creative Commons, which license free and credited
Include a ‘Creative Commons’ Argument in Your IP Defense Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Nearly 40 years ago, in 1979, during the country’s energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter gave what is now called the “Malaise Speech.” Without using that word, he spoke of “a crisis of confidence” that “strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will.” Over time, he
Account for Juror Malaise Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jurors sometimes need to grapple with science, and given the constraints of the trial process and the often-complex nature of the testimony, “grapple” is probably the right word. Whether it involves working through detailed DNA testimony in a criminal case, or evaluating epidemiological studies in a civil products liability cases, jurors
Expect Science Views to Vary Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: So you have worked up your case for trial and, now the question is, what is the best way to convert all of that factual detail and law into comprehension and persuasion? The answer you’ve probably heard since your first trial advocacy class is, “Tell a story!” And that’s the
Improve Your Storytelling: Seven Ways Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Some feel that the jury system has a fatal flaw. And that flaw is the jurors. They’re human, and that means they carry a wide variety of biases. Based on their experiences, their outlooks, the information they’re exposed to, and factors they may not even be aware of, they’re likely
Trust Deliberation to Reduce Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Our thinking about morality is often that it is some kind of divine spark in humans, or something spiritual that comes from within. But what if it is merely a set of habits that developed as we evolved, a set of rules that originated and persisted because they helped societies
Address Universal Core Values: Seven of Them Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When testifying, there are some situations where a “less is more” rule applies. In a deposition, for example, you don’t want to aid the other side, and will often prefer conciseness. However, when undergoing cross-examination before a jury in trial, less isn’t more…it is less. That is, if you limit
Trial Witnesses, Un-Lead the Questions Read More »