By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: So the case is complex. Maybe it involves a tricky multi-stage legal question. Or maybe it requires understanding some arcane point on patents. Or perhaps it requires grappling with the workings of an unfamiliar technology. In these cases, is the jury up to the task? It can be tempting to […]
Don’t Fret, Your Jury Can Handle Some Complexity Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one of the basics emphasized in your first public speaking class: Have a clear transition between your main points. But it is also a rule that many experienced communicators set aside or start taking for granted. As you become more comfortable with your content and your audience, you can fall victim
Think About Transitions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Lately, I’ve seen increasing reports of people voluntarily separating themselves from the news. Often, this means taking a break from Facebook and its ubiquitous “Newsfeed.” In other cases, however, it involves people sounding the retreat on watching the news or reading the paper. For some, it means being more selective,
Account for News Fatigue Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you think of science, do you think of dry research articles, charts and graphs that take a good deal of explanation in order to get to a point? Or do you think of Neil DeGrasse Tyson explaining the Cosmos with the help of clear but sophisticated video and graphics?
Experts, Tell a Visual Story Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is conversation I frequently have when sending jurors off to deliberate as part of a mock trial. “Can we ask the attorneys questions about the case?” “No, just do your best with what you remember.” “But what if there are things we forget?” “Don’t worry, as a group you’re
Don’t Expect Better Memory from a Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: File this in the category of, “I didn’t realize just how uninformed some people are,” a new survey makes the claim that seven percent of American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. The data comes courtesy of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy drawn from an online survey conducted in April
Brown Cows and Chocolate Milk: Account for Rational Ignorance Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In the first of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the heroine of the story is demanding to be taken back to shore and invoking something called “The Pirate Code” to make her case. The pirate, Captain Barbossa, responds: First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our
To Address Implicit Bias, Rely on Rules Not Standards Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You may have seen the video called “Order in the Classroom.” The piece, the work of the National Jury Trial Innovations Project, offers a quick and humorous take on what a college course would look like if it were run with all of the constraints of a trial. In the video, the
Let the Jurors Take and Review Notes Read More »
Interview of Dr. Shelley Spiecker (by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm): My colleague, Dr. Shelley Spiecker, is one of the sharpest and most experienced trial consultants in the country. So, it was with some surprise that she recently found herself on a Denver County jury. I took the opportunity to sit down with her for a
See It Through the Jury’s Eyes: A Trial Consultant Does Jury Duty Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Modern life and communications tend to put up quite a few barriers to concentration. It’s easy to be distracted. Let’s say you are putting together an important memo when some other alternate possibilities creep into your awareness: Maybe you should check your calendar really quickly…or maybe see if any new
Make Concentration Contagious Read More »