By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Listen, pause, use your own words, and then stop. Sometimes witness advice should be covered in detail, and at other times you just need to bottom line it. A week or so ago, I was arriving for a meeting with attorneys just as a witness was leaving. “Is there any […]
Bottom Line Your Deposition Advice: Four Rules Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Most witnesses in trial or deposition would know enough not to testify with a big wad of chewing gum in their mouths. Only, these witnesses probably haven’t heard about a new study that purports to show that, when gum-chewers are compared to non-chewers, those chewing gum are viewed as more
Don’t Chew Gum and Testify at the Same Time (and Don’t Believe Every Study) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “You are not to cry,” the judge sternly warns the witness on the stand, a mother looking at postmortem photographs of her son. It seems like a pretty harsh and heartless instruction from the judge, especially to those less acquainted with the legal system. But this scene that played out
Check Those Emotions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The name “Discovery” doesn’t quite do justice to the litigation phase it describes. When it’s done well and with purpose, the point of discovery isn’t so much to discover evidence as it is to create evidence. In deposition, for example, the deposing attorney’s fondest wish is not to discover the witness’s view of what
Don’t Be Led (in Deposition) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Let’s say that you know little to nothing about the actual legal process outside the distorted Hollywood lens. But the one thing you do know is that you’ll be testifying under oath at some point in the future. You’ll be on the stand, or you’ll be called in for deposition.
Build Confidence: A Review of “The Articulate Witness” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Chants of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “I Can’t Breathe,” continue to be heard at protests around the country. Motivated by the Ferguson, Missouri police shooting of Michael Brown, as well as the choke-hold death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, these protests testify to a rising distrust
Don’t Confuse Certainty with Accuracy when It Comes to Witness Testimony Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The witness is in good shape and the testimony looks to be great. There’s just one little problem in his past: a conviction. Litigators are understandably concerned about any threats to witness credibility, but if that threat comes in the form of a rap sheet, that’s viewed as a very
Don’t Assume Prior Convictions Kill Credibility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The “swearing in” that precedes testimony is a ritual steeped in religious tradition, though it is routine these days for the oath to simply involve a solemn promise to tell the truth, without any specific religious trappings. But the form of the oath is still often within the judge’s discretion,
Take the Oath Seriously Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Sometimes characters are important, but never seen. For example, Godot is waited for, but doesn’t make it to the stage. In HBO’s Veep, the President is often the center of the story, but is never seen or heard on screen. Even in the Charlie Brown cartoons, we hear about but never
Consider the Credibility of Your Missing Persons Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Let’s say that I’m testifying in trial? And that role has got me a little wary? And hesitant? So, those feelings leak through my non-verbal communication? And I start raising my pitch at the end of every sentence? My statements all start to sound as if they were questions? It
Avoid Rising Intonation? Read More »