By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Written in the context of the civil rights and Vietnam war protests of the Sixties, there is an old Buffalo Springfield song with a line about the marchers, “Singing songs and carrying signs [that] mostly say, ‘hooray for our side.’” That ‘hooray’ is what the political psychologists call “partisan affect,” […]
Be Alert to Partisan Affect Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A fair proportion of the legal advocacy in America today is taking place via written communication. With only a small percentage of cases actually ever seeing a jury — three percent, or less — cases are more and more often reaching their ends based on written motions. Summary judgment decisions
Preserve a Place for Spoken Persuasion Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Sexual harassment is a constant issue. But sometimes there is relative silence on the subject, and sometimes there are waves of attention. Right now, one of those waves seems to be cresting. With the repeated harassment claims and settlements at Fox News, and the number of women accusing Hollywood producer
Address the Silence of a Delayed Harassment Claim Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As special counsel, Robert Mueller, files the first charges stemming from the investigation of events surrounding Russia’s involvement in our presidential election, the issue of corruption touching on the government looms large. In Chapman University’s 2017 “Survey of American Fears,” just released in time for Halloween, the results put “corruption of government officials”
Don’t Corrupt Your Credibility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Every persuader, and legal persuaders in particular, understand that bias is both pervasive and powerful. The idea that potential jurors will be carrying attitudes and experiences that could influence their decision is the norm and not the exception. As a trial attorney, your goal is to eliminate it. In practice,
Account for the Contagion of Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The idea of a reluctant jury — a jury of people who would really like to be just about anywhere else, a jury of people who tried like hell to get out of it and failed — that idea is fairly well ingrained in our system. Among many, especially those
Expect a (Mostly) Willing Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The law expects legal decision making to work like a smooth and well-oiled machine. But as any experienced legal persuader knows, there is sand in those gears. That sand takes the form of cognitive biases: mental shortcuts or heuristics. They’re not necessarily mistakes, but factors that make legal decision making
Know Your Cognitive Biases, Part 2 Read More »
Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There are so many reasons why it is good to make a list, I could make a list of them (and actually, I did). But, safe to say, lists are ubiquitous in communication. We use them for shopping, for things we need to do, and steps we need to take. Mentally, we like
Don’t Mix up the Do’s and the Don’ts Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You’re forgiven if you didn’t notice, but for the past couple of years, the General Mills cereal called “Trix” has been available only in a “heathier” version. That means that it kept all the sugar, but lost the artificial coloring, using vegetable and fruit ingredients instead. Apparently, there are some
Know Your Audience: Trix Are for Kids (Who Don’t Care About Artificial Colors) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: President Trump has just announced the third version of his ban on travel to the U.S. by residents from specific countries. This time the ban includes the unlikely traveler from North Korea and some Venezuelan officials, but this third version is still recognizable as his ‘Muslim travel ban,’ the campaign promise that,
Voir Dire on Islamophobia Read More »