By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What is a “Duchenne smile?” It is not a smile that just involves the corners of your mouth turning up. Instead, it is a smile that activates both the muscles around the mouth as well as the muscles around the eyes. In all persuasive situations, we are told that a sincere smile […]
When You Smile, Make It a Duchenne Smile Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The TED phenomenon is very interesting to me. The niche involves hosting 20-minute talks by innovative individuals, some famous some not, in order to share “ideas worth spreading” on technology, entertainment, and design — very broadly defined, those three areas form the acronym for TED. The idea that in today’s day and
Improve Delivery By Perfecting Your ‘TED Moves’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The Minnesota State Senate, I learned from a recent NPR story, prohibits eye contact. Incredibly, the legislative body has a rule stating that all comments must be addressed to the Senate President, and that rule is interpreted to mean that senators cannot look their fellow senators in the eye while
Make the Right Kind of Eye Contact Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Lawyers like to be efficient in communication, particularly in the setting of litigation, bound as it is by time and relevance. Perspicuity when persuading is considered a virtue in that setting and “Don’t do what isn’t necessary” is generally a good rule to follow. But on the subject of graphics,
Use Charts (Even If the Need Seems Trivial) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Learning music carries some pretty profound cognitive benefits, so along with my seven-year-old daughter, I’m currently learning to play the guitar. Communicating the correct string or strings to pick carries some challenges, though. You could say the “D String,” but that doesn’t always yield quick recall from the seven-year-old (plus,
Make Colors Meaningful Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Juror C: Okay, we’ve answered question four, so let’s move on to five. Juror A: No, it says that if we answered “No” to four, then we skip to seven… Juror D: …I totally know the answer to six, it is “Yes!” Juror A: Wait, wait, we should not even
Consider a Flowchart Verdict Form Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In an age when Americans spend a stunning 11 hours every day, on average, interacting with digital media, the idea that it is somehow enough in the courtroom for trial lawyers to simply use the power of words or a few static images is becoming increasingly dated. If you really want to
Animate: Give Your Jurors Three Dimensions, or More Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A few days ago, I was reading through documents for a medical malpractice defense. The case involved a woman who died under OB/GYN care. As sometimes happens, I found myself wanting a mental picture as I read the story. After I typed in her name, my browser quickly returned the
Account for “Lookism” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I have a few pet peeves. Some relate to language (don’t say “literally” when you mean “figuratively,” and don’t say “jive” when you mean “jibe”). Those I can live with. But a larger pet peeve that I have trouble living with relates to demonstrative exhibits in the opening statement. Or, more
Don’t Whine About ‘Argumentative’ Demonstratives (and Argue Back Against Whiners) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A picture can be worth a thousand words. And, it turns out, that picture can also make the words you do use more believable. Researchers point to this as the “truthiness” effect, in homage to comedian Stephen Colbert’s neologism for the feeling of something being true independent of its actual
Don’t Panic Over Visual “Truthiness” Read More »