By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Is there anything wrong with a witness meeting with a communication specialist in order to prepare for deposition or trial testimony? Maybe 30 years ago, the answers would have been “yes,” “maybe,” or “best not to arouse suspicions.” But trial consulting has come a long way from those early days […]
Protect Your Witness Prep Work Product 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: In all the years I’ve been working with witnesses, I have yet to meet the perfect one. I’ve met some darned good ones, but everyone has a weakness. The question is whether they will let those weaknesses degrade their performance on the stand. Practically speaking, there are some weaknesses that
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In foreign policy, the projection of certainty and confidence can be as important as the strategy. On that score, it hasn’t been an easy few weeks for the Obama administration. While some find it refreshing for leaders to avoid quick bravado in response to complex world events, others have attacked
Consider Confidence Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A good witness should not see cross-examination as an argument, but neither should that witness see it as a time to be agreeable and passive with opposing counsel. Because the inherent conflict of cross piques the jurors’ interest, it can be a critical time. The two sides are in direct
Counterpunch: Ten Ways to Fight Back on Cross Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A significant chunk of a witness’s preparation for deposition is going to be case-specific, and an even larger portion should focus on direct practice. But at least some of it will nearly always involve conveying the basic principles of good testimony: the do’s and don’t’s that apply to all deponents.
Give Your Witness a Good Foundation: A Review of “The Perfect Witness” Online Training Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You see the witness on the stand testifying. As she speaks, a storm of movements large and small cross her face and influence her posture and body. “She is nervous,” one juror thinks, “because she is just trying to say what the attorneys told her to say.” Meanwhile,
Adapt to Inconsistent Assessments of Witness Demeanor Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The witness sits in the box. As counsel continues to fashion a question, what is running through that witness’s mind? “Where is the attorney going with this? I still haven’t had a chance yet to talk about all of the things I did well. Has juror four fallen asleep? And
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Think about stage fright. Now, multiply it by two, or perhaps ten in some cases. Being in the witness chair in trial compounds what we traditionally think of as speech apprehension, because it adds not only greater degrees of formality, but also the knowledge that there is someone on the other
Witnesses, Don’t Get Too Comfortable Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When I taught public speaking I’d ask students to picture an experiment. A group of people are being tested on their ability to shoot basketball freethrows, and they’re divided into subgroups (evenly matched on ability) and each subgroup prepares for the test differently. One group prepares by actually practicing with