By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm:
Right off the top, I want to make clear that none of the tips involve starting off your ending with, “In conclusion….” I have always disliked that phrase, and put it in a category — along with phrases like “As I said before…” or “To be honest…” — that make listeners not want to hear whatever is coming next. For something as important as a conclusion, the simple announcement that you’ve arrived at this part of the presentation seems too formal and too rote to be of use. But I also don’t think that a conclusion should be the part where you simply tell your jurors, “Thank you for your time and attention,” and stop talking.
Just as the opening statement is important, the last words that jurors will hear from you during that segment are particularly important. The closing words serve the purpose of re-emphasizing what is central, while also delivering a sense of completeness and closure. In this post, I will share five general tips for planning out the final words that will be ringing in jurors’ ears as you conclude your opening statement.
1. Give Your Conclusion as Much Emphasis as You Give Your Introduction
Trial lawyers appropriately give a lot of attention to what they will first say once they finally get a chance to address their jury. The introduction and its accompanying theme is critical, and deserves a lot of planning. But the conclusion carries a parallel importance. There are two attentional effects at work — “primacy,” the tendency to remember what comes first, and “recency,” the tendency to remember what comes last. Of the two, “primacy,” or your introduction, is the longer-lasting effect, but “recency,” or your conclusion, is the more powerful effect. So your final words deserve to be both planned and pithy.
2. Return to Your Theme and Silver Bullet
As I’ve written before, at the start of your opening, you should deliver your case in a nutshell right out of the blocks. This “silver bullet” should introduce your focused central message, or theme. And ideally, that theme shouldn’t be a one-time message, but should be a frequent touch-point, not just in opening, but throughout witness examination, demonstratives, and closing argument. One place where it should definitely make a repeat appearance is at the end of your opening statement.
3. Add Something Novel
Just repeating your theme and silver bullet doesn’t cut it. You need to work toward something new. Think about where you can add an additional angle or an unexpected twist on the language you used earlier. Now that you’ve reached the end of your opening and they’ve heard the main parts of your story, it is often the right time to add a more pointed attack on the other side. For example, if you started your opening in a business opportunity case with something like, “The early bird gets the worm,” then it could make sense to end it with, “…and now, here we are in the afternoon with them trying to tug on the other side of our worm.”
4. Include a Call to Action
The classic way to end any persuasive pitch is to tell your audience what they can do with what you’ve told them, and an opening is no difference. Of course, opening is early in trial and precedes any evidence, so that action isn’t going to be a decision in your favor. But you can still use your opening to focus on the steps jurors should be taking as active decision-makers, and make a direct request at the end of your opening:
As the evidence phase of this trial begins, you should be looking for the answers to three basic questions….
5. Leave Something Hanging for the Other Side
If you are an attorney for the plaintiff, then you get the chance to end your opening right before defense starts their opening. And if you are an attorney for the defense, then you get the chance to end your opening right before the plaintiff starts their case. For that reason, the conclusion presents a great opportunity to leave the other side with a particular point or a specific question hanging in the air. For example:
As I pass the baton to the other side, I want to remind you of the one big problem that I don’t believe they are going to be able to address…
Of course, you have to be confident that you’re right that the other side won’t be able to easily address it, but when you are right, it puts the other side in an awkward starting position.
The conclusion is third part of the classic formula for speech-making: Tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em, then tell ’em, then tell ’em what you told ’em. While great introductions sometimes get the glory, there’s nothing better than a powerful, well-designed, and memorable conclusion hanging in the air as you leave the lectern.
Other Posts on Parts of Opening:
- Defendants, Include a “Here’s What You Haven’t Heard” in Your Opening Statement Introduction
- Right Out of the Blocks: Make the First Few Minutes Count
- Transition With Meaning: Nine Ways to Avoid “My Next Point Is…”