by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Having assisted on a large number of jury selections, I know there are a few attorneys who will say, “Give me the dumb ones — I’ll tell them what to think.” But by and large, the attorneys have what I call an “intelligence bias.” That is, they think that their side of […]
Consider What Drives Resistance to Your Message Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: At a recent witness preparation meeting, the doctor-defendant sat struggling to recall the details of an informed consent discussion she had with the plaintiff. “I think I told him…” she began, before finishing the statement with, “…Do you know how many patients I see? I really cannot remember.” The medical
Rely on Standard Practice Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If the panoply of strategies to persuade were a dating pool, then the fear appeal would definitely be the “bad boy,” or “bad girl.” By that I mean, attractive, a little shady, and potentially dangerous. The tactic of motivating your target audience by instilling and then alleviating some kind of
Understand Why Fear (Often, not Always) Persuades Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: On the defense side of the bar, attention has been exploding over plaintiffs’ Reptile approach. If you Google “Reptile” and “Litigation,” you’ll see a profusion of articles. But so far, at least, the strategy of leveraging the perceptions of “safety” and “danger” has been the subject of attention from a subset of defense lawyers:
Expect Reptiles to Invade New Habitats Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Take the Reptile seriously, but don’t fear it. The en vogue strategic choice of the plaintiffs’ bar, the idea that trial persuasion can be leveraged by careful and targeted attention to the fear impulse of the so-called “reptilian brain,” (Keenan & Ball, 2009) is an idea that, regardless of its scientific foundation,
Don’t Fear the Reptile Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When I was still a graduate student, I remember the Reverend Jesse Jackson delivering the 1988 Democratic Convention address in Atlanta: his famous “Common Ground” speech. In that wide-ranging address, he tied together diverse issues — expansion of the party, the arms race, voting rights, health care, student loans —
Create Common Ground Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the Beatles sang, “I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together” (I Am the Walrus). Okay, so it wasn’t their most coherent musical statement. But it does illustrate a critically important strategy in persuasion, particularly the “we are all together” part.
Appeal to the ‘Us’ in Your Audience Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one of those irritating word pairs in English, like “your” and “you’re” — similar spelling and sound, but different meaning and frequent confusion. “Adopt” means to “take something as your own,” while “adapt” means to “make an alteration in response to a situation.” The meanings are different, but
Witnesses: Don’t Adopt, Do Adapt Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is said that you know someone when you know what they hope for and what they fear. Since we’re just past Halloween, let’s go with the latter. A new survey coming out of Chapman University focuses on the greatest fears held by Americans. Based on a random sample of
Know What Scares (the Top Five Fears) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: British Prime Minister David Cameron is breathing easier after voters in Scotland rejected independence last week. For Great Britain, it will go down in history as one of the greatest modern political gambles. The vote was called at a time when fewer than one in three Scots favored independence. But in the weeks
Mind the Backlash: The Reptile’s Adventures in Scotland Read More »