By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As our team was conducting a recent social media analysis on a jury pool, one particular potential juror stood out. He was, as he proudly proclaimed in his public online messages, a “flat-earther.” And this belief of his, that we live on a flat plane rather than on a globe, […]
See the Threads of Conspiracy Thinking Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: How do humans assess large sets of evidence? We start by simplifying and internally summarizing. One of the main ways we do that is to boil the information down to a limited number categories, usually two. For example, let’s say you’re trying to assess the health effects of a glass
Understand the Binary Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Your opening statement is a lot of firsts. It’s the first opportunity for your judge or jury to hear the story; the first opportunity to hear a preview of your evidence and argument; the first opportunity to see you on your feet as an advocate for a sustained period of
Open for Business: Top Posts on Opening Statement Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Let’s say you’re a plaintiff’s attorney, and let’s also say you have a particular niche in personal injury law: amusement park accidents. And, as much as you might feel that primal fear on the “Mind Eraser” high-speed roller coaster, amusement park accidents are actually pretty rare. Thanks to safety standards
Expect Threat Perception to Increase, Even as Actual Threats Decrease 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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In his speech to the UN General Assembly last Tuesday, President Trump issued a pretty blunt threat. If the United States is forced to, he said, “We will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” It was not out of step with his previous rhetoric on the subject, including
Recognize the Weakness of ‘Hardball’ Rhetoric Read More »
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: Movies about courtroom trials are enjoyed by lawyers and the general public alike. The genre has earned its place among the classics with titles like: To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution, Inherit the Wind, and even My Cousin Vinnie. But there is one commonality in all of those movies:
Learn From (the Lack of) Civil Trial Movies Read More »