By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In voir dire, the whole point is to find out information about the potential juror. When you’re seeking out experiences or attitudes that you might use to warrant a strike or to mount a challenge for cause, you care about what that individual thinks, not about what anyone outside the courtroom […]
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You’re working your way through discovery. Your arguments and themes for trial are taking shape. By the time you’re in front of the jury, you’ll know what to say. But first there’s a mediation. Now you need to refashion your persuasive appeals for a different purpose. Your mediator is not a judge
Frame Your Arguments for Mediation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There is a central fiction of our jury trial system, and voir dire in particular. That fiction is that bias is the exception, not the rule. When we treat bias as the aberration, affecting a relatively small handful in any jury pool, we fail to appreciate the ubiquity of these habits and shortcuts
Know Your Cognitive Biases Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Don’t you think that, when faced with a choice between a safer option and a riskier option, one should take the safer option? Well, on face that seems pretty reasonable. Who wouldn’t want the safer option, after all? The problem is that if you take that literally, then you’ve probably never climbed into
Safely Handle the “Safety Rule” Question Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In a recent jury selection, the attorneys, clients, and I were huddled over the seating grid for the panel, talking about our strikes. “I like Jones,” the client said, “with her background, she is really going to identify with our witnesses.” Those kinds of feelings are very common during this
Beware of “Frenemies” on Your Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The basics of public speaking aren’t that hard to learn. But among even experienced speakers and persuaders, some seem to be more magnetic than others. That factor, charisma, makes the speaker more interesting and the content more likely to seem clear and influential. It is believed that the charisma factor played an
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There is a story making the rounds on social media, unfortunately a true story, about two Argentinian young women in their twenties. Maria José Coni and Marina Menegazzo were traveling the world together and found themselves in Ecuador without a place to stay for the night. They accepted an offer from two men
Understand Victim-Blame Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The current political campaign season is not just a source of entertainment or concern (depending on your level of seriousness about it); it is also a source of education on persuasion. One important new lesson comes from political consultant and public opinion researcher Mathew MacWilliams in a current essay in Politico.
Look Out for the Authoritarian Personality Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “Every time I think about those kids it gets me mad,” President Obama said, while talking about the first grade victims in the Newtown massacre of 2012. Only his face read “sad” rather than “mad,” as he gave a statement earlier this week on his new executive actions to reduce gun violence.
Treat Sympathy as a Low-Power Strategy Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: While we like to frame it in terms of “justice,” the trial system is based to a large degree on punishment. On the criminal side, that focus is obvious as jurors decide whether the accused deserves a penalty, and if so, what level of penalty is most appropriate. But from
Ground Punishment in Empathy Read More »