Greetings from New Orleans

Greetings from Salt Lake City

People watch News
that FITS their Views

We See What We Believe

We Hear What We
Want to Hear

Jurors vote for their Views

Link Story to Attitudes & Beliefs

Open Minds??

• "Schema" = Organized Patterns of Thought
• Drawn from Preconceived Biases
• The Framework that Enables us to make Sense of Story
• Helps Organize Case Information
• Critical to how Jurors interpret Evidence and Thematic Arguments

Distort & Twist Evidence

Winning

Winning

A Trial

We JUDGE people by their
MOTIVATION

Assess FAULT by
KNOWLEDGE
&
CONTROL

SHOWING THE STORY CONFORMS TO THEIR VALUES AND BELIEFS

IN ACCORD WITH OUR BELIEFS AND VALUES

Make Them CARE

Give them the WILL
&
Show the WAY

VISCERAL
&
VISUAL

Storytelling

OF DEFINING IT

Story

• How we process facts
• Makes ideas stick
• Involves
• How we solve problems
• ARGUES

MOVE HEART

Trial story

• engages listener
• inspires caring
• empowers judging
• involves listener in life
• you become "truthgiver"

Drama is Conflict
Conflict creates Tension
Tension leads to Crisis
Crisis causes Caring
Caring is Involvement

We Hopelessly
&
Helplessly
Suspend Reality
to
Become Emotionally Involved in the
LIFE of Another PERSON

The Plot

People Only See

Cornell Univ. 2005

12.5%
Pre-decisional BIAS
Evidentiary BIAS

Theme

The Message with a Meaning

• brings case to LIFE
• makes legal issues RELEVANT
• setd stage for EVIDENCE
• Makes case REAL
• engages MIND moves HEART

FOCUS ON EVILDOER

Winning Opening

• Drops into STORY
• Sets THEME
• Focuses on "evildoer"
• Reveals the MOTIVATION
• Reveals your "people story"

Winning Opening

• Begin with HEADLINE
• Hang the "HOOK"
• Focus on THEME
• Focus on critical decisive CHOICE
• How Choice led to HARM

YOU LOSE

DO,S

• begin with BANG
• tell your STORY
• focus on "evildoer"
• make WEAKNESS part of story
• SIMPLE EASY SHORT

"If the opening were the whole trial...

VERDICT IS THE PRODUCT of

IF JUROR FORMS A FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF ABOUT CASE EARLY

Confirmational Bias
"want to hear confirmed what we believe is right"

We marginalize or ignore
evidence that is at ODDS with
Beliefs\Values

Order of the Winning Opening

• Drop listener into STORY\set THEME
• Focus on EVILDOER's bad CHOICE
• Assess relative KNOWLEDGE & CONTROL
• What RULES were broken & MOTIVATION
• Show CAUSATION & HARM follows

What is a Good Opening to Them?

• Should be the BEST part
• Satisfies need for INFORMATION
• Confirms their BELIEFS\proves your story is theirs
• Shows who is the "truth giver"
• starts them judging "evildoer" & involves them in your story

DONT'S

• waste 1st minute
• be REACTIVE
• give too MUCH
• BORE them
• take the FUN away

Untitled Slide

THANKS for Inviting Us