No matter how long a trial is, many participants are anxious for it to end. The jurors want to go home for obvious reasons, the attorneys and clients have had their fill of it as well, and the professionals just want to testify, go home, and get past the pressure. frequently, the judge imposes deadlines on the attorneys for the duration of the trial as a whole and the testimonial time of the witnesses.
Trial testimony could be as little as 15 minutes or as much as an hour or two. Do not be misled into thinking that trial testimony will take anywhere near as much time as did your deposition.
My best single piece of advice to you is: Listen. Listen. Listen... to the question. If you do not hear the question fully, or if you do not understand the question completely, how can you answer it effectively and correctly?
My advice about answering questions still applies. knowing and following that advice is even more urgent now. Your answers have to be on target. You must answer the question directly and only the precise question that is asked. If you answer each question with as short a reply as possible, it helps to protect you and to move the proceedings along. In addition, the jurors will more likely be able to follow your answer. Shorter sentences are easier to understand, and help the jurors to more easily stay connected to your line of thought.
Trial testimony could be as little as 15 minutes or as much as an hour or two. Do not be misled into thinking that trial testimony will take anywhere near as much time as did your deposition.
My best single piece of advice to you is: Listen. Listen. Listen... to the question. If you do not hear the question fully, or if you do not understand the question completely, how can you answer it effectively and correctly?
My advice about answering questions still applies. knowing and following that advice is even more urgent now. Your answers have to be on target. You must answer the question directly and only the precise question that is asked. If you answer each question with as short a reply as possible, it helps to protect you and to move the proceedings along. In addition, the jurors will more likely be able to follow your answer. Shorter sentences are easier to understand, and help the jurors to more easily stay connected to your line of thought.
Remember that you are not talking to colleagues or to students in a graduate class. You are talking to a group of random people, some of whom may not have even gone to high school. Sentences with simple words are best. Your answers should not contain acronyms and special terminology from your discipline. If you do use them, take a moment to describe it to the jurors. Opposing attorneys sometimes purposely use these technical terms because they want you to lose the jurors' attention. When an attorney uses an acronym or other technical term in a question, do not just respond by answering his question with the term in it. Take a moment before answering the question to describe the term to the jury. Then, you can go ahead and answer the rest of the question. Remember simple English. Remember that you want to keep the jurors attentive to you.
If you have to look over a document at the request of an lawyer, do not talk while you are looking at it. When you are ready to talk again, look up from the document and look over at the jurors.
In my background, jurors stay attentive when I use simple metaphors, simple analogies, simple examples, and simple visual exhibits. I emphasize the adjective simple here, because you can always explain complicated things in simple ways. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your science, technology, or special specialty requires a complex explanation.
Students in a classroom may ask you detailed questions that require technically precise explanations. In the judicial setting, people just want to know. They just want to "get the idea." In this situation, simplicity means clarity. If you can convey the essence of an opinion to the other people in the room with a simple word or analogy, you have done your job. You will have kept their attention, and you will have explained it well enough to have been convincing.
Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. He has testified in State and Federal courts and has been featured as a testifying computer forensics expert on MSNBC, Court TV, and Tech TV. His cases range widely from intellectual property infringement to murder. He has been a best-selling author of more than 30 training and computer bo
If you have to look over a document at the request of an lawyer, do not talk while you are looking at it. When you are ready to talk again, look up from the document and look over at the jurors.
In my background, jurors stay attentive when I use simple metaphors, simple analogies, simple examples, and simple visual exhibits. I emphasize the adjective simple here, because you can always explain complicated things in simple ways. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your science, technology, or special specialty requires a complex explanation.
Students in a classroom may ask you detailed questions that require technically precise explanations. In the judicial setting, people just want to know. They just want to "get the idea." In this situation, simplicity means clarity. If you can convey the essence of an opinion to the other people in the room with a simple word or analogy, you have done your job. You will have kept their attention, and you will have explained it well enough to have been convincing.
Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. He has testified in State and Federal courts and has been featured as a testifying computer forensics expert on MSNBC, Court TV, and Tech TV. His cases range widely from intellectual property infringement to murder. He has been a best-selling author of more than 30 training and computer bo
If you have to look over a document at the request of an lawyer, do not talk while you are looking at it. When you are ready to talk again, look up from the document and look over at the jurors.
In my background, jurors stay attentive when I use simple metaphors, simple analogies, simple examples, and simple visual exhibits. I emphasize the adjective simple here, because you can always explain complicated things in simple ways. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your science, technology, or special specialty requires a complex explanation.
Students in a classroom may ask you detailed questions that require technically precise explanations. In the judicial setting, people just want to know. They just want to "get the idea." In this situation, simplicity means clarity. If you can convey the essence of an opinion to the other people in the room with a simple word or analogy, you have done your job. You will have kept their attention, and you will have explained it well enough to have been convincing.
Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. He has testified in State and Federal courts and has been featured as a testifying computer forensics expert on MSNBC, Court TV, and Tech TV. His cases range widely from intellectual property infringement to murder. He has been a best-selling author of more than 30 training and computer books and has created more than 25 training DVDs and videos. In 2010, his book "Expert Witness Training" was published by Presentation Dynamics. Robbins has advanced degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, has been an Information Systems manager and an Education Systems manager, and consults in both computer and legal issues. Learn more about Mr. Robbins and his Expert Witness Training materials at http://www.juddrobbins.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judd_Robbins
In my background, jurors stay attentive when I use simple metaphors, simple analogies, simple examples, and simple visual exhibits. I emphasize the adjective simple here, because you can always explain complicated things in simple ways. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your science, technology, or special specialty requires a complex explanation.
Students in a classroom may ask you detailed questions that require technically precise explanations. In the judicial setting, people just want to know. They just want to "get the idea." In this situation, simplicity means clarity. If you can convey the essence of an opinion to the other people in the room with a simple word or analogy, you have done your job. You will have kept their attention, and you will have explained it well enough to have been convincing.
Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. He has testified in State and Federal courts and has been featured as a testifying computer forensics expert on MSNBC, Court TV, and Tech TV. His cases range widely from intellectual property infringement to murder. He has been a best-selling author of more than 30 training and computer books and has created more than 25 training DVDs and videos. In 2010, his book "Expert Witness Training" was published by Presentation Dynamics. Robbins has advanced degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, has been an Information Systems manager and an Education Systems manager, and consults in both computer and legal issues. Learn more about Mr. Robbins and his Expert Witness Training materials at http://www.juddrobbins.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judd_Robbins