33. The Secrets of Persuasive Legal Storytelling
08/09/22 • 45 min
Legal communications specialist David Mann joins the podcast to encourage listeners become masters of persuasion through storytelling. In this episode, David explains that legal case storytelling is not just for trials, tells how to flip the narrative script and align the fact finder with your client, and reveals a trove of writing techniques that help sharpen your writing and storytelling skills.
Content Warning: Mention of sexual assault. A brief, non-graphic discussion of a defendant’s sexual assault case occurring from 20:35 to 22:03.
Topics
2:52 Why boring opening statements are boring
7:08 The Seven Basic Plots and the stories we tell
10:38 Orienting the “characters” in your legal case story
12:04 Unifying the fact finder — counterintuitively
19:03 Defending the unsympathetic client
23:11 Building context through storytelling
27:16 Where facts and technical information fit into persuasion
29:01 Differences between telling the plaintiff’s story and the defendant’s 31:42 A daily practice to become a better writer
33:19 Brainstorming and self-editing
38:44 Workshopping your legal case story
42:10 Signoff question
Quote
“This is the fundamental difference between a legal case story told to, say, a jury versus narrative fiction that we watch in movies or read in books. The fundamental difference is that the narrative fiction that we’re used to watching in movies is a finished story. It has a beginning, middle, and end. The credits roll at the end, you walk away – that story is complete. In a legal case story, it isn’t complete because the jury is the end of the story. The story hasn’t been completed yet. They will complete the story.” David Mann
Resources
David Mann (website)
Story Power: Building Persuasive Case Narratives (course)
Presentation and Oral Advocacy Skills for Any Lawyer (course)
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories (Wikipedia)
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (book)
Engaging the Jury in the First Two Minutes (free webcast)
Winning Cases with Better Storytelling (free webcast)
Give ‘em the Ol’ Razzle Dazzle, with Dominic Gianna (podcast)
Metallica (v. Napster) and (v. Guerlain) litigation
Legal communications specialist David Mann joins the podcast to encourage listeners become masters of persuasion through storytelling. In this episode, David explains that legal case storytelling is not just for trials, tells how to flip the narrative script and align the fact finder with your client, and reveals a trove of writing techniques that help sharpen your writing and storytelling skills.
Content Warning: Mention of sexual assault. A brief, non-graphic discussion of a defendant’s sexual assault case occurring from 20:35 to 22:03.
Topics
2:52 Why boring opening statements are boring
7:08 The Seven Basic Plots and the stories we tell
10:38 Orienting the “characters” in your legal case story
12:04 Unifying the fact finder — counterintuitively
19:03 Defending the unsympathetic client
23:11 Building context through storytelling
27:16 Where facts and technical information fit into persuasion
29:01 Differences between telling the plaintiff’s story and the defendant’s 31:42 A daily practice to become a better writer
33:19 Brainstorming and self-editing
38:44 Workshopping your legal case story
42:10 Signoff question
Quote
“This is the fundamental difference between a legal case story told to, say, a jury versus narrative fiction that we watch in movies or read in books. The fundamental difference is that the narrative fiction that we’re used to watching in movies is a finished story. It has a beginning, middle, and end. The credits roll at the end, you walk away – that story is complete. In a legal case story, it isn’t complete because the jury is the end of the story. The story hasn’t been completed yet. They will complete the story.” David Mann
Resources
David Mann (website)
Story Power: Building Persuasive Case Narratives (course)
Presentation and Oral Advocacy Skills for Any Lawyer (course)
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories (Wikipedia)
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (book)
Engaging the Jury in the First Two Minutes (free webcast)
Winning Cases with Better Storytelling (free webcast)
Give ‘em the Ol’ Razzle Dazzle, with Dominic Gianna (podcast)
Metallica (v. Napster) and (v. Guerlain) litigation
Previous Episode
32. The Tense Trio, with Judge Amy Hanley and Cheryl Brown Wattley
Kansas District Court Judge Amy Hanley is joined by UNT Dallas College of Law Professor Cheryl Brown Wattley for a lively discussion of “the tense trio”: objections, cross-examination, and impeachment. Find out what these elements of a trial have in common; why trial lawyers face so much pressure around them; how to overcome the challenges of the tense trio at trial; and what mentorship means to career development.
Topics
3:31 What is the “tense trio”?
3:56 What makes these parts of a trial so tense for lawyers
4:41 The pressure of objections
6:57 Tuning your ear for objections
8:59 When not to object
10:05 Learning the FRE
11:00 The pressure of cross
12:34 Cinematic moments 14:40 Preparation versus spur of the moment
17:35 Getting out of your own way on cross
22:56 Women and cross
28:34 Ending with a zinger
31:18 The pressure of impeachment
34:20 The 3 C’s of impeachment
36:01 When impeachment backfires
39:20 Common impeachment mistakes
41:05 Preventing rehabilitation
43:14 Mentorship
50:30 NITA Women in Trial
Quote
“I have discovered that there’s also a physical hurdle to cross-examination, in that tone and demeanor. And what I’m talking about there is that adrenaline rush that we get from confrontation, and if you’ve been in trial and you’ve done cross-examination, you know what I’m talking about. The blood is pumping, the energy is coursing through you, and I’ve heard communication specialists talk about this and how we really need to burn off some of that excess energy.” Judge Amy Hanley
“I think the other problem area [in impeachment] is oftentimes lawyers want the impeachment to work and they don’t read the second sentence. They don’t read the thing that the witness said either right after, or alternatively right before. So, you pull out that which seems to be a contradiction, but really, if you read the full paragraph, it’s the same explanation. You can’t just focus on the five words.” Cheryl Brown Wattley
Resources
Judge Amy Hanley (bio)
Cheryl Brown Wattley (bio)
NITA Women in Trial (program) (video)
Federal Rules of Evidence with Objections (book)
Harnessing Your Power on Cross-Examination (webcast)
Next Episode
34. Upon Further Examination, with Rhani Lott Choi and Kate Sandlin
The spontaneity of cross-examination and impeachment often intimidates lawyers early in their trial career. NITA Education Director Rhani Lott Choi and Denver trial lawyer Kate Sandlin have been there, done that — and in this episode, they disclose their favorite tips that honed their skills and settled their nerves. Rhani and Kate talk about how to feel at ease in the moment, advance-prep for the “spontaneity” of cross and impeachment, bring wily witnesses to heel, use demonstratives to pin down an answer, and help your witness be ready to take the stand.
Topics
3:05 Cross-examination: what is it good for?
5:55 How to plan for cross
8:23 Thoughts on your judge
12:28 Learning about your judge
14:47 Single-fact, leading questions
21:09 Demonstration of crossing a bad witness
27:16 Crossing an alleged crime victim
32:03 Using demonstrative exhibits
34:22 Witness preparation
39:14 Impeachment: what is it good for?
41:50 Dangers of impeachment
45:34 Demonstration of impeachment
51:16 One best cross tip
53:50 Signoff question
Quote
“Every mistake I’ve made on cross-examination, if I ever go back and look at it, the problems start with my question, and I probably wouldn’t have made that mistake if I’d asked a better question.” Rhani Lott Choi
Resources
Rhani Lott Choi (bio)
Kate Sandlin (bio)
Building Trial Skills: San Diego (course)
Show AND Tell: Using Exhibits Effectively in In-Person and Remote Advocacy (free webcast)
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