While the literature is replete with suggestions on how to do this and that—when it comes to persuasion, and just how-to persuade—it is often confusing. A particularly clear lesson comes from a 2001 publication (Bedell 2001).

Bedell suggests three simple strategies:

1) Fulfill their personal needs

2) Be credible

3) Communicate persuasively

It would seem that, if you focus on the first recommendation of fulfilling their personal needs—that the other two strategies tend to follow. Let’s look then at the first strategy suggested by Bedell and apply that to your interactions with the jury:

Fulfill their personal needs

• Make them feel like winners

Often, jurors do not feel like winners by the time they’ve made their way to your panel. They’ve been sitting, sometimes for hours, and waiting, and wondering when they can leave. Your task early on in voir dire is to instill a sense of interest and commitment to the hard work on being a juror and to have them see a true reason to invest their time and energy in the judicial process.

• Do not under-estimate their need for security

Jurors, like the rest of us, do not want to be deceived. They want to feel comfortable with the notion that you, unlike ‘most lawyers’ are going to treat them with respect and courtesy and that you will not lie to them or attempt to manipulate them.

• Remember they care what others think

And they don’t want to appear biased or prejudiced. But you still have to find out whether your jurors have biases/pre-conceived notions that will be bad for your case. Rather than asking your questions in a negative fashion (“How many of you would have trouble being fair?”—which certainly doesn’t make them feel either secure or like winners), you can frame your question in a way which respects them and helps them feel safe (i.e., like secure winners) with you (“A lot of people would have trouble listening to a story about sexual assault because of their own values or experiences. How many of you would agree with that?”)

• Let them talk first

There is an urge, often powerful, to use voir dire to persuade—to argue your case. If you want to form an alliance with your jurors, don’t. Instead allow them to talk about their beliefs, their values, their comfort level in serving on this particular case (“it’s hard enough to be a juror, I don’t want to complicate matters by asking you to serve on a case that makes you uncomfortable”). You will serve your client and your jury far more effectively by allowing voir dire to really be “to tell the truth” rather than using it to argue your case and have jurors begin to resist your efforts early on.

• Deal with their anxieties

You are doing that already if you are following the steps above. Also let them know that they will be given help understanding how to apply the law (and build that in to your case presentation); that evidence will be presented in a way that makes sense and that will tell a story about what happened; and that you know they will do their best to right the wrong that has happened here and that your job is to give them the information they need to do just that.

Think of voir dire as a party you’re hosting where your goal is to learn as much as possible about your guests.

Bedell, G. (2001). “Tactical tips for persuading effectively: From three steps to yes.” Manage (May): 18-19.

Related posts:

1. Simple Jury Persuasion: It feels good to get along
2. Simple Jury Persuasion: KISS–Keeping it simple, simple…
3. Simple Jury Persuasion: Alpha and Omega Persuasion Strategies
4. Simple Jury Persuasion: Don’t confuse argument with persuasion
5. Simple Jury Persuasion: The ‘attitude alignment’ effect & persuasion

1. Stephanie says:

   November 14, 2009 at 3:59 PM

   .RT @KeeneTrial: Blog post: Want to persuade your jury? Start by being a good host http://bit.ly/4uNfIo