Preparing the Empowered Witness: Moving Beyond the Traditions to Foster Assertive, Effective, and Authentic Testimony

Traditional witness preparation methods are often guided by the assumption that witnesses cannot be trusted to speak for themselves and must be controlled tightly by counsel. That belief has too-often been passed down unquestioned to generations of new lawyers. By default, too many attorneys still instruct witnesses to provide as little information as possible, instilling fear that a stray word may sink the case.

Such tactics can be counter-productive. They yield a fearful, stilted witness and monosyllabic answers that appear evasive the fact finder. At worst, the witness comes across as powerless and disingenuous.

A better, more effective, and more enlightened approach empowers the witness to provide authentic responses and compelling testimony that advances the case. Adapting to the witness’s own style and circumstances, attorneys can train the witness to strategically understand and react to questions in order to highlight their own “personal best” when it comes to both the style and the substance of testimony.

Listen as Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D., Senior Litigation Consultant at Persuasion Strategies, describes and provides concrete examples of techniques litigators can use to teach witnesses the skills and confidence to answer in ways that are simultaneously, honest, assertive, and protective of your case.