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Legal Storytelling
Posts filed under Legal Storytelling:
Your Amygdala
People who study how jurors make decisions talk a lot about the amygdala. Previously, scientists have concluded that the amygdala is the part of your brain responsible for fear. However, like most things in life, this blanket conclusion is not entirely accurate. Here is a much better explanation: Click keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on January 7, 2012
Category: Legal Storytelling
The Package
I bought a back support for my office chair at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It works wonderfully. It even has a heating function. However, I still feel that there is something wrong with it. The item I wanted was the last one on the self. The cardboard packaging was torn in several places. Someone had attempted to recreate the box… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on January 4, 2012
Deep Narratives for Lawyers
Deep Narratives are story patterns that are repeated so many times, in so many different forms, that they become part of our subjective reality (many times, regardless of their truth). They become the building blocks of your world views. Deep narratives become permanent structures in the brain. Scientists believe they actually affect your
Author: Lawkop on January 3, 2012
Category: Legal Storytelling
The Biochemistry of Stories
Science has hypothesized that the neuropathways in our brains actually change when we adopt narratives. Some narratives are so ingrained in people that our brains favor it. We put people into pre-existing roles. We understand people by fitting them into our pre-existing narratives. We are all living out our narratives. When you accept a narrative, you inevitably ignore or hide… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on December 30, 2011
Category: Legal Storytelling
Some Unwritten Jury Instructions
I have previously argued that stories, their frames, metaphors and other similar linguistic tools are the unwritten jury instructions during a trial. Here are some quotes that you can use the next time you want to make a point (in or out of a trial.) “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” The Talmud “You… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on December 28, 2011
Lawyers, Jurors and Clients have their own world views
The way we view the world is how we are, not as it truly is. A person’s world view can, and usually does, distort reality. As psychologist Albert Ellis stated “people have motives and thoughts of which they are unaware.” The personal lens you use, creates a story in your mind about the information you are viewing. That… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on December 26, 2011
Category: Legal Storytelling
100% aimed at 2%
I am going to make you a bet. I will bet you that 100% of your arguments at trial hit your target only 2% of the time. This of course presumes that your target is the decision making part of a juror’s mind. The bet also presumes that you make rational and logic based arguments that are crafted to appeal… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on December 21, 2011
Persuadable Jurors
One story does not fit all jurors, so don’t try. Your audience will have different, and overlapping world views. That is the reality you must face when determining what frame to hang on your story. The temptation is to build a frame to fit all world views. However, there is no frame that fits all world views. Could you paint… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on
John Steinbeck on Storytelling
We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say — and to feel — ”Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.” -“In Awe of Words,”… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on December 9, 2011
Category: Legal Storytelling
Rules Are Good, Why is Better
Let’s accept a premise that is already widely embraced by behavioral economists: persuasion commonly works better than rules to change a person’s behavior. Below I have applied this maxim to a small part of one of my closing arguments. See which of the versions is more compelling to you. ORIGINAL When I first talked with all of you,… keep reading »
Author: Lawkop on November 22, 2011