Witness Preparation

Witness Preparation – Effectively preparing a witness for trial is, if done properly, a massive undertaking. Decisions made by both Judge and Jury will be heavily weighted by a number of factors including:

• The appearance of the witness including skin, hair, clothing and mannerisms,
• The themes, anchors and verbiage used by the witness,
• Clarity, accuracy and speed of responses to questions,
• Underlying presuppositions of their statements,
• Heuristic processes manifest in their current cognitive environment,
• Informational priming,
• etc…

If you aren’t taking (at least) all of the above factors into consideration, along with a number of others from the fields of evolutionary, cognitive and social psychology, you are taking a grave risk. This is because you are unnecessarily leaving certain factors to chance. I consult on both and per hour and per project basis. Likewise, with “media-friendly” trials I do consider working pro bono. To ask questions and learn more, please feel free to contact me directly.

David J. Parnell | The Communication Expert