Importance of Applying Negotiation Skills

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2017)

This movie shows twelve men, serving as a panel of juror on a case of a boy charged with murder of his father. The twelve men had to make an unanimous decision by voting to decide the verdict of the 10-year old boy. 11 out of 12 voted that the accused was guilty but Juror 8 voted otherwise.
The vote by Juror 8 stirred unhappiness among others as he was the only one who voted the accused not guilty. When pursued by others to explain his choice, he strongly believed that the boy might be innocent and should be given the benefit of doubt. The life of the boy lies in the hands of the 12 jurors and it should not be taken too lightly. Juror 8 felt and wanted to have a discussion over the case and to reconsider the evidence presented in court.
Through several discussions using principled negotiations, and proving that the evidence were flawed, Juror 8 managed to turn the table and convince all the other jurors to vote otherwise - accused voted not guilty of the murder. He felt that there was reasonable doubt not to convict the boy guilty and his determination had served to prove that it is important to separate the people from the problems by eliminating emotions. Throughout the movie, there were several quarrels and exchange of words during the discussions but Juror 8 kept his mind cool and stayed calm, handling the situation well by not letting other jurors to put him down.