Wise experts get to the point. They assume that a juror s attention span is no more than 20 minutes. This time should not be squandered. The expert witness should not run the risk of obscuring the important testimony or losing the jury s attention. Understand the problems jurors have in assimilating a great deal of technical data when it is presented orally.
Effective experts make their presentations visual.
Visualize and demonstrate to reinforce your testimony. Today s TV generation is visually driven. When an expert witness lets the jurors see what he is talking about, they understand better and remember more. Additional techniques for communicating with a jury that merit special attention are use of analogies and similes and employing verbal and nonverbal techniques. Analogies and similes Analogies and similes are powerful ways to connect with a jury.