Zoe Littlepage
TLU Live NYC (Replay) - Visual Storytelling: Coloring outside the lines
December 13, 2023 6:30 PM||TLU n Demand
Visually Shaping Your Story
We all love stories. Even as adults, we still remember - with vivid detail - the fairy tales and stories we heard as a child. Wasn’t that moment magical: when you climbed onto a parent’s lap and they opened a picture storybook? It was a special, safe, secure and memorable time. The stories imprinted. We still remember them. It is time to use that same winning combination in your trials. After all, the side that tells the best story - which the jury remembers during deliberations – generally wins.
Remember, our jurors exist in today’s world of sensory overload. They are comfortable with TV screens that show split images and multiple visuals at the same time as words run along the bottom. They are used to sensory bombardment. In short, jurors demand entertainment. Jurors’ attention spans are short and, without visual input, their memories are even shorter. Jurors expect your entire case to be quick, interesting and wrapped up in 57 minutes (including commercials). If, instead, we deliver long, boring examinations filled with technical language and legal jargon, we lose our audience within minutes.
Luckily, with new and inexpensive technology, every lawyer can provide fast- paced excitement through basic but impactful visual aides. Visuals should no longer be relegated to openings and closings. Instead, try visually presenting every aspect of your case, from direct examinations to cross to legal arguments. And repeat the critical visuals over and over again to create a solid memory that lasts.
Even the driest and most boring of evidence can be made interesting, or at least tolerable, by visual presentation. And visual presentation is no longer expensive or difficult. There are many tools available today to assist in creating impressive visual aides for very little cost. These tools have leveled the playing field. Today the solo practitioner can easily compete visually with the large, well-funded defense law firm.
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