Register Now

Back to Webinars Schedule
Dan Ambrose

Dan Ambrose

TLU Trial Skills: Cross-Examination, Presentation Skills and Voir Dire

TLU Icon January 24, 2025 6:30 PM||TLU n Demand

Register NowZoom Icon

I have been teaching “connection” skills applicable to every aspect of trial for over ten years.In this webinar I will demonstrate and explain my latest insights into the skills of connection; eye contact, glance control, creating space, voice control, emotional state control, hand and body movement, etc.

These skills will be demonstrated and explained in the context of opening statements, voir dire, direct examination and cross-examination.

Trial Presentation Skills = Connection with the Jury

We want to connect with the jurors so we can control their emotions.We do this through presentation skills that make them like us and want to help us.

Skill 1: Appropriate Eye contact and Micro-connection

Skill 2: Voice control = Cadence: pacing/pausing

Skill 3: Facial Expression/State Control = Emotional congruence

Skill 4: Hand/body movement = Hand gesticulation

Skill 5: Glance Control

Skill 6: Creating Space

Skill 7: Word Selection

Skill 8: Economy of words

Skill 9: Listening

Skill 10: Acting

Skill 1: Eye contact and Micro-connection

  1. Connecting: looking someone in the eye for a second to make a connection.
  2. Honoring connections = keeping eye contact after you finish a point to a person for a second to honor them and make sure they got it before moving on.

Micro-connection: Look into their eyes and make a momentary connection and then move on.Scan slowly from side to sides looking briefly into the eyes of each person as you go.Ideally you can micro-connect with 14 people in about 3 seconds or so. This gets people comfortable looking in our eyes and almost wanting us to come back to them again.Most people are uncomfortable with eye contact, but it’s our job to get them comfortable with eye contact from us. You are ramping up the connection with each juror as you go.

  1. Eyes must move with your head/body/hand all in line.So, your eyes aren’t out in front of your hand, and your hand isn’t trailing behind.
  2. After a reset, look at a new juror, at least two jurors away from the one you last spoke with.
  3. Do not look at the same juror twice until you have looked at all the other jurors once.
  4. Do not look at the same juror three times until you have looked at all the other jurors twice.

Skill 2: Voice Control = Cadence

  1. Speaking slower so jurors can understand you and process your words.
  2. Not everyone processes at the same speed as you.
  3. Pausing creates anticipation trance.
  4. Pause after rhetorical questions to allow time for processing by jury.
  5. Use of rising inflection when asking a question.
  6. Practice cadence during cross-examination

Skill 3: Facial Expression

Warm face = If you are saying “good morning”, talking about someones family member, or thanking someone give them a warm face, because it’s congruent.Or if you are talking about a warm type of topic like friends, you should use a warm face as well for emotional congruence.We are connecting and activating mirror neurons enticing jurors to smile/warm face back at us.We are controlling their emotions.

Warm curious face = “how can I help you?”

CuriousFace (inquisitive) = If you are asking questions like “Does this make sense?” use an inquisitive face.

Thinking face = trying to find a thought, looking into your mind’s eye, and not looking at anyone.

Reset – remove the expression from your face, relaxed and neutral, when your arms go to your sides.

Always intentional with emotional state.

Skill 4: Hand gesticulation

  1. I/me/my = Individual Move. Putting your one hand to your chest/heart
  2. Train our hand to direct attention to your face, by lining it up with the face and about six inchesbelow your chin.
  3. First word, hand comes up to be close to your chest.
  4. When speaking to someone = extending hand towards the person you are reaching out to and trying to connect with.
  5. Reset – Drop your hands to your side, relaxed and neutral.
  6. Rhetorical Questions = Jesus Hands, open and at your sides with inquisitive look.Whenever we ask a rhetorical question, we must give the jury time to answer it.
  7. Welcome = Jesus Hands, like you are opening your door and welcoming someone into your house.
  8. Us/we/our = Group moves.Two hands for group move is sweeping movements like blooming flower (opening hands to the width of the jury), spread move (one hand at one end of the jury as you open up the other to the rest of the jury) and the come follow me hand (one handed sweep across scooping everyone up) as you micro connect.“All of yours” spread move
  9. When there is a verb, you must have action/hand movement and create space.
  10. Move your hands in rhythm with your voice.
  11. Using your hand to control the witnesses by dropping when the question is done on cross.
  12. Leaving your hand up for a second at the end of a connection to extend the contact before dropping it.
  13. Dropping your hand instead of pulling away.
  14. Opening fingers at end/Marble off the hand = handing off a question.
  15. Your hands should always be relaxed

Skill 5: Glance control

  1. Training them to look where you look.
  2. Connect with the jurors in their eyes and then look where you want them to look.
  3. Using a flip chart effectively to anchor your points while looking at it.

Skill 6: Creating Space

You must imagine a space in your mind and take the jurors into that space for the story.You cannot look at the jurors when you are in the space, because you break the illusion of space. Whenever there is a verb, there is action/movement, all movement takes place somewhere, so you MUST create space whenever you have a verb.

Skill 7: Word Selection

  1. Inclusive language = As we’ve all just heard.
  2. Stepping moves = “I think, I know”; “Opinions, Beliefs, & Experiences”
  3. Use present tense so you can imagine it, and so can the jurors
  4. Clean language, cut out all the bullshit
  5. Dropping tag lines like “right, correct, isn’t it true”
  6. Dropping fillers “and, um, so, ok”

Skill 8: Economy of Words

Do not use 5 words if you can say the same thing in 3.

Skill 9: Listening

Listening is the bridge.

Us listening to them, and them listening to us.

Example: When you say something that deserves a response like “good morning” you must give them time to respond to show them you are interested in what they have to say, and you are honoring them.

Skill 10: Acting

Trial is a performance.

Like an actor you must reherse/train

Three Stages: Stage left stage center stage right

Use them

The cross-examination part teaches the following skills:

In the context of the defense medical examination.

This webinar has the potential to change your LIFE.

Watch n Demand

If you can't attend Live, Watch On Demand