Check out this interesting article from TrialLawyerTips.com for attorneys making your closing argument in a jury trial. The tip can be put to good use by almost any speaker.
Blow Up and Use Your Verdict Form in Closing Argument
Tell your jury what you are going to show them. Show them. Tell them what they just saw.Most trial lawyers drop the ball and fail to follow these three simple and established steps of persuasion. And, at no time is this concept more important than when asking for a verdict, and money, during your closing argument.
I like to use a blow-up of the exact same special verdict form that the jury will be asked to use during their deliberations. In a pinch, an overhead projection or display will also work but nothing beats an old fashion large blow-up that you can pick up, carry over, and set up on a stand right in front of the jury box.
Towards the end of your closing and after presenting your case (TELL THE JURY), explain to your jury that they will be asked to fill out one of the most important forms they’ve ever had an opportunity to fill out in their lives. Move the blow up (SHOW THE JURY) over to a place where you have been standing and explain what a verdict form is.
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