Twitter's Indelible Impact On Opening Statements

July 10, 2009 - PRLog -- Contact:
Diane Rumbaugh
Rumbaugh Public Relations
805-493-2877
diane@rumbaughpublicrelations.com

For Immediate Release: July 10, 2009

Twitter's Indelible Impact On Opening Statements

   MALIBU, CALIF.--Although many trial lawyers have never tweeted (and never intend to), they still need to understand the impact Twitter is having on how they express themselves during opening statement, says Dr. Noelle Nelson, trial consultant and author of  the booklet, "101 Winning Tips: How to Give a Good Deposition & Testify Well in Court" (http://www.noellenelson.com/Trial_Consulting.cfm).

   "You may think texting and twittering were invented as just additional means to keep you chained to your office," says Nelson, "but love it or hate it, the different ways in which people are communicating today impact the effectiveness of your trial work, in particular, how you present your opening statements."

   Since an opening statement is the roadmap that helps jurors make sense of the evidence as it unfolds, creating and presenting that roadmap needs to take into account how today’s jurors communicate, not how jurors of 10 or 15 years ago communicated, says Nelson.

   What this means for opening statements, says Nelson is:

   - Use short sentences. Express just one thought per sentence. Texting, twittering and instant messaging all rely on short bursts of information. These are easier for jurors to absorb than the long often-convoluted sentences typical of lawyer briefs.

   - Get to the point. People who text and tweet find ways to say what they have to say in an immediate, no frills fashion.

   - Title your points. A short burst of information is followed by another, related, short burst, in most texting and tweets. Always give a title to your point. You can then go on to elaborate and refer to the title to help jurors stay on track.

   "At the outset of a trial, no juror wants to be bogged down with tedious, long-winded information," says Nelson. "The 'Twitter approach' will make your opening statement more understandable and meaningful to jurors."

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Dr. Noelle Nelson is a trial consultant and author of the booklet, "101 Winning Tips: How to Give a Good Deposition & Testify Well in Court" (http://www.noellenelson.com/Trial_Consulting.cfm).