Keeping the Jury’s Attention During a Trial

Learn some fundamental testimonial approaches for speaking, explaining, and ensuring that jurors will judge you well, pay attention, and will be more likely to accept what you have to say. Remember that you have center stage when you are testifying. You have the attention of everyone in that room, and while you answer questions, the superficial judgments will continue. The jurors will judge your demeanor, your presence, and your comportment, as well as the subject matter of your words. Your voice is paramount. Deliver your answers in a confident, steady way, while enunciating clearly and loudly enough to be heard by anybody in the room.
When you are in the witness box, everyone in the jury box needs to hear you. Be aware of your voice level when you are in the witness box or at your demonstrative exhibits. If you write or draw on some form of display board, you should write both legibly and large. Also, try to not turn your back on the jurors. If you must, stop talking briefly while you write.
In this setting, you can be a storyteller. During direct examination, in which you present your opinions and the bases for them, you can use gradual changes in volume or pitch to tell your story. However, if voice control is not your forte, you will have to pay attention to sudden changes in the volume or pitch at which you are speaking. Naturally, you do not want to be boring, so …don't …speak …in …a …fixed …rate …monotone. You may laugh now, but in the serious setting of a courtroom, you may fall into patterns of speech that might not be normal to you. Just use your intelligence and remember:
Use natural speech that is not monotonous, has no sudden changes in volume or pitch, and is loud enough so people can hear you.