Testifying, whether in a deposition or in trial, can feel pretty threatening. Particularly if you’re a named defendant in a lawsuit, you know you’re going to be the target. But even when you’re on the other side, or you’re an expert for one of the parties, or even a true neutral who is purely there to speak to the facts, it is likely that one side or the other wants to knock you down a peg or two. The existence of that external threat can translate into some pretty heavy feelings: How exposed will I be? Am I prepared? Will I be good enough? If internal feelings like that result in an external lack of confidence, jurors will often use that as a way to diminish credibility. They’ll use an intuitive short-cut: A witness who isn’t confident doesn’t have a strong position or is not being truthful.
We know that isn’t necessarily true, as it is often the situation itself and not any lack of candor, that challenges a witness’s confidence. But jurors and other evaluators will often act as though it is true. So there is a critical mental framework witnesses should adopt: When it comes to evaluating your testimony, you are best off practicing the principle that confidence is not a feeling, it’s a behavior. I will often tell witnesses I am helping to prepare: We do want you to feel calm and confident, at the same time, we may not have enough time to fully address everything you are going through, and in any case jurors aren’t going to see your internal state, they’re going to see your behavior. So, let’s focus on that.
Even in the absence of perfect mental confidence, behaviors can be managed. In this post, I will share a behavioral checklist of confident communication traits for testimony.
Confidence: A Basic Behavioral Checklist
Your Voice
- Be loud enough to be heard without effort. Avoid whispering, muttering, and trailing off. Adapt a volume appropriate to the space and equal in loudness to other speakers in the space (the questioner, for example).
- End sentences with a downward inflection. In making statements, avoid the rising intonation (the pitch shift that indicates a question when there is one, but indicates a lack of certainty in all over cases). End with the ‘vocal period’ of a slight decrease in pitch.
Your Body
- Anchor yourself. Maintain five points of stable and non-shifting contact (your seat, both feet on the floor, and both forearms on the table in front of you)
- Lean forward. Unless you need to, don’t use the back of the chair. Inclining your body forward and keeping it straight, not leaning to one side or the other, makes you look ready and engaged.
- Look at the questioner and audience. Don’t let your gaze move around the room, ceiling, or table. Look at the questioner when being asked, and at the target audience (the jurors in court) when answering.
- Keep your head straight. Your head should be vertical, as if there is a balloon attached to your crown pulling you up. Some people tend to cock their heads, especially when listening, but this habit can make you look quizzical or confused.
- Keep your face relaxed and attentive. Don’t wear your tension, knit your brows or purse your lips. Don’t non-verbally react to questions (guard against surprise or anger).
- Be still. That means don’t fidget. Don’t twist your fingers or mess with pens, watches, or rings. Avoid clasping your hands as if in prayer. Keep one hand calmly folded over the other except when gesturing (which should be rare).
Your Pace
- Pause. Particularly for questions having to do with recollection, interpretation, or judgment, don’t feel any pressure to answer immediately. Pause first. The amount of time it takes to calmly inhale is a good pause length.
- Form answers before you speak them. Instead of the ‘thinking aloud’ approach of composing as you speak, use the pause to form your answer in general terms, before you start talking.
- Take your time. There is no rush. Questioners will sometimes race through their list of questions because they have a list, or because they want to get you in a rhythm. While there is no need to drag it out, witnesses should speak at a moderate and deliberate pace.
Your Preparation
- Practice. Good testimony doesn’t necessarily come naturally. Work with your team to practice all of the above while focusing on the content.
- Know what to expect. Learn the norms of testimony generally, and the specific questions you’re likely to be asked in this case.
- Know your home bases. Be familiar with your main go-to messages and return to them whenever they’re relevant to the question.
Even as a behavioral focus may not meet all the goals that a therapist might see as important, a behavioral focus can make the task seem more manageable for the witness. If you can incorporate a relatively small list of actions regarding your body, your voice, your pace, and your preparation, it doesn’t matter if you still have some lingering nervousness. In a way, a little bit of stress might help keep you sharp and engaged. The more witnesses are able to practice and internalize these behaviors, the more they can keep their attention on the content of the testimony.
Image credit: Shutterstock, used under license
