It’s an age-old question: what attracts us to the people we admire? Oftentimes, the answer is a combination of multiple seemingly elusive components – maybe it’s their charm, their warmth or their sense of humor. However, when identifying what makes a witness appealing to jurors, it’s a little more straightforward. What affects a juror’s perception of a witness more than anything are two main factors: likability and credibility.
Incorporating witness testimony (typically through deposition videos) into our focus groups is a crucial part of assessing juror opinions about a case. It’s one thing to read about a case on paper, and something else entirely when jurors are able to put a face and personality to the main players in a case. It makes the case, and the stakes, more real.
Through our research, we’ve found that likability and credibility are the two most important and factors jurors consider when they’re deciding how much weight to give a particular witness. People are more willing to value a witness’ testimony if they find them likable or credible – or, ideally, both.
Credibility is an obvious first hurdle every witness has to clear, and it has several parts. If a juror believes a key fact witness – such as a healthcare provider or workplace supervisor – is lying, that witness can say all the right words but still hurt their side of the case. Oftentimes, it’s the way a witness conveys information that is most important to jurors. Our focus group participants will often dock the credibility of a witness who doesn’t come across as confident (failing to make eye contact, mumbling, pausing too long before answering in between thoughts), or if the witness’ body language contains what jurors perceive to be “tells.” For example, numerous participants over the years have concluded a witness is lying simply because he or she looked up or to the side before answering. From our perspective, this is more likely because they watch too much televised poker or true crime shows rather than any actual psychological expertise, but the fact remains that jurors develop these opinions within milliseconds and little can be done to shift them from these initial perspectives.
When it comes to expert witnesses, credibility also requires that they come across as competent and knowledgeable. Their testimonies should instill a sense of confidence in jurors and reaffirm that they are proficient in their job and possess a clear understanding of the case. Moreover, jurors are usually aware that expert witnesses are paid by the side they are testifying for. To combat suspicions that the expert’s opinion has been “bought,” it’s important that the witness rely heavily on tangible, third-party sources – such as professional literature or government statistics – to support their claims. In our experience, the expert who relies more heavily on sources outside their own head are usually judged as being more credible.
Likability is a little trickier to define. It can be as amorphous as the “gut feeling” or “vibe” we get from a person in the first few minutes we interact with them. Oftentimes, jurors will find a witness most likable when they feel some sort of personal connection. This plays into the basic idea that we are attracted to those who are similar to us, or those that we can see some of ourselves in. This is particularly important for the fact witnesses and parties most involved in the case. For example, a labor and delivery nurse testifying that she is a mom, too, can help make her more likable to the moms on the jury. By contrast, a business executive who can’t leave the industry jargon alone for a few minutes will likely fail to connect with jurors at all.
Whether a witness appeals to a jury through their knowledge or charm, there’s no denying the fact that these impressions matter. Anticipating how a jury is going to react to someone’s testimony is half the battle, which is why we show witness video during focus groups whenever it’s available. It can be the difference between being confident that regular people find your star witness as likable as you do, or hunkering down for some long prep sessions to work out the rough spots before trial.
If you have witnesses you need a jury’s read on, we can help. Contact Senior Vice President/Partner Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net to find out how.
