Jury Persuasion Techniques: Using Surprise to Overcome Boredom and Confirmation Bias in the Courtroom
Over a decade ago, I wrote an article for this blog titled, Could Surprise Be One of Your Best Visual Persuasion Tools? In it, I made the case that well-executed surprise — not ambush, but carefully designed moments of cognitive disruption — can be one of the most powerful tools a litigator brings into the courtroom. Since then, I've seen that insight validated over and over again in real-world trials. And as the research around cognitive science and juror decision-making has advanced, my belief has only strengthened: surprise remains one of the most underutilized jury persuasion techniques available today. If