NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Questions for Pretest

1. Why would it be desirable to observe the facial

expressions of jurors?

2. How would it be evident that a person is attempting to

mask his/her real feelings?

3. What message does the jury get when you feel good
about your client and the case?

4. Why is it important to coach the plaintiff in method

of delivery of the message?

5. Why are the different contexts and unique aspects of

each situation important to the evaluation of
reaction?

6. How does smiling during your presentation affect juror

motivation?

7. How do jurors evaluate smiling witnesses?

8. How does the intent to deceive affect facial

expression of the deceiver?

9. Why are liars more successful when using verbal means

to deceive?

10. How does the voice indicate the intent to deceive?

11. Why is gesturing useful in increasing juror attention?

12. Describe the three hand gestures described by Bavelas,

et al., and their importance in the presentation.

13. Describe the theory behind "actions speak louder than

words."

14. Why is it important to prepare the witness in the use

of body language?

15. Why are body cues more likely to "leak" deceptive

information?

16. What are some bodily indications of intended deceit?

17. Why is the processing of non-language important to
juror determination?

18. Why is it important to use exhibits in your

presentation?

19. How do pictures and charts tend to enhance memory?

20. What effect will a photograph of a person have on

juror perception of that person?

21. How are pictures of faces important?

22. Describe some ways to increase juror absorption and to

increase communication.

23. What is the importance of social perception?

24. Why do individuals tend to seek affinity?

25. Why would it be important to establish a positive

affinity between juror and client?

26. How would lack of eye contact and speech errors affect
your case? Why?

27. What is extra-evidential influence? How does it

influence juror decision-making?

28. How are jurors likely to form impressions about the

client?

29. How can societal prototypes be used to alter

perception of your client?

30. What is the "L.A. Law" approach?

31. How is gazing useful in presentation to jurors?

32. Why should your client be encouraged to be expressive?

33. How are emotional responses generated? Why is this

important?

34. How would one maximize a juror's positive response?

35. What are highly sophisticated comforting strategies?

Why would they be used?
36. Why is it important to emphasize similarity between
the juror and the client?

37. Why is it important to stress your belief in your

client and his story?

38. How are trait descriptions used to form opinions of

the jury?

39. What is the importance of an unfavorable self-

description?

40. Why would slow speech be used in a presentation?

41. Why is face-to-face communication between jurors more

productive?

42. Why is the manner in which something is said more

important in assigning blame than what is actually
said?

43. Why would supplication be used in story telling?

44. What is the value of the use of perceptual anchors?

45. Why would it be important to organize your perceptual

anchors carefully?

46. How would one defuse conflicting testimony?

47. What factors that are related to elements of decision-

making also are important to judgment accuracy?

48. What is a high self-monitor?

49. What is the importance of verbal reinforcement of the

jurors’ attitudes?

50. Why would one pause in a presentation?

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal communication is a very basic channel in the

recognition of emotional states in others. Information is
transmitted by facial expression, eye contact, gazing, and
a wide range of body movements. Nonverbal communication
starts very early in life and is transcultural.

Another method of nonverbal communication is the use of

charts, pictures, and graphs. These are an effective means
of enhancing comprehension and memory.

Facial Expression

One determination of emotional experience is the interplay

between an emotional stimulus and the innate response, such
as a smile. The reaction toward the emotional stimulus is
intensified when the facial expression is facilitated but
softened when the expression is inhibited (Strack, Martin
and Sterrer, 1988). Observe the facial expressions of
jurors in order to gauge the strength of their emotional
reaction to an event.

When people are trying to mask negative emotions by putting

on a "happy face," their smiles will tend to include traces
of muscular actions that normally are associated with
disgust, fear, contempt, or sadness (Ekma, Friesen and
O'Sullivan, 1988). Watching and evaluating facial
expressions will enable you to discern deceit.

The jury processes feelings along with your message. When

they get the impression that you feel good about your
client and the case, the message is that their environment
is safe, leaving them less inclined to examine the
information in that environment.

If the plaintiff is coached to deliver the testimony in a

way that reflects the pain and emotional trauma he/she
experienced, jurors will be able to identify with that pain
and to feel as the plaintiff felt. The plaintiff's voice
and manner of delivery are very important in conveying that
message. Too much rehearsal, flat effect, or too much
control can interfere with the feelings, and the real
message will be lost (Schwarz, 1990).

In order to evaluate reaction to information and messages,

it is necessary to develop a sensitivity to the effect of
the different contexts and unique aspects of each
situation. All forms of human activity are understood in
terms of the relationship between the available resources,
including culture, symbols, institutions, etc. Expressions
on the faces of the jurors are only one of these resources
in the flow of interaction, and attention to these
expressions will effectively aid interpretation and
communication (Chef, 1990/1991; Chef and Pearce, 1991;
Gudykunst and Hall, 1994).

Facial expressions can be helpful in effective management

of affect. Your presentation to the jurors will be a more
compatible interaction as a result and will affect both
jury involvement and expectancies. Nonverbal warmth,
conveyed in the form of increased smiling, can reinforce
specific desirable categories of behavior. It also will
signal acceptance and approval to the jurors. This will
increase the jurors’ motivation to perform as desired
(Patterson, 1994).

Jurors will tend to judge a witness less harshly if the

witness exhibits a smile at appropriate times. The person
is viewed as being more likable and consequently more
physically attractive, sincere, sociable and competent. If
a person smiles, he is perceived to be more trustworthy and
a better person (La France and Hecht, 1995).

The face easily conveys factual lies, those that might

occur in a courtroom when dealing with impressions of
others. Deception produces a reduction in smiling and
positive head nods. However, body language is more likely
to betray deception when the lie is about an emotional
state.

Also, verbal channels are highly controllable and more

indicative of one's demeanor than expressive or spontaneous
changes in emotional states. Senders are better able to
control, express, and exaggerate facial expressions than
their voices when that is the intent. However, liars are
more successful when using verbal means to deceive than
when using nonverbal means (Buller and Burgoon, 1994;
DePaulo, Stone and Lassiter, 1985; and Zuckerman, Amidon,
Bishop and Pomerantz, 1982).

When a speaker intends to deceive, unintentional leakage

may be produced by nervousness and arousal. The voice may
have a higher pitch or be perceptually nervous, and speech
will contain more errors and hesitations. The speaker also
may use halting, brief messages (Buller and Burgoon, 1994).
Pay particular attention to the voice and manner of
speaking when attempting to detect deceit.

Gesturing

Some people who are engaged in cognitive tasks will be

immune to aspects of linguistic behaviors and will rely on
non-linguistic cues in making their determinations (Gilbert
and Jones, 1986). The use of nonlinguistic cues where
appropriate is, therefore, advisable.
Jurors tune in and out of the proceedings. Their
perception is selective and usually will focus on only the
stimuli that are congruent with their values. They listen
at the beginning of the presentation; then, they tend to
selectively see, hear, and remember (Vinson, 1986). In
order to arouse their attention, use movements, gestures,
and speech inflection--most importantly, after recesses in
the proceedings.

Interactive hand gestures assist dialogue in that they

serve the special conversational demands of talking in
dialogue (Bavelas, Chovil and Coates, 1993).

Gestures are invaluable to a speaker; they include the

listener so that the speaker can be sure he/she is being
heard and understood. Open-handed gestures metaphorically
hand over the information.

Rotation of the hand with fingers uncurling implies shared

information or "as you already knew." The rotating hand
with fingers uncurling off to the side implies a digression
from the main point. The importance of gesturing lies more
in the function that the gesture serves in the juncture of
information sharing than in the actual form that the
gesture takes (Bavelas, Chovil, Coates and Roe, 1995).

Body Language

When people's verbal self-presentation contradicts their

behavior, their words are ignored in favor of the deeds.
The old saw that "actions speak louder than words" is valid
(Funder, 1987). Observe the behavior and body language of
the jurors. Be cautious that your own body language does
not provoke an undesirable response.

It is important to prepare the witness, especially when

cases are "iffy" or ambiguous. If a witness takes the
stand acting fidgety and tense or displays irregularities
in affect and body language, it actually may hurt the case.
The witness should be calm and confident in his/her
presentation (Hendry, Peacock and Shaffer, 1989).

The body has a lower sending capacity than the face, making
body cues more likely to leak deceptive information than
facial cues. Research is mixed on the relevance of this
tendency. Some liars engage in more or less postural
shifting, random movements of body parts, and gesturing
activity. Others attempt to suppress their bodily activity
in an attempt to suppress their nervousness (Ekman and
Friesen, 1969; Buller and Burgoon, 1994); Zuckerman and
Driver, 1985).

Stiff, restrained trunk and limb positions indicate

tension. Deceivers also swivel more in their chairs and
tend to restrict their facial movements (Buller and Aune,
1987). Prepare your witnesses, taking note of these
implications of deceit and avoiding these behaviors.

Non-language is more easily processed than language. When

jurors are actively perceiving information, they are
engaging in social reactions and actions while managing
both the linguistic and non-linguistic messages. The
perception of the non-linguistic behavior gets in the way
of the processing of the linguistic behavior (Gilbert and
Krull, 1988). Therefore, body language and other nonverbal
behaviors should be consistent with the verbal messages in
order to be interpreted correctly.

Exhibits

Jurors will remember about ten percent of what they hear.

They are visual learners and remember eighty-five percent
of what they see. Presenting stimuli with strong emotional
impact obscures other stimuli that are presented either at
the same time or later (Vinson, 1986). In order to ensure
that jurors see what you would like them to see, avoid
presentation of exhibits that are boring or too detailed.

Charts and pictures aid juror understanding, creating a

preferred perceptual set and leading to a decrease in
memory problems (Singer, 1977).Pictures also enhance memory
by allowing elaboration on the stimulus information while
information is encoded (Lynn, Shavitt and Ostrom, 1985).

Attitudes toward a person can be influenced subliminally by

the exposure to a photograph of that person. This stimulus
is unconscious and nonverbal. The decisions made in
interpersonal and social situations are based in part on
these subliminally or marginally perceived stimuli
(Bornstein, Leone and Galley, 1987). Presenting positive
evidence frequently and using photographs of clients will
subliminally influence the jurors' evaluation of the client.

Pictures of faces tend to enhance the distinctiveness of a

verbal message. The pictures act as distinctive associates
and produce facilitation of memory. This probably is
because pictures tend to evoke an emotional response, which
is an arousing stimulus. Moderately arousing stimuli will
facilitate memory (Glenberg and Grimes, 1995). When using
videotaped evidence, consider showing the narrator's head
in order to manipulate juror response and aid memory.

Jurors will tend to become engaged in viewing attentional

objects at times when there is keenly felt involvement in
the case proceedings. These episodes produce an immersion
in the activities that captures the feelings and imagery
that are presented. This phenomenon causes the information
to linger in their memories as compelling psychological
states (Wild, Kuken and Schopflocher, 1995). One of the
best ways, therefore, to communicate important information
and to increase the jurors' absorption would be with the
use of aesthetic exhibits, pleasant voices, and interesting
stories.

Social Perception

Social perception is influenced by information that is

presented outside of conscious awareness. Information that
is processed subliminally will guide processing of
subsequently received information (Erdley and D'Agostino
(1988). This phenomenon is important to jurors’ perception
of the client. The client's dress and behavior should be
consistent with the traits and behaviors you would wish the
jurors to attribute to your client.

Individuals attempt to get others to like and feel positive

toward them by seeking affinity. Active social
communication is the means by which this affinity is
established (Daly and Kreiser, 1994). Jurors should be
assured of social equality in order to develop positive
affinity with the client.

Your witnesses should be encouraged to make eye contact and

to avoid speech errors like stuttering. They also should
avoid long pauses in answering questions. These nonverbal
violations of behavioral norms lead people to question the
veracity of the speaker and to infer deception. When
innocent explanations for these behaviors exist, they then
seem less credible (Bond, Omar, Pitre, Lashley, Skaggs and
Kirk, 1992). When a witness is testifying, people will
judge whether he or she is lying based on the exhibited
nonverbal behaviors and on their perception of the
violations of behavioral norms.

The jurors already will have formed opinions about the

plaintiff and/or defendant based on their evaluation of the
crime, the type of crime being presented, and the race of
the jurors and of the subject. They will draw these
conclusions before they hear all of the evidence in the
trial (Gerbasi, Zuckerman and Reis, 1977). Be wary of this
tendency in juror behavior, and find ways to overcome the
extra-evidential influence on their decisions.

Social information is interpreted or retrieved from memory

based on impressions. Jurors make inferences about people
based on traits that correspond to their own behavior.
Impressions are formed spontaneously and reported on demand
(Frey and Smith, 1993). Always be aware of the demeanor,
behavior, and actions that are displayed by yourself, your
client, and your witnesses.

The societal prototypes that people use to make decisions

can be used to alter the perception of your client’s
behavior. If your client is perceived to be "tough," as
compared to the societal image of "tough," alter the
behavior that is presented to achieve the desired image
(Gibbons, Gerrad, Helweg-Larsen, 1995).

Researchers have found that jurors are societally

conditioned to the "L.A. Law" approach. They expect to be
entertained. If the lawyer fails to match the pace,
production, and level of entertainment that the jurors are
expecting, it is possible to lose their attention and
subsequently to endanger the whole case.

Gaze

Gazing at the jurors will influence their evaluation of

liking, competence and credibility. People who involve
themselves in equivalent amounts of gazing while both
speaking and listening are given higher status. Prolonged
eye contact can encourage cooperation by communicating
positive intent. Jurors tend to believe that people do not
lie when they look you straight in the eye (Kleinke, 1986).
Use a direct gaze when addressing the jurors and while
listening to their responses.

The client should be encouraged to be open, expressive, and

uninhibited in front of the jury. Expressive people are
liked better, noticed more, and more likely to influence
people than those who are non-expressive (DePaulo, Blank,
Swaim and Hairfield, 1992).

Affective Responses

Cognitive processing is not necessary to generate an

affective response. Emotional responses about an event are
generated before the jurors have time to think about the
nature of their feelings. The attorney should take note of
this effect on jurors, noting that affective responses
occur after minimal exposure to the stimulus (Murphy and
Zajonc, 1993).

In order to generate conditions that will maximize the

jurors’ positive response, it is necessary to express
empathy, nonpossessive warmth (also known as unconditional
positive regard), and genuineness or congruence. The
climate that is fostered by these conditions will maximize
the jurors' exploration of the presented information and,
therefore, the understanding and development of the
appropriate decision-making process (Burleson, 1994).

The comfort that this process offers to the jurors will

help you to obtain a more favorable outcome. If highly
sophisticated comforting strategies are used, the jurors
will evaluate your message more positively and will like
the presenter better. These sophisticated strategies
consist of legitimation, elaboration, and acknowledgment of
the jurors' feelings, perspectives and doubts. Use of
these strategies will allow the jurors to develop rules for
managing emotions and for exploring and articulating their
feelings. The jurors will be better able to accept the
plaintiff's hopes and goals and to determine the value of
his losses (Burleson, 1994).

Emphasize Similarity

Jurors will allocate more awards to those parties whom they

find more similar to themselves. When jurors identify
highly with your client, they will perceive the opposition
as being a personal threat, and this effect will intensify
(Branscombe, Wann, Noel and Coleman, (1993). Emphasizing
the similarities between the jurors and your client will
focus their attention on these similarities and will bias
the case for your client.

Establish Credibility

There are jurors who will have a need for closure and a
definite answer on the topic. These jurors desire a clear-
cut opinion on the judgmental subject. Any answer at all
is preferable to confusion and ambiguity. These jurors can
have their needs satisfied if one stresses belief in one's
client and in what happened, as recounted by the client.
This provides a strong opinion on which juror decisions can
be based (Kruglanski, Webster and Klem, 1993).

Researchers have found in their studies of the subject that

people automatically will evaluate the source of their
information. They will form impressions of the speaker, as
well as the target, when listening to information about the
target. Thus, if a witness projects sincerity when
speaking about the target, this trait may be interpreted as
being a reflection of the witness's ability to be sincere.
When preparing witnesses, keep in mind that they will be
evaluated spontaneously by the jury. The trait
descriptions that witnesses give of others will be used to
form impressions of the witnesses.

Further research indicates that the client should give an

unfavorable self-description in order to convey modesty.
When giving a favorable self-description, people are more
likely to be seen as being arrogant and, therefore, viewed
negatively. The use of slow speech enhances credibility
judgments by conveying the speaker's concern and empathy.
This is especially useful when the topic is a medical
problem, sex, or other personal dilemma (Perloff, 1993).

Jury Deliberation

Face-to-face communication between group members is more

productive than other forms of communication when group
decision is based on judgment. Nonverbal group interaction
is essential to productivity because the decision is based
on the values of the group (Straus and McGrath, 1994).
Jury members should be encouraged to work face to face and
to be aware of one another's nonverbal cues in their
deliberations.

Excusing Behavior

Repairing the relations between antagonistic parties may

depend upon moderating the evaluative and affective tones
of accounts. The interpretation of narrative accounts and
rejoinders is affected more by how it is said than by what
is actually said (Gonzales, Haugen and Manning, 1994).
This is an important factor in justifying or excusing
blameworthy behavior.

Supplication

Supplication is used as a story-telling goal and will

influence others to provide support, succor, and material
aid if it is used effectively to portray the client as
being a helpless victim. Supplication works to manipulate
other people’s perceptions, emotions and inferences. This
helps to increase the client's chances of obtaining the
desired award (Baumeister and Newman, 1994).

Perceptual Anchors

Use of perceptual anchors will trigger desired emotions.

Images are made up of words. When selecting the perceptual
anchors use the words that will trigger the emotion you
want to provoke. It is also possible to neutralize an
emotionally charged scenario by using cold, scientific
words with little or no emotional attribution.

Individual cues are made up of elements that bear an

imperfect relationship to what is being judged. Thus,
different observers may put different weights on the cues,
which may partly overlap. The identification of the
message will rely on multiple cues that contain enough
redundancy to allow recognition of the message from
multiple angles (Kleindorfer, Kunreuther and Schoemaker,
1993). Organize the image of your case around carefully
selected perceptual anchors. When reconstructing the
event, ask jurors how it could or would or should have been.

Conflicting Testimony

An effective way to defuse conflicting testimony is to

elaborate on the differences in the information processing
models used by the conflicting parties. Social Judgment
Theory is used to explain the decision-making procedure by
breaking it into different phases: prediction and
inference, valuation, and implementation. However, the
actual essence of the final decision remains impenetrable
to the outside observer (Kleindorfer, Kunreuther and
Schoemaker, 1993).

Judgment Accuracy

Judgment accuracy is related to gender, skill in decoding

nonverbal behavior, and self-monitoring. Self-monitoring
is the degree to which people are sensitive to social
interaction. People who are high in self-monitoring use
cues from the social behaviors of others to regulate their
own self-presentations. They are more skilled at
controlling their own emotional displays and nonverbal
behavior. High self-monitors tend to be more accurate in
judging emotional stability. Interestingly, females are
more accurate judges of others than males. Individuals who
are more sociable and higher in self-esteem are less
accurate judges of others in most cases (Ambady, Hallahan
and Rosenthal, 1995).

Verbal Reinforcement

Jurors are provided with an increased incentive to exhibit

the desired response if their attitudes are reinforced
verbally. This tells the jurors that the speaker approves
of and values their anticipated response and, thus by
implication, approves of the jurors themselves (Perloff,
1993).

Pause

Jurors are more likely to acquire new information if they

are allowed to encode this information verbally without
being distracted by another task. Give the jurors time to
take this mental step before proceeding to your next
argument. Each time you make a critical point, pause; then
ask them to imagine, picture, or mentally act out the
information they have received (Perloff, 1993).
Question for Posttest

Compare methods of nonverbal communication with verbal

communication. How should a plaintiff deliver his/her
testimony to properly reflect emotional trauma?

Define:

Social Judgment Theory

How self-esteem affects jurors’ decision-making