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People don't decide in fragments. They decide in the full context of stories and feelings -- often with their entire beings -- and how that fits in with their life experiences. Therefore, storytelling is critical in the persuasion process.

My Virginia driving while intoxicated clients who refuse to be breath or blood tested for blood alcohol and/or drug content post-arrest, know that a first-time refusal conviction spells one year of no driving at all, with no exceptions. If also convicted of DWI, an additional...

The cashier who recently sold me a lemonade at a carryout restaurant told me simply to return the cup to the cashier for a free refill. I returned around thirty minutes later requesting a refill to the now-different cashier. She went off into a mantra that the...

A few times in my high school trigonometry class, I would sit down with my teacher during her office hours to assure that I was understanding one or the other challenging concept. Our meetings were short, because she would distill our discussions to such simplicity...

Do jurors — and judges when sitting as factfinders — want to be talked at monotonously like all the adults in Peanuts? Do they want to be whined to like George Zimmerman’s prosecutor did in closing argument? Or, do jurors and judges as factfinders want...

The National Criminal Defense College and the Trial Lawyers College heavily focus on storytelling throughout the trial. Most people organize their thoughts and decision making along storytelling lines. Most law schools try in a huge number of respects to teach students to unlearn their humanity,...

A critical part of persuasion is storytelling, including bringing the jury within the circle of the story. Of course, storytelling alone may not be persuasive enough, because trials ordinarily involve various versions of the truth and challenges to the credibility and reliability of various opposing witnesses...