Convincing People in the Gut Zone – A Criminal Lawyer’s Perspective

Convincing people starts with connecting with them at the gut level, says Virginia criminal lawyer Jon Katz

Convincing people starts from engaging them as human to human. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I know that this engagement is not solely directed at their minds, but at their levels at the gut, heart , and feelings — their feelings of inspiration from the criminal defense lawyer, wanting to draw close to hear the lawyer and know more about the criminal defendant, fear, pain, dread, wanting to flee,  comfort and joy, and pleasure and pain.

This is the opposite of manipulation. It is about the convincing others through opening one’s own heart to the jury, shedding personal armor any hidden agenda, sharing his or her concerns with the jury so that the jurors will similarly open themselves up during jury selection and jury deliberation, clearing internal gunk, vibrating highly so that the lawyer does not have dark energy pulling down nor interfering with the jury and has infectious high energy, and putting the lawyer’s internal magic and magic mirror to work.

Convincing people involves finding ways to trust and like them

Earning trust and likeability on the road to convincing people is built not by coming across as a snake oil salesman, but through actively and caringly listening and respond to the other person. Liking people does not come overnight. Not everyone is a born Will Rogers, who never met a man s/he did not like, but Will Rogers is a great example for that path.

Part of finding something to like in everyone as part of convincing them is to eliminate the false duality of the other, when we all are connected, including finding a way to like a person whose politics are much different than ours.

Persuading people by being real

The Trial Lawyers College, which I attended for the entire month of August 1995, heavily emphasizes convincing through being real which relates to discovering and recognizing our true selves and how we relate to each other, combined with the power of psychodrama, which enables lawyers to take themselves and the jury into the fully-felt moment as they persuade.

The three pillars of trial persuasion

The three pillars of trial persuasion are experience and ability, knowledge, and preparation. The ability part is where convincing people at the gut zone comes in the most.

Using the power of realness and the heart zone on the road to convincing others of course does not mean shedding our thinking, which comes from the knowledge and preparation pillars of convincing others.

Convincing others does not come overnight. It is a lifetime process to succeed on this path.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan L. Katz pursues your best defense against felony, misdemeanor, and DUI prosecutions. To scheduled a free in-person confidential consultation with Jon Katz about your pending criminal court case, please call his staff at 703-383-1100.