Can You Argue Your Case in 15 Seconds?

The advertising world has a lot in common with courtroom communication: Grab your audience’s attention early or you may lose that audience completely.

A recent Associated Press article reports that 15-second television commercials are replacing 30-second spots as the industry standard because of viewers’ shrinking attention spans. Advertisers are finding that if they can’t make the sale in 15 seconds, they probably can’t make it at all.

This dovetails with our own research showing that 85 percent of focus group jurors deliver the same verdict at the close of the session as at the beginning. This means that no matter what information they hear later in the case, that crucial first impression more often than not determines their final decision.

Although jurors can’t change the channel during trial, they can tune you out. That’s why we recommend making your best arguments and telling your strongest story right away. Once you’ve grabbed jurors’ attention with a succinct, clear storyline they’ll remember for the rest of the trial, you can fill in the details that fit in with that overall theme.

Give us a call if you’d like to discuss our findings further. We’d be happy to share some of our opening statement tips and strategies.