Body Language: When Every Juror’s An Expert

We’ve written before in this space about how jurors’ experiences watching television shows such as Law and Order and CSI affect their expectations about everything from DNA testing to courtroom procedure.  It’s a dangerous phenomenon that makes jurors feel like they’re experts in how things should and shouldn’t work in a legal case.

We’ve recently noticed another less-than-helpful impact of jurors’ experience with these shows – the tendency to think they’re experts on body language and can “tell” when a witness is lying.

In a recent focus group, one juror watched two minutes of deposition video and proclaimed the witness a liar, saying:  “I’ve watched a lot of CSIs, and when you’re talking, you should look at the camera.”  During another recent session, a juror explained his low credibility rating for a witness: “He scratched his nose, and that’s indicative of lying.”

Or, you know, his nose itched.

Some people take this supposed ability to “read” body language too far, but there is no denying a person’s use of gestures and mannerisms affects whether they come across as credible.  A recent study by psychologists at Northeastern University, MIT and Cornell found the frequent use of hand touching, face touching, crossing arms and leaning away – in combination – made people seem less trustworthy to their peers.  Even a robot that engaged in these cues was judged as less trustworthy than a robot that did not.  (Read about the study here.)

That’s why a significant part of our witness preparation process focuses on non-verbal communication – we know appearing honest and comfortable is as important as what the witness says.  Although we don’t place too much faith in any one gesture – such as equating scratching your nose with lying – we strive to eliminate distracting mannerisms and help witnesses come across as poised, forthcoming and confident.

We’ve prepped hundreds of witnesses – from parking lot attendants to CEOs – for deposition and trial.  If you’ve got a witness you think could use help, we’d encourage you to consider a preparation session before he or she commits a bad performance on videotape that can be shown to trial jurors.  Please contact us at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714-754-1010 to learn more about how we can help.