Experts, Know Your Eight Bases of Persuasion
“What makes an expert witness persuasive to a jury? Is it their background and training? The work that they did on the case? Their communication skills in teaching the jury?” asks Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm in the Persuasive Litigator.
“The research suggests that expert influence depends on a variety of factors, and a scale even exists to measure these factors: the Expert Persuasion Expectancy (ExPEx) framework. That framework includes many of the variables that experts and the attorneys who sponsor them would expect: Foundation, Field, Specialty, Ability, Opinion, Support, Consistency, and Trustworthiness. Even as the items are potentially unsurprising, it is still helpful to keep the whole list in mind.”
“Recent research shows that these factors matter, and also suggests that there may be a ‘Big 3’ in this list.”
