For more than a quarter-century, Eric has shared his knowledge and expertise with hundreds of trial lawyers across the U.S. and Canada. His latest book, Persuasive Communication: Twenty-five Years of Teaching Lawyers, is a collection of the best advice and direction he's provided over that time. Eric shows how trial lawyers can prepare, and then present, decision makers with more receiver-friendly cases, be it in deposition, mediation, negotiation, case preparation and/or trial. The engaging examples will make you feel as if you're a part of the action – and will change the way you communicate, not only in the courtroom but also in every interaction you have with another human being; the advice helps you build a presentation plan for each case, which can be adapted to any venue for resolution.

 

Even the best-prepared cases can fall flat if the decision makers aren't engaged. Getting and holding their attention is key – and can be achieved in only a few steps. In Persuasive Communication, Eric explains how it can be done – and how to then communicate the story in a whole-brain-friendly manner. Through the book's real-life demonstrative examples, you'll never approach a case in the same way ever again!

 

Here's what you'll experience:

 

Part I: Rapport

Brain and social science have now confirmed the value of putting first things first in persuasive communication – actions before words. Specifically, that means appealing directly to the decision-making mind by applying the natural phenomenon of mirroring in each persuasive communication, right up front where it does the most good. The decision maker's brain wants your behavior to lead any communication and will be reading and responding to your actions – no matter what shape they're in.

 

Chapters

1     Reflections on Mirroring

2     Brain-friendly Speaking Basics
3     Is it in Yet?
4     My World or Yours?

 

 

Part II: Stories

Your clients' cases are going to be rewritten as stories by every decision maker, regardless of whether or not he or she attended law school. That said, you need to know how to develop your case presentation as a story. But no matter how great a story you prepare, if your presentation is poor, it most likely won't get across the way you hope.

 

Chapters

5     Making Sense to Jurors

6     Tell Me A Story

7     Embodying the Story

 

 

Part III: Decision Making
Actions and images always come before your words when you are trying to persuade the mind outside conscious reach. The conscious and other-than-conscious parts of every decision maker's mind play by different sets of rules. These rules are also much different than most of us have been raised and taught to think. Learning a little more about the real decision making process and even how to track what is likely to influence it most, at the early stages of the decision making process, can be a huge help.

 

Chapters
8     Is Jury Psychology an Oxymoron
9     Testing, Testing
10   Jury See, Jury Decide

 

 

Part IV: Persuasion
When you try to present the case story you've spent so much time, energy and resources preparing, you want to be sure you're taking advantage of every useful tool. It's not enough just to respect the other-than-conscious demands of starting with actions and images before you jump to the words. You need to know how to put the nonverbal and verbal parts of your client's case story into a seamless package that you can actually deliver with some confidence. That's true whether your decision makers are in a courtroom, conference room or the phone.

 

Chapters
11    Things Aren't Always What They Are
12    That Reminds Me
13    Anchors and Frames and Themes (Oh My!)

 

 

Part V: The Mind
What exactly is going on above and beyond the conscious scenery at the level where every legal decision, in a large case or a small one, starts getting judged? Our appreciation of the way the mind really handles (or sometimes manhandles) efforts to influence it has changed a great deal even over the last decade or so. You may want to open a window onto what we now know about that process.

 

Chapters
14    More Than Meets the Ear
15    More Than Meets the Mind

 

 

Part VI: Themes
You have to start somewhere. You have to move through the middle. And, you have to know when you've arrived. Your case story theme is what you must rely on to provide these essential directions for your delivery. You have to provide it – or else the decision makers will provide it for you.

Chapter

16   Developing a Case Theme

Since its release last fall, Persuasive Communication has been called wise, lively, invaluable and a "masterpiece." Click here to read what people are saying.

 

Want to see for yourself? Click here to read a chapter or here to view the podcast

 

Want a copy? Click here to order.