How to Better Reinforce the Testimonies Your Experts Provide

Expert testimony is an important part of a trial. But presenting an expert to the jury or judge is not enough.

If you want to maximize the impact of their testimony, you must actively reinforce it. With that, the jury can comprehend and retain the key points.

How to better reinforce the testimonies your experts provide? You can leave a lasting impression by pairing this testimony with engaging visuals.

Choose the Right Expert and Build a Visual Strategy Around Them

According to the National Institute of Justice, experts are allowed to give opinions because of their knowledge, training and experience.

When you want to reinforce your expert testimony, it starts with selecting the right professional. You want someone who can communicate your conclusions while remaining relatable to an audience. After you have chosen them, you can develop a visual strategy tailored to their testimony.

For example, if your expert is a medical professional explaining the cause of injury, an anatomical diagram or medical animation can provide jurors with a visual context for their explanation.

Visuals Can Simplify Complicated Concepts

Many times, jurors struggle to follow technical testimony, especially from experts in the fields of medicine or engineering.

With visuals, you can take those complex ideas and make them more accessible. This also allows jurors to grasp and retain information more easily.

You may want to use:

• Diagrams for explaining mechanical failures, vehicle designs, or medical conditions.
• Graphs and charts to illustrate trends, data comparisons, or statistical analyses.
• Timelines to provide a sequence of events or processes.

Boost Direct Examination with Graphics

Visuals can help with a direct examination. However, you don’t want to overwhelm jurors. Make sure to present one graphic at a time to tie it into the expert’s testimony.

Along with that, you can use callouts, highlights, or animation to draw attention to specific parts of a graphic as the expert speaks. For example, when a forensic expert testifies about accident reconstruction, an animated graphic can show the sequence of events leading to the collision.

Remember to keep things simple. Each graphic should support a specific point. When you overload a graphic with details, you run the risk of confusing jurors.

Prepare the Expert to Use Visuals

For visuals to reinforce testimony, the expert must know how to use them. This is the time to make sure their presentation appears natural and persuasive.

With that in mind, you will want to practice integrating the visuals into the testimony. Your expert should know when and how to reference them.

Along with that, you need the expert to explain visuals in a conversational manner. They should guide jurors through the information without sounding rehearsed.

You also want to prepare the expert to respond to questions about the visuals, including challenges during cross-examination.

When an expert can explain a graphic, that helps to reinforce their credibility.

Counter Cross-Examination with Visuals

Whenever you put an expert on the stand, you know the opposing counsel will be ready to disprove their points. To counter this, you need to:

 Expect challenges: You will want to identify areas of the expert’s testimony likely to face scrutiny. With that, you can prepare visuals that clarify these points.

• Use redundant visuals: You will want to create alternative graphics to reinforce vital points in case a primary exhibit is challenged.
• Reinforce credibility: If cross-examination creates confusion, redirect jurors’ attention to clear visuals during the redirect examination.

Blend Various Types of Visuals

There are several types of visuals that you will want to use in your presentation. 3D animations can simulate events like an accident reconstruction or a medical procedure. Interactive presentations allow experts to use real-time diagrams or graphics to highlight specific details during their testimony.

Once again, this is an excellent way to reinforce the expert’s key points.

Use Visuals in Closing Arguments

Reinforcement doesn’t end after the expert’s time leaves the stand. You can revisit their testimony with visuals. When used in closing arguments, it can leave a lasting impression on the jury.

You might want to display visuals that highlight the expert’s conclusions. With that, you can link them to the wider case narrative.

Along with that, use these graphics to create a visual summary of the expert’s findings so you can reiterate their importance.  For example, a closing argument in a product liability case might feature a graphic of the defective product. When used with the expert’s explanation, it can reinforce how the defect caused harm.

Your expert testimony should always resonate with jurors. When combined with trial visuals you can strengthen your expert’s testimony and boost the overall persuasiveness of your case.

In turn, that can increase the likelihood of a favorable verdict.

If you are looking for professional visuals to accompany your expert’s testimony, Advocacy Digital Media can help. Find out how we can assist with your case today.