Powerful Witness Preparation

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Listen for the Song in Your Witness' Head," litigation attorney Dan Small discusses the all-too-common disconnect between what a lawyer thinks their witness is thinking and what the witness is actually thinking. He explains that the key to building a successful relationship with a witness is to understand your own assumpt...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "The Witness Interview: Dangerous Informality," litigation attorney Dan Small looks at the misconceptions surrounding "informal" interviews and shares how to make sure they don't catch a witness off guard. He warns that even if an interview has a relaxed, friendly feel to it, no one should treat it like a casual conversati...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "What is a Deposition," litigation attorney Dan Small clarifies what a deposition really is. Although very familiar to lawyers, depositions can be confusing for witnesses. Mr. Small explains that misconceptions surrounding the formality of the proceeding, style of questioning and discovery all contribute to this confusion,...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Witness Preparation is Okay," litigation attorney Dan Small shares how to overcome the misconception that preparing for trial is cheating the system. He outlines four issues that counsel needs to address with a witness to make them feel more comfortable about the preparation process: 1) preparation is normal and proper, 2...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Bridging the Gap," litigation attorney Dan Small talks about the challenges of bridging the gap between communicating in a normal conversation and communicating in the witness environment. The former is easy and natural, but the latter is just the opposite, difficult and unnatural. The language, rhythm and goals of each a...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Witnesses Need to Use Their Counsel," litigation attorney Dan Small concludes his in-depth, 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. The final rule concerns four crucial ways a lawyer can help a witness while they are on the stand. Lawyers and witnesses should be clear about their relationship and remain vigil...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Don't be Intimidated by Documents," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his in-depth, 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. In this episode, Mr. Small shares how challenging it can be for a witness to answer questions about documents. Often, witnesses feel anxious when the questioning turns to documents...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Do Not Volunteer Information," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his in-depth, 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. As the title suggests, this discussion focuses on feeling comfortable with silence. In normal conversation, people avoid uncomfortable silences, but in testimony, witnesses should embra...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Playing the Guessing Game is a Losing Strategy," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his in-depth 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. In this episode, he talks about guessing, a normal human instinct that can leave witnesses in a very deep hole. Mr. Small covers three kinds of guessing — factual detai...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "If You Don't Remember, Say So," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his in-depth, 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. He explains that one of the most obvious rules for witnesses is also one of the most difficult — witnesses can only testify to what they clearly remember. Although it sounds simple, th...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Typical 'Wiggles and Squirms' to Avoid Rephrasing a Question," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. Picking up from his last episode, "Don't Ask a Question You Don't Understand," he talks about what he terms the "wiggles and squirms" of the witness environment. M...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Don't Answer a Question You Don't Understand," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. In this episode, he reminds listeners that witnesses should only answer the questions they fully understand. What does it mean to "fully understand" a question? Mr. Small describe...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Be a Relentlessly Polite Witness," litigation attorney Dan Small continues an in-depth discussion of the rules for witness preparation. In this episode, he emphasizes that witnesses must be relentlessly positive and relentlessly polite, not only for etiquette but also for survival. To accomplish this, witnesses must remem...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small continues his 10-part series on the rules for witness preparation. In "Tell the Truth," he analyzes the oath taken by every witness: to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He breaks down each of these three components, explaining common pitfalls and offering tips for cou...

In the latest episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Remember, You Are On The Record," litigation attorney Dan Small continues his in-depth discussion of the rules for witness preparation. This episode covers an aspect of witness testimony that makes it an especially strange experience: Everything is on the record. Once words leave a witness' mouth, they can't be taken back...

In this episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small begins an in-depth, 10-part dive into the rules for witness preparation. The first rule — witnesses must take their time — underscores the importance of taking control as a witness. He briefly discusses how multitasking and fairness factor into this process before talking about the three primary con...

In the sixth episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Basic Principles for Being a Witness," litigation attorney Dan Small describes the two fundamental principles of being a good witness and explains how to carry them out effectively. Although concepts like "Listen, listen, listen" and "Don't try too hard" may sound easy, knowing how to apply them requires a level of underst...

In the fifth episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small looks at the seven most common mistakes lawyers make when preparing witnesses for trial. Cautioning that "a failure in preparation is a failure in representation," he summarizes these mistakes and provides solutions that will help lawyers bring their witness preparation to the next level.

In the fourth episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small shares the three most common reasons why clients think they don't need to prepare for testimony. He explains how to respond to clients who harbor these misconceptions and shares tools and techniques that have helped him convince clients that witness preparation is key.

In the third episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small covers how to fill in the gaps during witness preparation and how to help witnesses overcome three major hurdles they face when preparing to take the stand. He explains the importance of addressing these gaps so that witnesses can perform their job effectively in the litigation environment.

In the second episode of his "Powerful Witness Preparation" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small dives right into what witness preparation really entails and outlines seven steps lawyers need to take when preparing witnesses for testimony. Mr. Small explains that too many witnesses are not adequately prepared because lawyers fail to realize that being a witness is an entirely different ex...

In the launch of his podcast series "Powerful Witness Preparation," litigation attorney Dan Small dives right into the fundamentals of calling a witness to the stand. Mr. Small describes the challenges of the unusual courtroom environment and explains why preparation is crucial. He emphasizes that communicating effectively in a question-and-answer format is an extraordinarily unnatural and difficu...