Sari Swears

My FB Live from Wednesday 08/28/19 has been uploaded as a bonus episode on the From Hostage To Hero Podcast.  This week we discussed "Why You Should Let Jurors Control Voir Dire."

Long, complex opening statements with lots of legal jargon leads to bored, confused jurors who tune out. Are you making these mistakes in opening? Your opening should be "sticky" so jurors can remember your theme all the way into the verdict room. Opening is your one time to "hum the tune" so to speak of your trial themes. But making these three mistakes will get in your way. Give the podcast a li...

What does it mean to "own the space?" And further, why is that important? You might be surprised to learn it takes very little to communicate you are in command of the space. Give the podcast a listen to find out how to command the space, and why it's important you do. You can listen on iTunes or on your preferred podcast app.

I know you don't want to annoy jurors (at least I hope not.) But you may be doing these 7 things and not know that jurors hate them. The only thing you need to win the hearts and minds of jurors is you. You don't need these seven things, so stop doing them. Give the podcast a listen to find out the seven things you're doing that jurors hate.

Can you accurately read the body language of jurors? Depends what you're trying to "read." There are two things you can read when it comes to juror body language. You don't need to memorize hundreds of nonverbal cues in order to do this either. Give the podcast a listen to find out how to read body language and let go of your stories about what it means.

Are you wasting your mistakes? Look, I know you make them, everyone does. So let's not waste an opportunity to learn, ok? You waste your mistakes when you beat yourself up and quit. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn and grow, but only if you know how to use them to your advantage. Give the podcast a listen to find out how to stop wasting your mistakes and start moving  toward greatness. More ep...

Does body language really make a difference in trial? You bet it does. If you want to change your results, you must change your body language. Great communicators not only have a variety of ways of communicating, they know what skill to use when. Give the podcast a listen to find out why body language is so important and how you can be more purposeful in your own communication.

My FB Live from Wednesday 07/17/19 has been uploaded as a bonus podcast episode.   This week we discussed "Why You Must Form the Group If You Want to Increase Your Chance of Winning at Trial."   Get more episodes at www.saridlm.com/podcast

You should always make eye contact, right?  Wrong. We attempt to continually make eye contact because of what we think it means. But what if you were wrong about what eye contact communicates nonverbally? Give the podcast a listen to find out what eye contact really means, and how you can be more systematic.

Are you a good listener? In order to grow as a high performance trial attorney, you MUST be a good listener.  Most people, when they think of "listening," they only think of one kind. Would you be surprised to find out there are actually THREE types of listening ?   If you really want to get good at voir dire, you have to tune in to the other two types.  Give the podcast a listen to dive into all...

Do you want to become a high performing trial attorney? Then you must master nonverbal communication. Nonverbal mastery isn't something "nice" to have or a cool gimmick. It's essential. Give the podcast a listen to find out what nonverbal intelligence is, why you need to be more purposeful in your nonverbal communication, the three components of a message and more!

My FB Live from Wednesday 06/26/19 has been uploaded as a bonus podcast episode on this From Hostage To Hero Podcast.   This week we discussed The Three Things Every Opening Needs.   Get more episodes at www.saridlm.com/podcast

Authenticity. You're told you need to be authentic in court, but what does that really mean? Authenticity is bigger than you think .  Being "uncomfortable" for example, is not the same as being inauthentic. But authenticity can also get you in trouble. Give the podcast a listen to find out what authenticity is and why it's such a big deal.

Have you been told you need to build trust with jurors to get them to vote your way? You don't. What you need is permission. What's permission and how do you get it? Give the podcast a listen to find out.

My FB Live from Wednesday 06/12/19 has been uploaded as a bonus podcast episode.   This week we discussed "The Biggest Thing Holding You Back From Becoming a Great Trial Attorney."   Get more episodes at www.saridlm.com/podcast

How do you measure your success at trial? If you're like most attorneys, when you win you think you're a great attorney and when you lose you think you aren't. Bullshit. Losing has NOTHING to do with how "good" you are. Give the podcast a listen and learn how to let go of believing that losing means you're a bad trial attorney, and instead learn how to embrace the process.

Why do you go to trial? To win, of course! If we didn't think we could win, we'd settle the case. However, believing that winning is the only acceptable outcome can really derail you at trial. You might be surprised to learn why. Give the podcast a listen and learn how to let go of believing that winning is the only acceptable outcome.

My FB Live from Wednesday 05/29/19 has been uploaded as a bonus podcast episode.   This week, I met up with Jesse Wilson from tellthewinningstory.com to discuss ideas on the topic of Performance Mastery - what it is and what it isn't.    Get more episodes at www.saridlm.com/podcast

Visual communication can make or break your success at trial. But there is a lot of misconceptions about trial visuals. Join me for this special podcast where I interview Joshua Cohen of Fat Pencil Studio and we discuss when you should start thinking about visuals for trial (you might be surprised), how many visuals you should use (less than you think) and how visuals don't only tell the story of...

Trial is an adversarial process, which means there's a clear enemy. The problem is, you believe the enemy is the jurors themselves. Believing that jurors are the enemy will cause you all sorts of stress, worry, and take you off your game. Jurors are not the enemy . Give the podcast a listen to learn how damaging this belief is to your trial practice. Learn ways to let go of this limiting belief an...

A juror scowls and crosses his arms. So you should freak out, right? You walk into the breakroom and two colleagues immediately stop talking. They're talking about you, right? In today's podcast, I explore Limiting Belief #3: My Stories are True. Stories have the power to absolutely take you off your game both at trial and in life. Give the podcast a listen to learn how to get a handle on your sto...

My FB Live from Wednesday 05/08/19 has been uploaded as a bonus podcast episode on the From Hostage To Hero Podcast.   This week we discussed why your opening is only as good as your voir dire and how they work together for trial success.   Get more episodes at www.saridlm.com/podcast

The FB Live that I did in my From Hostage to Hero Facebook Group on Wednesday 04/17/19 has been uploaded as a bonus episode.  This week we asked the question Why a "group" discussion in voir dire is superior to "individual" voir dire.

There are some great trial attorneys out there. They get big verdicts, have maybe even written a book or two, and it seems they never lose. So you should try to be like them, right? Wrong. In today's episode, I explore Limiting Belief #2: I Have to Be Like [Insert-Famous-Trial-Attorney-Here] to Win. You don't have to mimic the greats to win. You just have to learn how to fully and completely embra...

The FB Live that I did in my From Hostage to Hero Facebook Group on Wednesday 04/03/19 has been uploaded as a bonus episode on the From Hostage to Hero Podcast.  This week we asked the question "What is the SCARIEST part of voir dire?"