I’ve been really into the Murder Book Podcast by Michael Connelly, author of over 30 mysteries and executive producer of the great series, “Bosch.” The podcast is about a 30-year-old murder that’s finally brought to trial, is filled with interviews with key people, wiretap recordings, and courtroom recordings.
Listening to the closing arguments, I was struck by three things and how those things can benefit all of us:
- Passion was oozing from both the defense attorney and the prosecutor. There was no doubt about what they wanted, how much they wanted it, and what they would do to convince the jury, even if it meant stepping over the line and getting admonished by the judge. In business it should be obvious to everybody how much we like (love) helping our customers/clients.
- This wasn’t TV where all the actors are good. This was real life and the defense attorney was a soooooo much better presenter than the prosecutor it was ridiculous. The defense attorney sounded like a high-quality professional speaker. When listening to the prosecutor you hear a lot of “ah,” “um,” and “like.” It reinforces why we should know what we’re saying so we sound like an expert not someone making it up on the fly.
- The emotional tug at the jury was based on facts. They both pulled facts from the case, added influence to them, and strove towards a compelling argument. In other words, they were like a good salesperson pointing out why what they have solves the customer’s problem (after asking questions to determine what is the actual problem).
To summarize, passion, presentation skills, and fact-based emotion will help all of us.
“Inviting people to laugh at your while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be the fool, but you are the fool in charge.” Carl Reiner
