Skills Necessary In Giving Great Evidence

Whilst I am not going to make the ridiculously bold claim that you, or I, will ever be so incredibly skilled that the judge will behave as if putty or clay in your hands; there are nevertheless a number of skills you can develop, within a short period of time, that greatly enhance your ability to provide great evidence at court.

So what are these skills?

Calmness and composure is the first skill that comes to mind, because it is literally impossible to give good evidence and present well if you are not in a calm state of mind. Only when you are calm are you able to access that part of the brain that you need to be able to, in order to think, reason, explain, articulate, create and communicate.

Clarity and the ability to express yourself clearly without ambiguity and misunderstandings is of course another important skill that is highly necessary to have when presenting evidence at court.

Your attitude in general and in relation to being cross examined is key when in the witness box, because the judge is weighing up your character, and your attitude says a lot about who you are.

Listening skills are vital skills to have and develop if you intend to give great evidence at court. You can't give good evidence unless you have been able to listen to all of the question/s asked of you.

Patience is an ability that you need to be able to draw on whilst in the witness box. You need to have the patience to listen to the questions and when you have been in the witness box for a long period of time, you will need to exercise your patience in remaining calm and in charge of your emotions and behaviour.

Discipline is an ability you need to develop and exercise whilst in the witness box. Of course you have to be disciplined enough to listen to questions asked of you, but you also need to know when to be disciplined enough to know when to stop talking once finished answering a question. There is often an inclination to waffle on lacking in purpose and clarity. This needs to be avoided at all costs, and requires your discipline.

The ability to provide balanced, unbiased, sound evidence is a skill you would do well to develop prior to your time at court.

Context is something you always have to bear in mind when explaining incidents and events. We do not live in a vacuum, so explaining what has been going on prior to an incident or providing a background to events, is super helpful in allowing the judge to grasp the clear picture that he or she needs, to make sound judgements.

Confidence and belief in yourself are essential ingredients necessary when giving great evidence. If you cannot present confidently, why should anyone believe or value what you have to say.

The evidence you present needs to be convincing and compelling. It has to be forceful enough, so as to influence the judge or ensure she or he strongly values what you have had to say, and thus prefers it over the evidence given by others.

Finally, I would state that in addition to the above mentioned skills, there needs to be a river of consistency running throughout all the information you have presented. There needs to be consistency, not just with regard to the other evidence, both written and verbal, that you've presented to the court, but every part of your presentation, body language, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice and gestures need to be consistent with the overall way in which you communicate. Remember that communication is said to be 93% non verbal and thus only 7% verbal.

The above are pertinent skills and abilities that will serve you well, in the event you develop and apply them whilst managing cross examination.