Monica Burkoth’s Post

I watched a closing argument recently, and the attorney did something so subtle, so sneaky, that I almost missed it. But once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. He was talking about the plaintiffs’ and their damages and while addressing their credibility, he guestured toward certain members of the jury and nonchalantly said, “And you really liked them. You loved these guys.” Not “I think you liked them.” Not “I hope you connected with them.” Not “Maybe you felt for them.” Just a statement. A fact. You guys liked them. And in that moment, he wasn’t persuading. He wasn’t arguing. He wasn’t pleading with them to care. He was telling them what they already felt. It was a ninja move and honestly, kind of brilliant. It created social proof. Jurors look to each other for cues on what to believe. No one wants to be the holdout when everyone else is nodding along. We’re wired as humans to fit into the tribe, not be the outlier. It made any disagreement on the topic feel unnatural. If you didn’t like them, if you didn’t love them, you wouldn’t say it out loud, would you- if everyone else loved them? You wouldn’t want to be the only one who missed what everyone else saw. That afternoon, he didn’t ask the jury to reach a conclusion. He TOLD them they’ve already reached it. And once you see this tactic in action (and work!) you can’t unsee it… Has anyone seen/tried this before? Thoughts?