Make Your Argument Unforgettable
Make your argument unforgettable.
How to craft a trial theme that works for your case
Trial themes are concise, memorable phrases that connect to and strengthen your arguments. To harness their power, attorneys must understand why they work—and how to make them work well.
Why are themes useful?
Well-constructed trial themes are easy to understand and impossible to ignore. They leverage cognition and memory research to improve a jury’s recall of the information you want them to retain.
Factors that enhance recall abilities:
Short words and phrases
Words with overlapping meanings, connotations, and associations
Rhythm and rhyming
Good trial themes also create memorable “buckets” to help jurors sort and understand evidence. When attorneys use thematic buckets, jurors don’t need to remember every piece of evidence. Instead, they can refer to the buckets and the key evidence within them.
Crafting a successful trial theme
Trial themes should be pithy, simple, and memorable. You’ll know you’ve nailed it when you hear your theme repeated by mock jurors in deliberations or actual jurors in post-trial interviews.
- Tip: Ask yourself if jurors will write down and repeat your theme. If you can’t picture them doing so, you may need to rethink your approach.
Literary devices like these can make your themes more memorable.
Alliterative phrases: Phrases with multiple words sharing similar sounds are pleasing to the ear, fun to say, and easier to recall.
Rhythm and rhyming: Rhythmic phrasing is highly memorable — consider using the “Rule of Three“ to create rhythmic, memorable lists. Rhymes can also be effective, but they can sound hokey if they’re forced or overused.
Colloquial phrases and idioms: Phrases jurors already know give them a shortcut for remembering your argument.
Presenting Themes to a Jury
If you want jurors to repeat your themes, you need to repeat them, too. Your themes are competing with thousands of other words in the courtroom, so be sure to boost them in your opening, closing, visuals, and witness Q&A.
Opening and closing
Opening and closing offer the most obvious opportunities to present your themes to a jury. You can say the exact same phrase, or you can use variations to mix it up.
- Tip: Try to introduce an argument with its corresponding theme, either as your first words or somewhere within your first sentence.
Visuals
Jurors are much more likely to write down your trial themes when you put the words on display. Consider writing themes on a document camera, easel, and as presentation headings. You can even color-code your evidentiary slides with their associated themes for an added touch.
Witnesses
Themes are most effective when they also come from witnesses. Try to elicit testimony that reaffirms your themes, both in your questioning of opposing witnesses and in prep sessions with your witnesses.
The theme is the thing.
A good trial theme is anything a juror is going to write down in their notebook and bring up in deliberations. In a long battle for the jury’s attention and memory, certain methods make that outcome more likely.
Need help crafting your next trial theme? The experts at IMS Legal Strategies are here to help.