Just Like Us!
Consider the following facts:
People tend to marry folks from similar socio-economic backgrounds;
People tend to attribute negative values to those from different ethnic backgrounds, especially those who strongly identify with that different ethnicity;
People discern facial differences of those from their own ethnicity better than those from other ethnicities; and
People stand physically closer to others who they feel are similar to them.
We like people who we think are like us. And because of this unconscious effect we are more easily persuaded by people who we think are like us.
For attorneys it is clear that when in front of juries they need to come off as “just like” the jurors. And even more important, for witnesses to be widely believed, they must also come off as similar to jurors.
Statements like, “like a lot of you, I have my doubts about people who claim back injuries, but in this case the evidence will show…..” or “like you, I don’t think just because someone is injured they deserve the winning lottery ticket, but this is not about winning anything… ” or “like you I want to believe doctors do everything in their power to heal, but sometimes….” might seem to be strange statements for a plaintiff attorney to make to jurors, but they work in allowing jurors to feel you do think like them and ultimately make you more likeable. Getting jurors to like you and your witnesses is critical to persuading them on your client’s behalf.
