Stanley D. Curbo Senior Litigation Consultant Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Four Levels of Juror Decision-Making • Facts/Concepts/Science/Story • Attorney/Witness Exchange • Conduct & Character • Life Experiences/Attitudes/Beliefs WHICH WELLS GET THE MOST BUCKET TIME? • Life Experiences/Attitudes/Beliefs • Conduct & Character • Attorney/Witness Exchange • Facts/Concepts/Science/Story Communication and Persuasion Communication: the giving (and exchanging) of information; telling the story; the delivery of information/ideas. Persuasion: influencing to believe; winning over. Communicating to Persuade: telling the story in a way that wins over the mind of the receiver/juror. Persuasive Communication Generation Individual Factors Generation Cognition Cognition Emotions Emotions Beliefs Beliefs Attitudes Attitudes Experiences Experiences Expectations Channel of Expectations Communication SENDER ENCODE MESSAGE DECODE RECEIVER Change in attitude, belief, FEEDBACK behavior Branding, Slogans, Tag Lines Generation “Me” The Next Generation is… a group of “adultescents” a bunch of Twitter-addicted slugs with obese egos and no work ethic entitled but incompetent individuals What About Personal Responsibility? You should: Bail me out Pay my mortgage Pay me for my clunker Pay my health care Tax someone else An Angry Society The Tea Party Ivory Tower Elites The Hollywood Crowd A Negative Corporate Perception A Stacked Deck? Jurors identify with the plaintiff People naturally feel sympathy and want to help People want to find a cause for a tragedy Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations United States Jury Pool - 1995 Seniors Baby Boomers Generations X & Y 1927-1945 1946 -1964 1965 -1995 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 United States Jury Pool - 2012 Generations X & Y 1965-1995 Baby Boomers 1946-1964 Seniors 1927-1945 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Generations in the United States Baby Boomers Generation Y Born 1946-1964 Born 1982-1995 80 million 76 million Generation X Born 1965-1981 47 million 1965 1966 1981 1982 1996 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 = approaching 60% of the population Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Beaumont Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Lufkin Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Marshall Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Sherman Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Texarkana Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Tyler Division Gen. X & Y Jurors in the Eastern District Beaumont Division Lufkin Division Marshall Division Sherman Division Texarkana Division Tyler Division To what generation do you belong? Blockbuster Movies by Generation Generation Y Baby Boomers Generation X Childhood Toys by Generation Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y Star Athletes by Generation Generation Y Generation X Baby Boomers Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. ~ Ronald Reagan The Impact of Generation Generational Profile Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Generation X’s Early Experiences Vietnam HIV/AIDS Rise of the War Ends Internet Cold War Personal Y2K Ends Computer Economic Desert Crises Storm 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Generation X (Ages 31-47) Alienated/Loners Independent Resilient Overeducated Entrepreneurial Underachieving Work/Home balance Apathetic Ambivalent Cynical Realistic/skeptical Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Generation Y’s Early Experiences Y2K Rise of the 9/11 Internet School Middle Violence East Wars Corporate Scandals Generation Y (Ages 18-30) Naïve Optimistic Hyper-educated Fast multi-taskers Resourceful Whiny Peter Pans Nurtured Un(der)employed Demanding Self-confident Poor communicators Socially connected Distractible Generational Profiles Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y (ages 47-65) (ages 30-46) (ages 18-29) Cleaver family Have “helicopter” “Latchkey” kids ideal parents Educated Highly educated Hyper educated Company loyalty Team loyalty Network loyalty Political Political activism Political liberalism skepticism Respect authority Prove authority I am authority Departed from Pragmatic about Passionate but religion religion unaffiliated Tech-challenged Tech savvy Digital natives Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations When You Communicate Generation Generation Cognition Cognition Emotions Emotions Beliefs Beliefs Attitudes Attitudes Experiences Experiences Expectations Expectations Channel of Clients Communication Colleagues YOU MESSAGE Counsel Experts Vendors Office Staff Judge/Jury WITNESSES When Your Witness Communicates Generation Generation Cognition Cognition Emotions Emotions Beliefs Beliefs Attitudes Attitudes Experiences Experiences Expectations Expectations Channel of YOU Communicatio WITNESS MESSAGEn Counsel Judge Jury A Generational Blender Communication Breakdown Channel of Communication SENDER MESSAGE RECEIVER Confusion Ignorance Apathy Defensiveness Fear Arrogance Anger Communication Challenges Timing Technology Geography Lack of trust Perceived risk Power struggles Conflicting goals Generational Differences “A Failure To Communicate” The Costs of Miscommunication Bad depositions Failed mediation Unfavorable rulings Strained relationships Increased settlement demand The Costs of Miscommunication Higher litigation management costs Reduced jury-level “burden of proof” Unfavorable verdicts Higher damages Beyond Demographics Anti-Corporate Making money is more important to most corporations than safety. Pro-Litigation Lawsuits are necessary to keep corporations honest and ethical. Pro-Damages Money damages awarded in lawsuits are often too low. Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Closing the Generational Gap Effective depositions Enhanced client communications Persuasive mediations Connecting with the jury Valuable witness preparation Conventional Wisdom Baby Boomers Leaders Respect witnesses Generation X Disengaged Suspicious of witnesses Generation Y Entitled Big money damages Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations The “True Value” of a Witness Character Conduct Communication Empirical Evidence Insurance Bad Faith Case Project 1 Project 2 Opening Statements Opening Statements LIVE Witnesses Witness Testimony Read Aloud Closing Arguments Closing Arguments Average Jury Award: Average Jury $190 Million Award: $2 Million We Aren’t What We Say Paralinguistics Visual Message Verbal Content In other words…Is the witness a “good communicator?” “Good” Witnesses… Listen Remember Keep their cool Seem trustworthy Appear confident Respond concisely Are understandable Contradict plaintiff’s characterization ANSWER ON TARGET Jurors Say Witnesses Are… Sly Shifty Whiny Vague Arrogant Immature Hired gun Self-serving “Hiding something” Having an “axe to grind” Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Generation X’ers on Witnesses Earn respect Need bottom line Expect eye contact Assume subjectivity Mistrust credentials Like succinct responses Prefer informal language Trust inductive reasoning Generation Y’ers on Witnesses Dismiss credentials Expect technology Need to be taught Search for relevance Enjoy demonstrations Look for entertainment Like succinct responses Sensitive to condescension Case Example: Corporate Executive Counsel said: “He’s a nice and professional guy who has testified previously as a company rep… so, he’ll be fine.” Mock jurors said: “Greedy” “Uncaring” “Rude” “Devious” Case Example: Corporate Representative Counsel said: “She will make a better corporate rep than Ken. She is very articulate and will stand her ground.” Mock jurors said: “Combative” “Played lawyer” “Never looked at us” “Full of herself” Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Communicating with Generation X Email Focus on solutions Use humor carefully Demonstrate respect Adopt informal communication style Prepare for skepticism Don’t overwhelm with information Emphasize “what’s in it” for them Communicating with Generation Y Play into idealism Don’t condescend Use frequent humor Appeal to entitlement Incorporate technology IM/text/social networks Provide hands-on learning Talk about the “big picture” Focus on fairness/teamwork Communicating With Generations X and Y Listen Be entertaining Solicit feedback Get to the point Use short, “sound bites” Utilize photos and videos Incorporate visually rich messaging Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Compelling Visual Messages Appeal to the senses Illuminate substantive evidence Fight boredom Reinforce themes Make it simple Give your audience something to remember Generations on Visual Messages Baby Boomers Bottom-up approach Trusting Generation X Top-down approach Skeptical Generation Y Simple; interactive Bored Boomers, X’ers, and Y’ers In The Jury Box: Persuasive Communication Across Generations Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y Personal Hard work Entitlement responsibility Prestige Entrepreneurship Resourcefulness Challenge authority Distrust of authority No authority Corporate Corporate loyalty Corporate scandal transparency Waning confidence Suspicions of High expectations of in government