Yesterday when I shared the story about my first trial, I told you how that painful loss still resonates with me 200 trials later.
But what I didn't tell you was what happened in my next few trials.
Let me tell you how great I was (not).
As you already know, I lost my first trial.
My second trial? I lost that one, too.
My third trial? Lost it.
My fourth trial? You guessed it... another loss.
Have you ever been in a rut like that? It's scary, isn't it? You feel afraid to take a case to verdict, and you're worried that you'll never succeed as a trial lawyer.
It was gut-wrenching. I was making terrible mistakes in the way I talked to jurors and witnesses, I wasn't painting a clear picture during opening or direct examination, and I was torpedoing every case I touched.
But after that fourth loss, something changed.
The next case I tried, I won.
The case after that? I won that one, too.
And then a new trend started to emerge, and I started to win case after case after case.
What changed?
Surprisingly, not much.
The types of cases I was trying were... about the same.
The types of witnesses I had were... about the same.
The jurors I talked to were... about the same.
Almost everything was the same.
The only difference was me: I wasn't the same. I started learning from my mistakes and discovered persuasive techniques and strategies for talking to witnesses and influencing jurors.
The pain from those early trials was almost unbearable, but fortunately, I learned from my mistakes, vowed NEVER to make those mistakes again, and ended up creating a system that I still use today to persuade jurors and win trials.1
source;Trial Tips Newsletter
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