Three Ways to Equip Jurors to Think, Track, and Decide Well

In my 1:1 work with clients, I love helping attorneys with storytelling. But teaching sections? That’s truly my jam.

Because teaching is what gives jurors confidence.

And confident jurors make better decisions.

Stressed, intimidated, out-of-their-depth jurors tend to make fast decisions—not thoughtful ones. And fast isn’t always good for your client.

My background in theater education trained me to think deeply about how people:

1. stay engaged

2. track information over time

3. internalize what they’re hearing

4. recall and use it later

That’s exactly what you need jurors to do.

What It Really Means to “Empower” a Jury

When I talk about empowering jurors, I’m talking about very specific, strategic choices you make as a communicator. Here are three.

1. Teach What Should Happen—Before You Tell What Did Happen

Separate teaching from story.

Teach jurors the standard first:

1. What do good companies do?

2. What does a safe process look like?

3. What should proper training, evaluation, or care include?

When teaching and story blur together too early, jurors lose their footing.

But when you patiently establish what should happen, something powerful occurs:

Jurors start to detect the problem on their own.

They feel smart.

And jurors who feel smart stay engaged, emotionally invested, and mentally active. Their early insecurity fades because you made them knowledgeable.

By the time you unfold what did happen, they’re watching the story with a mental textbook already open—cross-referencing, tracking, and understanding the grievance deeply.

2. Protect Jurors’ Emotional Currency

Jurors have a finite amount of emotional energy.

Your pitch, pace, melody, volume, and tone—the five vocal building blocks—spend that energy whether you intend to or not.

If you make jurors brace emotionally too early, they won’t have reserves left when you truly need them.

For example:

If you deliver a neutral setup with dark, heavy energy, jurors’ nervous systems immediately prepare for catastrophe. They start spending emotional currency before the story requires it.

Instead, keep light what can be light. This isn’t minimizing harm—it’s pacing impact.

When you preserve emotional energy early, jurors are still available for the moment that truly matters.

That’s empowerment.

3. Use Everyday Language So Jurors Don’t Have to Translate

Legal language is elevated, sophisticated, and full of specialized vocabulary. Some jurors may understand it easily. Others won’t.

When jurors don’t understand your language:

1. they disengage cognitively

2. they disengage emotionally

3. trust erodes

This isn’t about “dumbing things down.” That mindset creates distance.

Instead, think community.

Your job is to create an even playing field—where everyone feels capable, included, and invited to participate with ease. Do the translation work before you speak. Remove guesswork. Remove intimidation.

When jurors feel capable and respected, they rise to the responsibility you’ve asked of them.

The Big Picture

Empowered jurors:

1. track information more easily

2. conserve emotional energy

3. feel confident discussing and deciding

4. are willing to advocate during deliberations

And that confidence doesn’t come from performance—it comes from clarity, patience, and trust.

In the next episode, we’ll build on this by talking about how to reduce stress and improve information processing even further.

Until next time, keep fostering your voice.