HOW TO WIN ARGUMENTS - APPEAL TO THE VALUES YOU SHARE - DON'T JUST SHOUT YOUR CONFIDENCE

Winning legal arguments is one of the more important responsibilities of a Clearwater criminal defense lawyer so a new study showing that the louder one is while making an argument the more believable that argument becomes couldn't help but make me want to argue with the results.


First, let's look at the study from press reports, then we'll find and loudly frame the best arguments against it. The study examined tweets during the Super Bowl. Accuracy was found to be less important in attracting followers and gaining influence than confidence. In fact louder, bolder and more exciting tweets which later proved to be inaccurate were more popular and influential.

So based on this study would a reasonable person raise his voice to win an argument? Another study cited in the same news account noted that 40% of tweets are "pointless babble" whether shouted or not. Pointless babble is the opposite of a well framed argument in that an argument at it's core is a difference of opinion so to have an argument first one must have an opinion which is directly adverse to another's opinion.

Does shouting work? Sometimes, but many lawyers abuse the notion by shouting everything when a whisper would be more effective in winning listeners to your cause. I've seen at least one lawyer, slightly deaf perhaps, who shouts his arguments to juries and judges with less than stellar results. 

My advice for that attorney would be to begin with a whisper, raising it to a heavier than normal tone, then much later for a few moments let it rip in righteous indignation on the one lever of fact that points to innocence and return to the whisper. Why? Because it adds interest, context and variety making it much more likely that the judge and jurors are actually listening. It's more than shouting confidence, excellent criminal trial lawyers share winning qualities.

The best results not only in the courtroom but in any argument comes from basing your argument on an appeal to the highest principle which everyone can agree is correct, then connecting your arguments to that higher principle. As a Clearwater criminal lawyer I've found that the best results come from being confident that the principles I'm fighting for are shared American values including, equality, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, the common good, truth, fairness and justice. These core American values win legal arguments in Tampa Bay courtrooms when clients are confronting the criminal justice system in Tampa Bay, Florida.

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