Ask any lawyer what they consider their clients most important quality to be at a deposition, trial or in any other proceeding, and they will surely say that credibility is one of them. So, what is credibility and how does one show it when testifying?
Having credibility basically means that you are believable, and you are likely to be more believable than the opposing side in your case who disagrees with your testimony. Here are three simple tips on how you can show and maintain credibility:
- Never get angry during your testimony. Showing passion might look good in movies, but in the real worlds, being overly emotional or angry while testifying will make a jury and / or a judge assume that you are not mentally balanced and you are not all up there, and therefore what you say might not be true. On the other hand, if you never allow yourself to be angry and you maintain a courteous, reserved composure, without raising a voice, this will show a great deal of credibility.
- Do not exaggerate your allegations, especially if you can’t prove them. As soon as a judge or a jury hear a claimant state that they are being followed by their manager, or that there is some kind of conspiracy at work against them, they will start rolling their eyes, unless there see clear proof of that, which is very rarely available. Likewise, bringing every claim in the world against will make you lose credibility quickly. Although, it might be a good idea strategically to cover as many bases as possible when filing a lawsuit, you don’t want to claim during your oral testimony that you were discriminated because of your age, race, disability and you were sexually harassed all at the same time, unless you can actually prove all that. Otherwise, it would be very easy for your employer to make it look like you are just angry or are out of your mind and you are trying to make up any random claim under the sky that you can. Many seemingly strong sexual harassment cases are lost because the victims of harassment hurt their own credibility by exaggerating the nature of harassment (see video below for examples). Of course the same applies to employers who testify. A common mistake that employers make is describing a long time employee who sued them as terrible. This immediately hurts their credibility by begging the obvious question: if that employee was so bad, why did the company keep him for so long?
- Don’t act like you are perfect. It’s ok to acknowledge mistakes, performance deficiencies, etc. When you reject employer’s every single criticism and act like you can never do anything wrong. At the same time, suggesting that every single thing your employer has ever done is wrong and bad will hurt your credibility just as much or more, as most people won’t believe that the employer is quite that awful. Acknowledge your mistakes and give your employer credit when due and it will only help you come across as more believable.