Basic Principles

• Author: Daniel Small
• Profession: Is a partner in the Boston and Miami of ces of Holland & Knight LLP
• Pages: 59-64

There are two basic principles to follow when serving as a witness. Both

principles seem obvious and simple, but they are actually quite complex and

difcult. To present them as concepts is easy. To carry them out effectively

as a witness requires a high level of understanding and discipline that can

come only through preparation.

Principle 1: Listen, Listen, Listen

It has often been said that the three most important rules for being a wit-

ness are to listen, listen, listen. That is where the process begins, and it is

the foundation for everything else. It is what we often think we do best,

when it is actually an area where we fall short.

What most people worry about when they nd out they are going to be

a witness is talking: what will I say, how will I say it, and so on. Yet most

people are able to say what’s on their minds. They do it every day in con-

versation, and while they need to be prepared for how to say it in this new

environment, the basic ability to speak is still there. What most people do

not do in their normal lives is to listen with the kind of narrow intensity

and precision required of a witness.

There are three basic reasons for this difference. For a witness, every

word is: (1) taken down, (2) given great signicance, and (3) intensely

scrutinized. Thus, you must treat every word with this same extraordinary

care, no matter who says it. In a normal conversation, if you don’t listen

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Chapter 13

Basic Principles

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