Rule 8: Do Not Volunteer

• Author: Daniel Small
• Profession: Is a partner in the Boston and Miami of ces of Holland & Knight LLP
• Pages: 119-123

Question, pause, answer, stop. That is the unnatural but essential rhythm

of an effective witness. We’ve talked about each of these rst three steps;

now we must talk about the stop. Don’t volunteer. Like so much of being a

witness, this is contrary to what we are used to—and what our goal is—in

a free-owing conversation.

The essence of conversation is connections—one thought leads to another,

and the conversation ows. Depending on the setting and the people, it can

meander slowly for hours or ow swiftly to a conclusion, but it always

moves by means of connections. If you are chatting over lunch and your

companion asks if you saw a recent movie, your response will probably

not be a simple yes or no. Rather, you will go on to talk about whether you

liked it, or who you saw it with, or what other movies you’ve seen starring

the same actor or actress, or whatever interests you that’s connected to the

original question, or whatever follows.

Think about how a conversation like this might go:

Q: Did you see movie X with actor Smith?

A: Yes, but you know I really liked him better in movie Y. The acting

was better. Of course, it may just be that the night I saw that movie

was really memorable, since Mark almost got arrested on the way

home. The movie went longer than we thought, so he was really

speeding on the way home and saw this police car just in time. He’s

such a crazy driver; I’m really worried he’s going to get in an acci-

dent someday.

119

Chapter 21

Rule 8: Do Not Volunteer

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