Body Language Tips for Testifying in Court - Vlog

Advice from former Department of Justice Senior Attorney Bruce Adelson and from human behavior expert, Ryan Foley.
/ foleylearning
www.FoleyLearning.com

[@candicejaid6107]

It's quite difficult to sit up straight or not fidget when there's a bunch of emotions that goes with being an active listener around strangers and interrogation

[@radioactivepotato2068]

1. The truth is a lion, you don't have to defend it. You set it loose, and it defends itself.

[@TrBdunn]

So good

[@darius572]

Sorry but this is kinda not really necessarily accurate, I’ve testified before and am testifying next month and I have a severe anxiety disorder, ptsd and epilepsy, I believe the truth will show through the nervousness if you are in fact telling the truth! Displaying confidence too much can exude cockyness also. Be humble and recognize the seriousness of the situation and answer clearly and truthfully, the rest will sort out during closing arguments. That’s what we pay these guy the big bucks for 🤔

[@savedmp3]

Good point about being humble, and really depends on the type of judge at the end of the day

[@jeffally9115]

I need to keep me self at a reminder when I get ready for my child victims act civil case in New york may 4 2023 thank you for posting this on you tube

[@mr.aldini6801]

So, what are you supposed to do with your hands?

[@andrayaanderson8489]

None of this is true if the witness has anxiety.

[@FoleyLearning]

None of these behaviors in themselves show that someone is untrustworthy. a person may be anxious for legitimate reasons and be truthful. Unfortunately, most people are not behavioral experts and so a jury can easily misinterpret nervous or anxious behavior as a sign of deception. It's great that you can see past this, Andraya!

[@mrsmacca126]

Oh my he'll. O have PTSD and severe anxiety disorder

[@Liznvx]

Or ADHD

[@dlambert9801]

Thank you for this. This has been very helpful.

[@bamulobanicholas7969]

Thanks for the presentation. It's really helpful...

[@andreapatane4204]

This could be very helpful for me even though no one called me to testify in court at the moment.

[@johnnyrotton89]

this guy relaxes me

[@Mandaxx25]

Oh I love the tip of the toes! Thank you

[@designer-jocks_mc6517]

Ahahaha, I love this "Wiggle your toes"

[@zackputter2444]

Thank you so much even though these are very simple and might need some common sense it as good to hear it from a person who knows their stuff I feel so much more comfortable with my first court case, luckily I know all the evidence is in my favour can't thank you enough

[@FoleyLearning]

Thank you, Zach. Good luck with your testimony!

[@elmanu2286]

Excellent and we'll put...

[@michaelezekiel3506]

Useful information

[@pleasestop1760]

Excellent video,I learned a lot,thankyou for sharing,do you have any suggestions on how to hold your hand,what to do,and what to avoid?

[@tranquility9325]

But what if you have an intense desire to run across the courtroom and slap the taste out of the defendants mouth lol just kidding, ty for sharing lol

[@kikikiki3971]

tranquility you made me laugh thank you.

[@ryanfoley1337]

tranquility There will be those intense desires 😂 Thanks for watching!

[@jeffally9115]

I needed this for my civil lawsuit my lawyers don't tell me about this. Even in my two 7 hour deposition my back did infact start to hurt me at times.

[@evelynwagner9126]

Best,thanks

[@chrbotno1920]

Thank you very much! Do you happen to know anything about dressing specific ways? I've heard that wearing light colors will make you appear more innocent?

[@someoneelse.2252]

You didn't mention eating popcorn. I guess that would be a no no......?

[@brooklynbanks8800]

thankyou this helped alot

[@FoleyLearning]

Thanks Brooklyn. I'm happy to hear it!

[@jskumar8559]

Good

[@kristah4616]

Thank you!

[@FoleyLearning]

You're more than welcome, Krista Bee.

[@lihuan9634]

im here

[@user-ix6cb3fn3p]

Hi Mr lawer when peoples put fraud apps on my phone number and Google put fraud in my account

[@Carlohuber]

So where should i put my hands instead...

[@mrfreeman2911]

In job interviews I put my hands on my thighs or the arm rests. Or under the table. I will do the same when I testify as a victim.

[@liamgio795]

A couple shots of Jack, couldn’t hurt?

[@roberthenderson3769]

I have a question. if i am a eyewitness in a murder trial and i testified in a monotone voice and a blank face. how would the judge perceive it?

[@FoleyLearning]

Interesting question. How your behavior might be interpreted by a judge or jury would depend on the circumstances - who are you in relation to the defendant and victim/s, how long ago was this, what does the court already know about who you are.... It would certainly raise questions if your behavior is incongruent with what you are saying and who you represent yourself to be.

[@roberthenderson3769]

@@FoleyLearning well i am close to 1 of the victims and only friends with the other. also what does incongruent mean?

[@FoleyLearning]

@@roberthenderson3769 It's terrible that you've been witness to something so horrible. I'm sorry that happened to your friends. Being honest and sincere, and following the directions the attorney gives you, is your best bet. If your body language and your words are congruent, that means that they match. For example, if you say "I love hamburgers" but have an expression of disgust on your face, then your facial expression and your words aren't telling the same story - they don't seem to match or are incongruent. It comes across as suspicious. We might think, "I don't think he really feels that way." I hope that helps, Robert.

[@roberthenderson3769]

@@FoleyLearning You misunderstood, im not à actual witness to anything i was just giving à scanario.

[@sashaa4412]

@@roberthenderson3769 The way you phrased it sounded like you were an actual witness. Better if you stated up front that it's a hypothetical scenario. Like beginning your qns with, "say for example, ..."

[@gbfnuke1182]

Can you go to jail if you decide not to testify in court for someone? ?

[@therealkayleighrose]

Most likely you can

[@MontygatormanFNAF]

If you are subpoenaed yes. Plead the 5th.

[@davidspear9790]

So we need acting lessons now to get people to believe us in court? Most judges and juries will detect what is nervous behaviour and base any decisions on that.

[@tangyorange3863]

Now testify and it's right outside your door!

[@mr.jazzbodkelsey58]

*guitar riff*

[@jennyhughes4474]

All this 'advice' is impossible for some of us, including me often. I've got a brain injury & neck/throat & visual damage & really bad neck & back/lumbar pain so it would really hurt me to have to even SIT in court - I can't ever sit without pain so have to stand up & even that hurts, awful. Plus I often have trouble with eye-contact now: the nerves/muscles that I use to move my eyes (& focus) & hold my eyelids open have been damaged, plus I often look NOT at people's faces because it feels more tiring sometimes, especially when they're talking (lost of minute movements for me to try to process) plus for me understanding & listening to others talk is even more exhausting than when I talk - both are very tiring. I would be VERY nervous going to court because I have never been, plus I'd be afraid to not sleep properly before: this happens even with doctors' & gardener here/appointments now = anything out of my routine & where others are involved, even shopping is very stressful) and when I haven't slept properly I do everything worse, & far more so than for 'normal' people - plus I cry lots more because of brain-overload and extreme fatigue and extra-sensitive to noises, smells and everything. I have some memory problems, especially with my short-term memory and I often can't know which even happened before which - I can get the sequence wrong. Some of my memories are crystal clear and 'engraved' into my brain (especially very traumatic ones), but others can be very vague or almost non-existent, and some have been wiped away by my brain injury, so if I make mistakes with things which are not actually vital please allow me a little slack - it is not my choice and I really wish my brain & memory worked how they used to, but they don't. People are shocked at how many vivid memories I have from when I was small/young - but I think that's because they were in my brain for so much longer than more recent ones so had been stregthened by time - oddly NOT always by revisiting them as I read. Fascinating stuff but I it's hard enough for me to understand (and continually shocks me at how much I've lost but also what remains, odd) so I know it must be very confusing for others to comprehend and if they are ignorant of all this they may well judge me (& others like me) wrongly which would be very unjust. It's shocking that people (including juries apparently) judge us by how we LOOK & body/eye/hand movements & posture, they might think I wasn't concentrating - I might not be: I can't all the time (& I can phase out but nobody would know) with people talking & too much info for me to try to take in & process PLUS think of the reply I want to say = (PLUS mega stress if in court) I mess up loads even in conversations, including on the phone often - even when I close my eyes to remove some pain/distractions. For people like me (& there are LOADS of us) why must we BE there? Why can't we talk on phone, in person elsewhere, in writing (although ALL are hard for me) and because I sometimes say "yes" when I mean "no" (& vice versa) it's very tricky sometimes for me to even answer a (supposedly) simple question properly; I (& people like me) need lots of different times & with different people to give our testimonies - and chances to correct the errors I made (& others make recording/writing what I said). Please believe what I tell you because I fear that so very many of us will be labelled as 'unreliable' witnesses and our truths wrongly assumed to be lies - I have already been subjected to DOCTORS denying the truth of the injuries they gave me (serious medical errors) and although I've never been to court about this (I tried to but failed) many others may have to become involved in legal cases (not our first choice!) both as victims and defendants and we MUST be able to access justice equally with everyone else - but we all know that wealthy & powerful people can enforce their legal rights etc. far more easily than most of us (which is wrong & very unfair) and those of us living with disabilities of all kinds (whether visible or not) are sick and tired of being excluded & penalised BECAUSE of our injuries/disabilities, so please ensure ALL of us can give our best true testimonies and allow us adaptations which we need in order to help judicial processes. So much more I could write but i'm hurting & exhausted so must stop. Thank you.

[@savedmp3]

I wonder if you are still alive, if so how do you even live a quality life? Sheesh

[@isaisa2163]

❤❤

[@user-ix6cb3fn3p]

Maybe atudide

[@Chaoticvideo]

Nothing correct here.