Trial Presentation Blog : Courtroom Presentation, Litigation Software : Charles Perez : Trial Presentation Blog

I recently had the pleasure of putting a new product called "PaperShow" through its paces to see if it would be a good fit in the trial presentation/court room environment. Papershow is similar in concept to the SMART Airliner wireless slate and eInstruction tablets, but is much less expensive at just $199 for the starter kit.

After trying a variety of configurations I'm more than happy to give it an A+ as far as a presentation tool and I would strongly suggest that anyone seriously involved in court room presentations add this valuable tool to their inventory.

The product is so simple to set up that anyone remotely familiar with presentations should be able to get it up and running withing 5 minutes; those who haven't a clue about presentations will take about 6 minutes - yes, it's that easy!

The "device" itself consists of a USB drive and a special pen and (special) paper that is unique to the system. When you plug in the Bluetooth USB dongle the setup software launches and downloads the latest version of the Papershow software application to the Bluetooth USB dongle which also serves as a Flash drive.  The pen is a matching Bluetooth transmitter and the paper has a pattern that allows everything written,drawn, or outlined to be replicated on the computer screen.

Using just the  pen a  you can draw in different colors, make shapes, erase, and undo by writing on Canson's (the PaperShow maker) specially made "invisible dot" paper (if this sounds familiar, it's the same Anoto technology incorporated into products such as the Logitech io Personal Digital Pen and the newer LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen).

On the right side panel of the A4 interactive paper you have controls to change the width of the pen stroke, change the colors and draw basic lines, arrows, circles and squares. You can also fill the circles and squares with a color and highlight text with the highlighting tool.

You can even erase your writing and objects on the computer with the eraser tool.

You can easily bring up presentations and use the Papershow to make real-time modifications or draw pictures like that UPS Whiteboard commercial guy. To change color and brush size, and to access other functions, you just tap icons in the right margin of the paper.

All the programming is contained in the USB drive so you can carry the program and even saved images with you from computer to computer.

(The current solution only runs on Windows at this time.)

With Papershow, you are physically writing with ink on paper, rather than an electronic tablet, and this is then projected on the screen which creates more of a “magic” effect.

But Wait! There's More......

With the PaperShow program you can also import images or PowerPoint slides and then annotate the slides or diagrams or photos "on the fly" and save them once you've made your notes.

This is accomplished by printing out the images/slides onto special 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper that has a corresponding grid printed on it; your image is printed onto the grid and you now have a guide to work with as make diagrams on it which is replicated on the computer screen (or Plasma screen in the court room).

After annotating a presentation or conducting a whiteboard session, Papershow allows you to save all of the notes as a PDF, and then print or e-mail them to anyone you would like.

Again, the cost is an affordable $199.00 (USD) and the "special paper" needed to make the process work is equally affordable at$19.98 for 200 sheets of printer paper, $19.98 for large, conference-room sized brainstorming pad (size A3) and $12.98 for small brainstorming pad (size A4) .

This is a "Must Have" in your presentation arsenal!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks

I love my job!

I get to meet attorneys who have to perform “stand up” on a regular basis to an audience whose approval they seek with material that is about as exciting as a wet newspaper.

Tough crowds - boring topics. Yet still they show up for appearance after appearance before a captive group of poorly paid and sometimes angry critics - many of whom are striving to look interested in the schtick  the attorney's hawking.

When I’m consulted to prepare a presentation for a first- time client I begin by stressing that we need to play to the lowest common denominator in our "audience". The facts need to “speak for themselves in short order";  it’s like telling a joke – if you have to explain it, you’ve lost any impact as well as the impression you were striving for.

Good litigators are where they are because they possess the gift of verbal presentation – they are storytellers by necessity.  I create the graphic extension to their story, but I’m careful not to become the story. Their story must “flow” naturally – the graphic must “feel" like it “belongs to the story.”

Our company has the ability to create stunning visuals, flashy titles and mind-boggling animations. Our clients’ eyes beam at the simplest effect – like they’re watching “Star Wars” for the first time.

Luckily, common sense prevails as I reign in the cowboys and we simplify, simplify, simplify the message until we’re left with ”just the facts ma’am.”

Just because we can create it doesn’t mean it’s going to work; by this I mean it’s too easy to overwhelm the message with the medium. You don’t want your audience to be dazzled with the mechanics of the presentation and completely overlook the message.

So, let me offer a few basic pointers for you first-timers dealing with projected images:

1.  Hone your message to complement your visual(s) . Your graphic should make a statement that needs a minimum of explanation - it may be necessary to build your images as you speak, if so, try to make an even, yet noticeable  transition between views.

2. Practice your delivery in front of a 7th or 8th grader. Do they understand  your message?  Seriously, if they can't figure out what your saying why would you expect a juror to grasp your message?

3. Set up your presentation quickly and quietly. We typically set up right before the trial begins or during a break.  We’ve got the process down to about 10-12 minutes. Everything is done at a matter-of-fact pace with very little conversation. The key, I think, is to make the presentation look as much like an “everyday event” as possible.

4.  Before launching into your spellbinding visual presentation, practice a little NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).  Explain to the "audience"  what you’re going to present – prepare their minds for the presentation - briefly explain the purpose of the image(s) you’re about to present. (Set the stage). Don’t make a big production about it – remember, this is an extension of your story – the illustrated part.

5. Keep the graphics conservative. I can’t stress this enough. You’re not going for an Academy Award – you’re trying to make a point.   

6. Don’t read your screen to the "audience" – they can do that for themselves. Instead qualify why this graphic is important – reinforce the message with “Triggers”; short phrases that relate to the graphic so it creates a memorable impact.

7. Present to your "audience", not to the screen. Make the story flow. Be sure to practice with your presenter so that the story remains seamless and natural.

8. Don’t be a “drama queen.”  (You know who you are.) Let the TV lawyers do that.

9. Respect your audience. Speak to them, not at them. You'll know you're in trouble when they start squirming and looking at their watches. (Glazed expressions are another sure-fire hint).

10.  Keep the graphic that makes your point up as long as possible – let the visual reinforce the verbal - you’ve now associated an image with a verbal description - remember - give it a name, a “trigger” or "anchor" that will bring that graphic to mind the next time you need to refer to the subject.

11. Don’t overload the "audience" with images or data.  Tell your story with simple images – simple but to the point. Let them absorb the information in bite sizes (or chunks)  rather than big gulps.

11. Finally - if you're new at this and your message is every bit as effective on a white board, be safe - go with the white board.  Continue honing your storytelling skill until the story becomes (literally) unimaginable, then -  that's your cue to give me a call!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

More times then we'd like to admit we receive a video or audio tape at the Video Resources forensics department that is practically unviewable or unintelligible and we're asked to "clean it up", you know, like they do on the "CSI" television shows.

Unfortunately, since most, if not all of what is seen on "CSI", "Las Vegas" and "Crossing Jordan" is techno-BS we have to inform the customer that we can only do so much - basic laws of physics govern our services rather than imagined, non-existent, special effects.

That's not to say that we can't improve on the evidence, but, alas, we cannot work miracles.

For those cases that we can help with we generally advise on the best method to present the media - possibly a self-amplifed audio system to fill the room with clear sound, for instance.

So it was refreshing to read a post by Judge Christina Habbas of Colorado entitled "Don't Be Tempted To Use Technology Unless It Makes Your Presentation Clear" wherein Judge Habbas advises:

Contrast this with the very end of a Closing Argument in another Assault case a few weeks ago: there, one of the victims was video-taped during her review of a photo array of potential suspects. As she looked at each photograph, she took her time, and placed each photo on the desk when she did not recognize the person. That is, until she saw the Defendant’s photograph. Her reaction was immediate and extreme. The prosecutor ended her Closing Argument by replaying only those last seconds of the video – without comment. The strength of that presentation left a major impact on the jury.

Moral: Don’t be tempted to use technology – ANY technology -- unless it makes your presentation clear."

At the Video Resources Litigation Assistance Division we've witnessed the same response countless times with sychchronized text with video testimony - you can't capture the body language, the voice inflections or the facial expressions by "reading to your audience".

There's no substitute for actually letting them hear or see the testimony firsthand.

But please, do it right!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks