Many civil service investigators, professionals and expert witnesses are inadequately prepared for the rigours of the courtroom and have no formal training in providing effective courtroom testimony. With increasing cases of criminal offences, investigators find themselves at a greater likelihood than ever of having to provide courtroom testimonies.
It is imperative that all evidence are gathered legally and be admissible in the criminal or civil proceeding as they must withstand the rigourous tests in the court of law. Even with a confession in court, improperly obtained evidence can derail even a seemingly airtight case. A recent example is a case in point when the High Court of Singapore acquitted a man of drug consumption after finding his urine test were not conducted in accordance to the law despite a confession in the lower court.
With overwhelming evidence supporting the suspect involvement and all your diplomatic attempts at getting a confession comes to nothing, what do you do? Conduct an interrogation. The goal of an interrogation is to get the suspect to confess. A master interrogator uses psychological tools to get inside the mind of a suspect.
Writing reports can take a substantial portion of any investigator’s time and effort if done thoroughly and professionally, compared to the original interview or incident being reported. The biggest issue is… most investigators do not have the luxury of time given the heavy workload.
Every maneuver by a defence counsel is cleverly designed to raise reasonable doubt in the evidence and processes presented by the prosecution. Aggressive methods used to undermine your credibility can also be expected. Good defence counsels can “think on their feet” and burst out in rapid fire. When you see these techniques coming, you can brace yourself for a difficult time on the witness stand.
Some of the issues that may arise for a hearing include how to convene the hearing, who should be present, and at what part of the hearing, how may proof be presented, how may testimony be recorded, how to maintain order and decorum, how to deal with parties not represented by lawyers, whether the hearing should be adversarial or inquisitorial and what merits there are to either, how to deliver the decision in a fair and unobjectionable manner.
Behind all power of persuasion and influence in your daily interaction with people laid principles of hypnosis. Known as Hypnotic Language Patterns, it can invite a person to react in a certain way you intended, very similar to watching a movie, reading a novel, listening to a parable, metaphor or story.
Sadly, expertise doesn’t really matter—unless you can communicate it to others. Some of the very brightest professionals are less successful than they could be simply because they can’t communicate their expertise in a way that resonates with the audience.
Good writing is more about thinking than just technical know-how, rules, grammar, punctuation, and syntax; and facts “do-not-speak-for-themselves”. The goal of this workshop is to help you become a good business writer. Hundreds of corporate professionals have benefited and it comes highly recommended. The reason: it is simple, and it works!
If you are serious about being a good leader, then you really can’t be too serious with yourself and your staffs. Humor is more than just funny concepts. It is about our ability to see humor in daily situations and using them appropriately. When people laugh, they also feel comfortable with you. It helps connect you to people and get people to open up to each other.
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