10 Words or Less

Do me a favor. Tell me about the case you’re working on right now in 10 Words or Less. Not 13. Not 12. Not even 11. 10. 10 words or less. It matters not that your case is a complex medical, qui tam or product liability case. 10 words is all you have. Do that. Then do it in all your cases. Because your cases are fluid, do it again and again.  Do it all the time.  Once you can do that, you’ll be en route to something special. 

When Mark Twain wrote “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead,” I suspect he was letting us know that saying what you want to say with less words requires more work. I agree. It’s more powerful too. The last thing you want to do is water down your powerful, descriptive words that now make up the fabric of your case. Afterall. Creating those was hard work. This is particularly true for you as a trial lawyer. To Jurors, superfluous words make all your words less important.  

Instead practice distilling your cases down to 10 words or less. Every time you do it write it down. If you’re at Starbucks or wake in the middle of the night grab your iPhone and email it to yourself. Keep a list. In trial it can be a lifeline for you. When you’re standing in the middle of a courtroom and you can hear a pin drop, use it then too. Take a couple of deep breaths and say it to yourself a couple of times. Then back at it. 

Until next time
James Hugh Potts II
We Win. Things Change.