By Don Keenan
Now comes the time to bring forth my 16 power words for 2016, as I've done numerically for the last several years. (See the original Power of Words in the Edge, 1st edition page 73; Power of Words for 2011 [courtesy of Frank Luntz] in Edge 1st, page 80; and you’ll find the Power Words for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the Edge, 3rd edition [pages to be determined upon printing]).
Let me revisit the purpose of the list.
A “power word” is just that, a word (or a couple words) that has power. Most, if not all, power words are emotional; they immediately conjure up images that help you depict the word itself. Understand that the Reptile© brain is the source of these images, and these images are imprints we have carried with us for a long time that will instantly flash within our consciousness when the word is spoken.
As with former power lists, the words will be helpful during your depositions, voir dire, openings and, of course, closings; I use them all the time and, because there's so many of them now, I frequently go back and review past lists. Oftentimes I find words I have strayed from, and need a refresher.
One final note before I begin the list: I have test driven this year’s list at the Cutting Edge Reptile© Convention, which was held in Dec. 2015 at our luxurious Costa Rica venue. I also test-drove the words at a referring attorney workshop on premises cases. (If you’ll recall, that I break my referring attorneys into case categories of seven; within each workshop are eight to 10 lawyers with a case in that category.) Everybody comes to my beach house at Seaside at least twice a year for an intense all‑day (often into late night) exchange of ideas, which includes role-playing, demonstrations, etc. At both the Costa Rica convention and the premises workshop, I laid out the words and why they made the list. Even more importantly, I included suggestions on how to use them. Then I called up folks at random to make closing arguments using all the words. (It sounds more difficult than it is. I’ve rarely if ever had anyone NOT be able to embed all the words and, in many cases, the demonstrations are excellent.)
So without further ado, let me introduce the 2016 list of power words:
1. DREAM
In simplistic form, this word will most certainly conjure up good feelings. Most have a smile on their face when they first hear the word dream; it’s a positive, inspirational word (because a bad or negative dream has its own word, “nightmare”).
Politicians and leaders frequently use this word. Many times, dreams are the prominent theme of the speech – we all recall Martin Luther King Jr.’s Washington speech, “I have a dream. Understand that we can all use this word with the same type of cadence that Dr. King did.
2. TROUBLES
As an Irishman, to me this word means a lot. When we refer to our history, it is often in turbulent terms, with death and starvation. The Irish most certainly refer to this as some of their “troubles.” The world knows of the divisive nature of North Ireland and for an Irishman the common terminology to describe this is, “The troubles in the North.” To the Irishman this word conjures up horrific imprints of violence, bombings, assassinations and hardship.
Clearly we Irish don't own the word “troubles.” We can use it in of our cases — but keep in mind that a word or two goes a long way. For example, we can say that a hospital had problems or a manufacturer had complications but I prefer the word “troubles” because it conveys long-standing, chronic problems.
3. LOVE
I’m a student of all great trial lawyers and certainly that list must include Clarence Darrow. I am struck that virtually every closing argument by Darrow included the word love; in fact, he often said, “I subscribe to the book of love.”
Admittedly, when you use the word love, it gets close to the Golden Rule because at its core the Golden Rule preaches that we must love everyone and care for others as we care for ourselves.
There is no greater word to convey deep affection and caring than the word love. Don't be afraid to use it.
4. FOCUS
Focus. It’s a word we often hear in our society today. It conveys the imprint that there is one single thing that is very important, which we must consider above all else – disregarding any peripheral matter. To focus means we have the No. 1 issue concern clearly on the table.
5. BOTTOM LINE
Y’all probably have noticed I end nearly every one of these blogs with the “bottom line.” It’s that punch in the gut, take home message. In previous lists I have included “lighthouse terms.” This is something I’ve coined to illustrate a word or phrase that wakes up the audience and directs them to listen in on what you’re saying. They’re drawn in like a beacon, because they know what you’re about to say next is very, very important. Past examples of this have been words like, “if you only remember ONE thing,” and “the simple truth is.”
We can’t expect Bubba to listen carefully with undivided attention to every single thing we say (even if it’s only during a 20 minute opening statement). His mind will wander and he’ll reflect back on what you said a few minutes ago; regardless of what he’s thinking about, the fact remains that he’s not concentrating at that moment on what you're saying. Use “bottom line” and Bubba immediately wakes up and (let’s go back to power word No. 4) he’ll begin to “focus” on what you’re saying again. Bubba says to himself, I may not understand all the stuff this lawyer is saying, but when he/she tells me this is the “bottom line,” then I know it's important and I'm going to listen.
6. TRIAL LAWYER
I’ve written blogs about this very thing, from the standpoint that we should not run from who we are. We should be proud! We should tell the jury we are a trial lawyer and we accept our heavy burden to represent our client fully!
But I must credit our adversary, the evil genius Fred Luntz, who gave us Bubba's understanding of what “trial lawyer” means. In his book Words that Work, he says that if the politicians who pay him loads of money to tell him the words they should use, Frank says the word lawyer does not demonize us. He explains that everyone has a lawyer or knows a lawyer and when (not if) we have legal problems, it’s the lawyer who saves us. He goes on to say that you cannot demonize us by saying “trial lawyer,” because Bubba understands that Abraham Lincoln was a trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow was a trial lawyer and, of course, Atticus Finch was a trial lawyer. The term “trial lawyer” is indeed lofty, notable and good.
So don't run from who you are, use this term throughout your case – so long as you do it with your head held high and proud.
7. TOLERATE
Anyone who’s been to a Reptile© seminars or a Keenan Ball College course knows the power of this word. You’ll recall that when you’re eliciting Bubba’s expectations during voir dire, you do so with examples like the following:
Your expectations that tractor-trailer drivers will be safe, do you believe you deserve that?
Your expectations that tractor-trailer drivers will be safe, do you believe you have a right to expect it.
Finally, you have expectations for tractor-trailer drivers to be safe; will you tolerate not having that?
The word “tolerate” simply nails down the extreme importance of whatever issue you're trying to drive home.
8. MISERY
Under anyone's view, word misery is something no one wants. It's a term that describes the very worst. The term conjures up horrible images that no one wants to experience.
Let me expand for a minute: I once taught in a referring attorney beach workshop that these terms are not used once; they can be the basis of your whole case, as you tell your client’s story. I asked some of those referring attorneys to pick out a word or two, and I’d show them what I meant. “Misery” was a word they selected, so I got up and went on for about 10 minutes.
I described a client’s situation by starting out, “Let me tell you what misery is…” In my example, I went on to describe that misery is not knowing whether you’ll have a roof over your head much longer, not knowing if you can feed your children their next meal, not being able to stand on your own two feet. Misery is when your spouse looks at you and she sees half or less of what they married. Misery is the end of the road. Misery is when it just can't get no worse. Think of how this can be demonstrated; how a word can anchor the story.
9. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH
When did you first hear this term? I’m betting it was when you were a little kid. I’m also betting that when you first heard it, you liked it, because using this term points out sure hypocrisy. It’s a great term to use against hospital policies and procedures, or a manufacturing plant’s safety rules, or a municipality who says they care for the little children in the community but yet their playgrounds are danger zones. You can get a lot of traction with the term, so work on it and try to embed it in all of your cases.
10. DOWN WITH IT
Admittedly, most baby boomers won’t have this term in their nomenclature. I certainly didn’t; at least, not until I started to realize that it’s used often by 20-somethings, 30-somethings and even some 40-year-olds. It means “are you okay with this?” Are you down with it? It’s the baby boomer equivalent of dig it, groovy, neat, etc.
In Costa Rica and at the referring attorney beach workshop, my younger crowd got a major chuckle out of me using this term. For some reason it gave them great delight; however, what it conveys is important – I’m a man who speaks to all generations in whatever language is necessary. I now like that term and use it often.
As an aside, this was another power word the referring attorneys asked to use as a story-builder. So I used the acknowledgement that the term was not from my generation, and said the following:
“There's no question, ladies and gentlemen, that the great strength of America has always been and will always be diversity. We're a melting pot. Our family trees trace back to many different countries and many different experiences. It goes without saying that each generation has its own music and its own things that are popular.
Take for example the phrase ‘down with it,’ which is clearly not a phrase from my generation – but my generation had similar words that meant the same thing. We, in America, as diverse as we are, blend together and that blending brings us strength. In the final analysis, that's what a jury is: A collection of folks from the community from subdivisions to high rises, trailer parks to apartments; a diversity of educational backgrounds, work experiences and life experiences.
At the end of the day our justice system is what Thomas Jefferson proclaimed over 200 years ago, ‘justice by the people,’ and the people at its core are diverse. At the same time, many of us have the same goals and aspirations for our lives. John Kennedy said it best in his first and only inaugural address, ‘We are all citizens of the same planet and we all cherish our children and wish to make a better place for them so yes we are different but yes we are the same.’”
11. JUSTICE BY THE PEOPLE
I was surprised to realize I’ve never used this term on any previous power words list. I can’t remember a single closing argument where I have not included the term ‘justice by the people’ and used it in the same manner that I just outlined in my example in No. 11.
We live in a time where 99 percent are average and 1 percent has true meaning and traction. Virtually all of my juries have been in the 99 percent. They're just regular people; they’re not mega-wealthy or powerful. When we talk about our vote in an election meaning little or the fact that so many bad things can happen in our nation from Wall Street to Main Street, none of us feel like we can have any effect. We're simply victims.
However, when the day comes that an average citizen takes an oath to be on a jury, the whole situation changes. They look around and they see 11 other people that are just average folks like them. Sooner or later it will sink in that together, for the first time, these 12 people on this jury are going to make a difference. Each vote matters and they can change the status quo.
Nothing is more reptilian than that.
12. YOUR TIME
No matter what materialistic things we've acquired in our lives, nothing is more important than our time. My time – it’s an opportunity to think how I want, do what I want (even if that’s to do nothing it’s okay, too, because it’s my time). Our Constitution guarantees all of us the right to pursue our happiness. Mind you, there's no guarantee that we will obtain happiness, but we sure enough have the right to pursue it. Our pursuit of happiness is on our terms and during our time.
13. CONSEQUENCE
Boy, do I love this word. Many of you have heard about the trial judge in Boston who put the tightest dog collar on me ever, of any judge in my career. He ruled I could not use the word “responsible” or “accountable.” He thought those words were inflammatory and were intended to incite (in his words) “the Reptile© in the case.”
After he banned those words, I was taking my nightly journey to the outside cigar bar down the street from our hotel and set about to conjure up words I could use to replace responsible and accountable. I actually went into the book I've been writing for several years on the topic of words. Just like Gomer Pyle said, “Shazam!” There it was right in the pages of my book’s draft: “responsible, accountable and consequences.” I actually wrote in the book that consequences is a stronger word because it immediately implies that something has been done wrong and the person must stand in and be held accountable. For that reason, in my opinion, it’s a far more powerful word than accountability.
So I went about using the word consequences in trial to the satisfaction and joy of the judge. Truth be known, I had more joy in using the word than the judge had in hearing it.
14. NASCAR FAST
Regardless of whether or not you are a disciple of the NASCAR circuit everybody knows the term NASCAR fast means really, really fast. Like, 200 miles per hour fast (or more). When you’re describing a speeding motorist, or a speeding tractor-trailer, then you want to label the driver as driving “NASCAR fast.” Everyone knows it’s okay to drive that fast if, and only if, you’re actually a NASCAR racecar driver. But nowhere else! By definition, off the track, to be NASCAR fast is to be dangerous.
I've even used the term NASCAR fast to describe the “conveyor belt” that happens within a doctor’s office when he’s seeing 30-someodd patients in a single day. It's a fun term with a lot of power and it gets the job done.
15. DEPENDENCE
No one wants to be dependent on anyone, especially if the dependence is for normal, every-day matters like feeding yourself, bathing, getting in and out of bed, using the restroom, etc. There is no way to put a good spin on the word dependence. So, I like to say that the defendant caused my client to be in a “world of dependence” on others, for everything. In the courtroom, we’re there depending on the jury to hold the defendant to the consequences of their actions and to make this right.
16. DIRT SIMPLE
Clearly this conjures up images of something that is ground zero simple. You just can't get more simple than dirt simple. Let your imagination roam to all the places you can use this powerful imagery word…
I'm often asked why the best speakers on the trial lawyer seminar circuit are often southerners. I've also been asked why southern trial lawyers can go anywhere in the country (New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Omaha, Nebraska, it doesn't matter where) and do well – whereas other lawyers, with all due respect, don't. I may be wrong about this but in studying myself and other southern trial lawyers I've come to believe that we are great storytellers. We can conjure up emotion and imagery and a lot of it comes from the words we use. When I was in southern California for several months for a trial, my opposition was a Los Angeles trial lawyer of some esteem. I couldn't help myself sometimes; when I would object, I’d tell the trial judge, “that dog won't hunt, judge.” For some reason, it had a way and, although I didn't intend it to break up the monotony of the trial and produce some levity, it did.
BOTTOM LINE: Take these 16 words and do your own closing argument using all of them. If you can’t do that, then simply write me a letter or an email with all these words in it. Practice using them to tell a story. If you practice, it really will become dirt simple.