Top 10 tips for preparing and presenting your opening statement at trial

"You can't win!" Sentiments in "Rocky IV" from a loving wife to her husband as he prepared to box the Russian antagonist Ivan Drago. Rocky responded solemnly -- "maybe I can't win. But to beat me, he is going to have to kill me. And to kill me... he has got to be willing to die himself."

Hopefully nothing in the courtroom is as dramatic as these scripted lines from one of America's greatest movies. But as you stand before a jury delivering your opening statement, the last thing you should feel is that you can't win. Every trial is winnable. And it begins with your preparation and presentation for the opening statement. Here are 10 tips to making sure you do win with your opening statement:

1. Outline your statement

Don't write a speech. Just jot down thoughts. Identify your overall theme as to why you should win. "My client is innocent because guilty people don't act in the manner that my client did." Identify the key pieces of evidence that support your argument. If you are a prosecutor, perhaps a smoking gun is all you need. If you are a civil defense attorney, perhaps it is the deposition testimony of your key witness. The notes do not even need to make sense as you jot them down. Just get them on paper. This process allows you to identify the strengths of your case.

2. Recite your opening statement multiple times alone

Talk to yourself. During the opening statement, the jury is going to be hearing words come out of your mouth. So you need to practice saying them. Over and over and over again. Say them while you are driving. While you are in the shower. While you are alone in your office. Nothing beats repetition. This process allows you to hear for yourself what makes sense. And more importantly, for you to hear in your own voice what sounds absurd and must be cut.

3. Show confidence in what you are saying

You absolutely must show confidence in your client's case and why you should win. This does not mean you need to think your client is a saint. Maybe your client is a douchebag. Or worse, maybe your client actually did something wrong. But perhaps he is being charged with the wrong crime. Or the company is being sued for something that is not really its fault. Whatever the reason is, figure out why you believe your client should win. Because if YOU don't believe in your case, the jury definitely will not.

4. Recite your opening statement to someone who is NOT a lawyer

Your relative, your friend, your neighbor is perfect. As lawyers, we go out of our way to make sure that lawyers are not jurors in our trials. And for good reason. So it does not make sense for us to just practice our opening statements in front of fellow lawyers. Practice in front of the type of person that could actually be on your jury. Someone who knows nothing about your case. The feedback you get may frighten you. But it will make your opening statement so much better in the end.

5. Avoid reading your opening statement

Never read to the jury. Speak to them. Engage them with eye contact. Show them what you want them to know. If you are so uncomfortable with what you are saying that you have to read it, you will have lost the jury's attention at the start. Start with an entertaining (short) story or phrase. We all want to be entertained. And opening statements are no different.

6. Provide visuals in your opening statements

Don't just say it. Show it. You will have a limited time to present your opening statement. And you will have the jury's attention for only a fraction of that. Eight seconds! Yes, the average human attention span today is only eight seconds. So do more than talk. Change your tone when you are emphasizing something important in your opening. Repeat three times an item that you do not want your jury to forget. And use a PowerPoint. But don't just put words on a screen. Show a picture or a diagram. Instead of describing the evidence, show a copy of it (with the Court's permission of course).

7. Outline for the jury where you are going

Lawyers like to say that trials are theater. Sure, but unlike in the movies, juries want to know where you are going at the very beginning. There should be no surprise ending. So tell the jury in your opening statement exactly what you are going to do. Tell them the key witnesses you are going to present. Identify what the witnesses will say. Show them the evidence that will cause your client to win. Often, trial lawyers get too worried about revealing too much to the opposing party at trial and they hold back. The problem, though, is that you are holding back from the jury as well.

8. Trust the jury with your bad facts

As you tell the jury all the best evidence for your client, do not forget to acknowledge the bad facts in your opening. First impressions are forever. And you do not want the jury to think you are holding back bad facts. You know your opposing party is going to mention it anyway, so you might as well fess up first. It allows you to control the narrative and paint the information in as positive a light as possible.

9. Explain why a decision for your client is right

Opening statements should be used to present the facts and what you expect will happen during trial. But based on these facts, you want to communicate to the jury that a decision in your client's favor is not just legally correct, but is the right thing to do. Perhaps it is because the evidence is so overwhelmingly in your client's favor. Or perhaps it is because the mistake at issue is so miniscule and is something that could have happened to anyone. Make the jury feel invested. Not just in your facts, but in your client's cause.

10. Ask for what you want

We all know you want your client to win. But you have to ask for it. Just like in any political race, politicians have to go out and ask for votes. Jurors are no different. They know what you want, but they want to be asked. So, as basic as it sounds, at the end of your opening statement, always tell your jury that "at the end of this trial, based on the evidence presented to you, I am going to ask you to find in favor of my client."

If you follow these 10 tips in your opening statement, like Rocky, you definitely can win. And your opponent will die trying to overcome an outstanding beginning to your trial presentation. 