Confident Witness | Live CLE Litigation Webinar

The Confident Witness: Turning Nerves into Narratives | Live CLE Litigation Webinar

Broadcast Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (ET) | On-Demand 24 hrs later

Testifying under oath is one of the most intense experiences a professional can go through. Even the most knowledgeable witnesses risk losing credibility if anxiety takes over or if their message is unclear. To be effective, witnesses must turn their nerves into confidence and provide testimony that is consistent, believable, and persuasive.

Join Hal S. Shaftel, Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and Tori Bakken, Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, for this CLE litigation webinar. They will provide attorneys and their clients with practical tools to prepare witnesses, manage stress, and transform tough cross-examinations into chances for clear storytelling. Attendees will learn valuable tips for improving witness performance while also strengthening overall case strategy.

Key Topics:

• Common pitfalls witnesses face and how to overcome them.
• Techniques for managing stress, anxiety, and courtroom pressure.
• Storytelling strategies for turning facts into a clear, compelling narrative.
• Preparing for cross-examination by anticipating and addressing difficult questions.
• The attorney’s role in coaching and supporting a confident witness.

Agenda:

Hal S. Shaftel, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

• Build a relationship with the witness to gain trust/confidence to take your guidance (as well as to obtain full disclosure of potential problematic issues from the witness).
• Make sure witness knows enough about the full case to understand where testimony fits in. 
• Highlight (handful of) basic themes the witness can keep in mind at all points during testimony. 
• Integrate the witness in developing lines of testimony to obtain buy-in. 
• Prepare testimony to begin by humanizing witness through some personal background facts,  as witness will feel more comfortable with trier of fact knowing that personal context. 

Tori Bakken, Partner, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

• Preparation beginning early in the case/discovery phase (importance of deposition testimony)
• Teaching opposing parties’ themes and strategies to know what to expect and how to counter
• Connection with jury/letting them in