The psychology of convincing: how to act convincingly as a prosecutor in court

theme No.: 1b
responsible federal state: Baden-Württemberg
date: 09.01.2023 - 13.01.2023

This conference primarily addresses public prosecutors who regularly bring charges in court trials.
It is beyond question that the art of convincing is part and parcel of the legal skill set. Call it a tool, weapon or key – language is and shall remain the armamentarium of the legal professions. Language serves to exchange information, convey arguments and transport opinions. But how can you be convincing? This is the question addressed in this seminar. Psychological insights are harnessed specifically for practical use by prosecutors.
As the outcome of a criminal proceeding is usually decided in the criminal court trial, various phases of the trial (especially preparation, start, hearing of witnesses, expert opinions, final speech) are examined with a view to confident appearance and persuasive power. Based on psychological insight, a special focus will be placed on the possibilities of using language to influence the forming of conviction in order to recognize and address attempts at manipulation and utilize persuasion techniques.
Another focus of the seminar will be on the way typical conflict situations are handled by communication in court. As part of the above-said, this seminar will convey de-escalation techniques as well as basic systems of quick-wittedness, which help to master difficult situations with confidence.
Given their increasing practical importance, the basics of the psychology of negotiation and their practical use as part of the plea bargaining in criminal law procedings (article 257c of the German Code of Criminal Procedure) will be treated in a separate part of the seminar.
The goal of the seminar is to equip the participants with a “rhetoric toolkit” based on psychological insight, which can be used immediately in professional practice, may be individually expanded and can easily be drawn upon in future court trials.
back to overview