How you
approach a witness in deposition has everything to do with how they are likely
to respond.
If you
adopt an aggressive style, you will probably be met with one of two possible
responses: either the deponent will fight back, getting hostile and defensive,
or the deponent will melt into confusion, “I don’t know-s,” and tears.
If you
adopt a conciliatory, more friendly approach, you will usually elicit more
narrative and thus more information.
If you
adopt a neutral, fact-finding approach, you will probably receive informative
responses, but not much elaboration or narrative.
What’s
Your Objective?
Depending
on your objective, one or the other of these approaches will be most
appropriate. Sometimes you can choose to change approaches in mid-stream, such
as starting out neutral, gently morphing into friendly, only to become more
aggressive down the road.
What’s
important is less the approach you choose, as that it be a choice. Too often,
lawyers get in the habit of taking a deposition a certain way, and always do
so. That’s great, but there may be a more effective approach available than
your habitual one, given the nature of the witness and your objective.
Make your
choice conscious, and you’ll be that much more successful.