Testifying in court can make even some of the most seasoned attorneys nervous. But what about people charged with crimes who want to express their innocence and have never testified in court before? Watch this video below and call our office with questions.

Telling your story through testifying in court is about understanding the important pieces of your case. And what does that mean? It means what does the jury need to know about what happened? What does your jury need to know about you? How do you best tell your story to the jury? What does all of that include?

Well first and foremost you must tell the jury the truth. Jury members are smart. They will know if what you are telling them is not true. And as you are telling your story, truthful testimony will help the jury understand you as a person.

Next, listen to the entire question being asked and answer that and only that question.

Often, questions will begin with one of the classic question words like who, what, where, when, why, and how. You answer a where question with a location. Answer a question about time with the time. Jurors will stop caring about your story if you give non-responsive answers.

And if you do not fully understand the question being asked, take a moment and ask for clarification or ask for the question to be asked again.

Take a moment before answering each question to thing about your answer before actually saying it.

Let the pause calm yourself. Calm your nerves. Some questions will be inflammatory. Other questions asked by the state might even be offensive. Use that moment to center yourself to answer each question in a calm and collected manner.

You are allowed to qualify your answers on cross-examination. If the Georgia prosecutor is asking you for a yes or no answer and that’s all, you can explain your answer after responding yes or no. Do so when necessary.

Also, always remember you are telling your story to the jury. You aren’t speaking to the state’s prosecutor when they are asking you questions. Turn and make eye contact with each and every juror. Through eye contact, you will actually connect with the jury.

Putting these pieces together takes practice. It takes time. At our law firm we pride ourselves on discovery our client’s stories and preparing them for trial to connect with the Georgia jury. If you are our client and you want to practice, we are the only law firm that does criminal defense with our own mock courtroom where you can shake off your nerves and practice for testifying in court.

We want to help you tell your story. Call us today at 404-581-0999 for a free legal consultation on your Georgia criminal defense trial.

Thank you.