Last week I shared with you the importance of a cross-examining attorney’s limiting each new question to a single fact.
A “leading question” is one that suggests an answer. For example:
“Was the defendant holding a gun?”
Quoting from the book, CROSS-EXAMINATION: SCIENCE AND TECHNIQUES, by Larry S. Pozner and Roger J. Dodd:
“RULE #1: Leading Questions Only.
“The Federal Rules of Evidence, and the rules of evidence of all the states, permit leading questions on cross-examination….This is the fundamental factor of cross-examination. It is the critical advantage given the cross-examiner that must always be pressed.
“A skillful lawyer must never forfeit the enormous advantage offered by the use of leading questions. The ‘leading questions only’ rule means that, in trial, never, ever, no matter how well-intentioned the reason, use a question that is not strictly leading.”
The reason the cross-examiner is advised to use only leading questions is to make sure he maintains complete control of the facts that are presented to the jury.
If the fact is irrelevant to the theory of the case, it isn’t introduced.
If the fact distracts from the theory of the case, it isn’t introduced.
Radio Advertising Application
The way to adapt this rule to advertising is to forget about the term “leading questions.” Instead, focus on the results the authors say each question should deliver; the questions are intended only to bolster the theory of the case.
And you should allow nothing in your commercial that does not actively support its core message:
Extraneous bits of information the clients want to squeeze in, thinking that’s how they get the most for their money….
Or a joke that is included solely because it’s funny — but not because it leads the targeted consumer to the desired conclusion.
