TRIAL DAY 15-USE YOUR VOICE
There are times when you have to speak. Sometimes it seems everyone is encouraging us to use our voices. The why is clear. If you don't speak up--for yourself, your passions, your family, and your dreams, who will? But the
MoreTRIAL DAY 14-STOP LOOKING FOR OBJECTIONS
With all this talk about objections, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to spend your life looking for them. Here’s the wonderful thing: when the time comes to object, you feel it in your heart and in your
MoreTRIAL DAY 13-OVERCOME OBJECTIONS
We all have to be able to overcome objections as well. Other people are bound to object to what you do, or how you do it. They object, and you have to find the words and the ways to overcome. This,
MoreTRIAL DAY 12-LEARN TO OBJECT
Today I want to talk about learning to object. I give entire keynotes on this topic, and it has a full chapter in my book, so this is just a tease. But it’s an important one. You have to learn
MoreTRIAL DAY 11-KNOW WHEN TO SETTLE
You want it all. So do I. We want to be successful, whatever that means to us. We want our families to be successful. We want more money, more love, more fun and more applause. We want what we want,
MoreTHE 30 DAYS OF TRIALS CHALLENGE
TRIAL DAY 1-HANLDE COMPLAINTS In civil cases, we start with Complaints. The injured person files a Complaint listing all of the ways she’s been wronged. Then the other side objects or denies. Does this sound familiar? We often spend our
MoreTime to Try Something New
Doesn't September feel a little bit like a new beginning? New notebooks, new schedules, and with the kids in new classes with new teachers it may be time for us to try something new as well. As the kids go
MoreThe 30 Days of Trials Challenge
It's time for a challenge. I'm a trial lawyer, but you face trials every day as well. Another word for trial is test, and in the courtroom the jury tests your case. Outside the courtroom, life tests you. Will you
MoreLet’s Get Personal
What did you think of the Eagles pre-season game? What did you bring for lunch today? Do you prefer Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? If you think I'm getting personal, you may be right. It also might be the secret to
MoreThe Best Tool You Have-QUESTIONS
Many of you want better sales, better teams, or better relationships (personal or professional). You have the secret to all of this and more. It's better questions. Trials lawyers are experts at questions. We use them to win our cases,
MoreCuriosity May Have Killed the Cat But…..
When you were young, you were naturally curious. It's how you learned everything you know. Curiosity is what taught you to walk, to understand others, and to understand yourself. It gave you perspective. As we get older, we lose that
MoreThe Secret to Gaining Perspective
Perspective changes everything. Better sales, better relationships, better negotiating skills, and better choices all stem from changing your perspective. You know it's true. At our last webinar, 85% of you said you wanted tips on how to change perspective to
MoreAnalysis Paralysis Is Holding You Back
When you fail to make decisions, you fail. While you torture yourself over what to do next, someone else has done the next thing, right or wrong, and left you in her dust. Decisions lead to movement, and in order
MoreToday’s the Day–Learn to Choose!
Research shows that successful people make more choices and are more decisive. The more you do something, the better you get at it, so the more you choose the easier it becomes. You can be better at choosing as well.
MoreEvery Day You Choose–Why Not Be Better at It?
Today you will choose. You'll choose a friend, a partner, a doctor, a lawyer, a babysitter, or a date. How do you make these choices--and how can you make them better? Alan Tuerkheimer is a national jury consultant. We both have
MoreDecisions, Decisions-Picking People
Decisions are hard. It's difficult enough to choose a gym, a stroller for your baby, or a restaurant to celebrate your anniversary. But when you have to choose a trainer to help you achieve your target weight, a babysitter to
MoreUse Your Voice to Win
She was a wonderful doctor, but a terrible public speaker. One on one, person to person, she was kind, strong, confident and clear. But when she had to stand in front of a group to share a message, her voice
MoreEvery Trial Comes to an End
"This will never end." You know the feeling. When the 'this' is something that hurts, those four words are the verbalization of despair. When you can't see an end to any type of pain, hope can be hard to find.
MoreWant to Win Life’s Trials?
I often say that everything I ever needed to know, I learned in the courtroom, at trial. Because trials don't stay in the courtroom. We all face them in our everyday lives. Trials are the challenges we have to overcome.
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Live from the Battlefield
This week is a little different, because I'm on trial, learning all sorts of lessons we can apply to our lives. I can't wait to share them with you in the coming weeks! One is something I've known for years.
MoreYanny or Laurel? A Trial Lawyer’s Nightmare
Have you heard the whole controversy about Yanny and Laurel? If you haven't, here is the link. What it comes down to is that because of our ears and the tone of this recording, some people hear Yanny and some hear
MoreComplaints Get You Nowhere. Try This.
Civil lawsuits begin with Complaints. Here, the offended party files a numbered list of all of the ways he has been wronged. The other party responds by admitting, denying, or objecting to that list. As you might expect, there are
MoreWant to Win an Argument? Try This.
"Everyone says I should have been a lawyer. I LOVE to argue." Often, when I tell people I'm a trial attorney, this is their response. They tell me that their families always told them they needed to take their stubborn
MorePlaying With Blindfolds
When I give keynotes, and especially when I give workshops, I often whip out blindfolds and tell the group we’re going to play some games. They tend to look at each other nervously, silently thinking “I didn’t realize it was
MoreThe Brady Bunch and the Curse of Knowledge
Here’s the story of the Curse of Knowledge…. Question--have you ever heard of the Curse of Knowledge? Before I learned about that Curse, the most I’d heard of curses was from the Brady Bunch. That show, about a man named
MoreShe’s Crafty–Are You?
Are you crafty? Are you one of those people who loves to draw, knit or make pottery, and who actually makes things that people want to keep? I am not. I’m not crafty. The closest I came to crafty was
MoreThe Power of First and Last
I remember every minute of my first real bike ride in detail. I had a yellow bike with a big basket and a banana seat. My dad had been running beside me as I attempted to find balance on this
MoreMedicine–Where #MeToo Might Save Lives
Sexual harassment makes you feel small, stressed, and voiceless. When medical providers feel small, stressed and voiceless, people die. I’m a trial attorney, and I’m a woman. Since 76% of all lead trial counsel are men, I know what it’s
MoreLarry Nassar’s “Army of Survivors” Are Teaching Us to Listen
I’m getting ready to go to my hosting job at LawandCrime.com, and I know it’s going to be a hard day. For over a week, we’ve been livestreaming the statements of the women who survived being abused by Larry Nassar.
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Oprah Left Us Hanging
Recently, at The Golden Globes, Oprah got a standing ovation for her rousing speech. These are the words that brought the audience to their feet. “Which brings me to this: What I know for sure is that speaking your truth
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Win With Words™–What’s Your Communication Style?
“The jury has a verdict.” Everything tingles like your nerves are on fire. Two years of pleadings, interrogatories, depositions, and trial have come to this. Your client stands by your side, waiting to hear the jury’s decree. Win, or lose?
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We Need to Talk-3 Keys to Talking Yourself into Your Best Life
“We need to talk.” “You don’t listen to me.” “I don’t feel like we communicate at all. You only talk to me when you need something, and even then you don’t speak to me nicely.” “I’m not happy.” If it’s
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The Key to Weight Loss? Try Listening
I know a little bit about weight loss. I lost 100 pounds over twenty years ago. I did it with a LOT of hard work, healthy eating (or I thought so at the time--low fat and lots of carbs!), regular
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“What’s Your Story?” The Answer Might Make You Better
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in heart forever.” – Native American Proverb A teenage boy, Cody, and a teenage girl, Madison, both
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If You Aren’t Losing, You Aren’t Trying the Tough Stuff
The first time I lost a trial I honestly wasn't sure I'd recover. I'd tried less than 10 jury trials, and I'd been fortunate enough to win them all. This case was different though. During the 2 year period from
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Give Me Brutal Honesty – Communication With Patients
"There was porn in the call room the first night I slept there." The call room is the room where doctors sleep, if they have minutes to catch some sleep, when they are on call. When you're the first female
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Suffering Superheroes
What I remember most about Mr J is his smile. He smiled through his deposition, through the trial, and even when he lost his case. It was more than a smile, really. It was a mischievous grin, especially fitting on
MoreVulnerability Could Be the Key to Better Health
Long ago, I represented a doctor who was....difficult. He was a phenomenal surgeon, world famous in his field, but he was not warm and fuzzy. Not even close. Cold and hard were more his speed. We spent two weeks together,
MoreThe Rubber Band Secret and What Could Be
As a medical malpractice trial lawyer, I've become obsessed with the power of potential. Every time I face the jury, I could be a winner, and I could be a loser. It's both exhilarating and terrifying, and both outcomes are
MoreYour Good Health May Rest on This One Thing
Good Health Depends on a Good Healthcare Team I was a chubby kid, but my parents still introduced me to lots of sports. Soccer, swimming, tennis, basketball--so many sports, when all I wanted to do was read and eat Doritos.
MoreAre Patients and Doctors Cursed?
Sometimes a Snapple cap can change everything. I opened my iced tea, flipped the lid as I always do, and stopped in my tracks. "You are always looking at your nose, your brain just chooses to ignore it." That can't
MoreThe Problem With Power in Healthcare
In the movie Malice, Alec Baldwin plays Dr Jed Hill, a surgeon who gives a famous speech during a deposition in a medical malpractice case. “If you’re looking for God, he was in operating room #2 on November 17th, and
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Health Care Needs to Focus On ROR Over ROI
I’ve been in the relationship business since I was sixteen. I waitressed for years, and I’d get better tips based on the relationships I’d built with my customers. I did very well as a waitress, but I didn’t treat my
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Sparks Need Oxygen
It's been almost a month since we finished the Rubber Band Challenge, and I'm starting to get antsy. If we want to expand our comfort zones we can't just wait around for them to grow. We have to push them
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Rubber Band Challenge Recap and Bracelet
We did it! We spent 30 days exploring all that we COULD BE. Just like the people who realized that a rubber band could be an eraser, we saw and explored 30 different possibilities for ourselves. Here are all 30
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The 30 Day Rubber Band Challenge
I recently read a study about rubber bands and possibilities. You can see the whole story here, but bottom line is this: when people were told a rubber band IS a rubber band, they didn’t imagine it could also be
MoreHealthy Eating and Kids-Simple, but Not Easy
My friend, Jennae, is a phenom. She is a dietician, yoga instructor and a dance teacher. She has more energy than anyone else I know, and she has lots of good advice. Her passion is children, and specifically children's diets.
MoreRubber Bands & Possibility in 2017
“I dwell in possibility.” Emily Dickinson So do I, for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I was a voracious reader and my favorite books were about magic, fairies, and angels. As I got older,
MoreWhen Doctors and Patients Don’t Speak the Same Language
Life is about connections. Our family, social, work and on line connections make us happier and healthier. The outcomes of trials hinge on connections. I work with my clients on ways to connect with the jury, because without that connection
MoreWhat Do You Want?
Nate McIntyre isn't your typical trainer. He's a musician and his band, Killer Whale, is about to come out with a new video. (He comes by his musical talent honestly--Macy Gray is his sister). That in itself could be enough
MoreTeaming Up to Help Mothers
Maternal mortality is when women die because of complications from pregnancy or childbirth. It's a problem in Africa--and in Texas. Dr Gregg Alleyne is a doctor in Philadelphia. He works as an obstetrician and gynecologist at Drexel University. Dr Alleyne
MoreWhat’s It Worth to You?
My mom spent her life as a teacher in the public school system. She never talked about her salary, but she was underpaid. She taught emotionally disturbed high school students in the resource room. Her days were stressful and sometimes
MoreOaths Have Power- Healthcare Relationships
OATHS HAVE POWER Lawyers take oaths. Jurors do as well. In Philadelphia, where I try cases most often, jurors pledge to “well and truly try the case”. I can tell you that jurors take this oath very seriously. Medical malpractice
MoreHealing One Laugh at a Time
Man it's been a rough week. Most of us are sleep deprived from staying up way too late waiting for election returns. Many are heartbroken about the result. In fact, The Washington Post is reporting that the National Suicide Prevention
MoreComing Up on H2Spark
Hi guys--working on today's newsletter and video. I think you're going to love it. My friend Dr Kelly Powers sat down to talk to us about the power of laughter. Seems like we all could use some of that after
MoreIs Healthcare a Privilege or a Right?
I met Rick Ungar when I was a regular panelist on The Daily Wrap, a show he co-hosted on the Newsmax channel. He is a liberal voice on a channel that’s been known to lean towards the conservative viewpoint, and
MoreEquating Life with Life
“It’s very important to me to equate life with life.” When Dr Owen Montgomery said this in our recent interview, it stuck with me. What does that mean? Do I do that? Do I equate life with life? For the
More“You Cut Them, You Marry Them”-Anatomy of a Total Knee Replacement
As you may have seen from my blog "The Science of a Spark" I had the chance to watch a knee replacement live. While we don’t have a video of a knee replacement surgery here, we do have the next
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The Science of a Spark
It all begins with friction - the resistance that is created when two objects meet. That friction creates a spark, and if you feed that spark with oxygen you get fire. In the right environment, a spark can change the
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