---
title: "Effective Demonstrative Exhibits"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/a651a8cd-1310-4a7c-adef-a6672fe44f81
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/education/stack/f0068953-0385-4b3b-8cf4-66d421eeff25
summary: "Effective Demonstrative Exhibits by Carl A. Aveni, II explains how creative visual aids can significantly enhance jury engagement and information retention during trial testimony. The article emphasizes that well-designed demonstrative exhibits, supported by research showing 65% retention with combined oral and visual presentation, are crucial for making complex case testimony compelling and memorable."
tags: "demonstrative-exhibits, trial-strategy, jury-engagement, legal-presentation, visual-communication, expert-testimony, litigation"
key_entities: "Carl A. Aveni, II (person), Weiss-McGrath (person), Carlile Patchen & Murphy, LLP (organization), McGraw-Hill (organization), Columbus, Ohio (location), demonstrative-exhibits (concept), jury-retention (concept), visual-communication (concept), Weiss-McGrath study (event)"
classification: "tutorial"
content_hash: "sha256:f027e71dea14353033fe061b8cd395bb76387f13e8b7a1ce20ab128def899793"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 3495
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# Effective Demonstrative Exhibits

Carl A. Aveni, II 
Carlile Patchen & Murphy, LLP,
Columbus, Ohio 
ENGAGING YOUR JURY THROUGH 
CREATIVE USE OF DEMONSTRATIVE EXHIBITS 
I. INTRODUCTION 
It’s the seventh day of trial, and the novelty has definitely worn off. Your expert is on the
stand, methodically slogging through the minutiae of your case, but, frankly, nobody seems
particularly excited about it. The testimony has been reduced to a series of spreadsheets, now
projected on PowerPoint , but half the jury isn’t even looking at the screen . The case hinges on 
this testimony, but it’s the middle of the afternoon, and the jury seems confused. Or listless. Or
just tuned out. Whatever the case, it isn’t working. And this was wholly avoidable. 
Had you spent a little more of your trial prep thinking about your demonstrative exhibits,
your expert might be out of his chair, and holding the jury on the edge of their seats. Unlike the
substantive exhibits, which you necessarily take as you find them, your demonstrative exhibits
can be tailored to clarify or amplify the most interesting aspects of your case. A good
demonstrative exhibit can add kinetic energy and color to highlight testimony that would
otherwise be static, undifferentiated or unapproachable. 
Aside from the basic and obvious evidentiary rules, there really are few limitations on 
demonstrative exhibit design, aside from your own creativity. It’s really about customizing the
exhibit to illustrate the themes and set the tone of your case. 
II. WHY DEMONSTRATIVE EXHIBITS MATTER 
From kindergarten, we’re conditioned to sit up and pa y attention during show and tell — 
dutifully passing around and examining the trinkets of childhood. On the evening news, even the
most complex stories are presented as 2 minute soundbites with accompanying graphics and a
helpful chart or map. On social media, the meme is king — representing or misrepresenting
complex issues by using only a line or two of text and a single powerful graphic. The point
being that a picture is worth a thousand words. And perhaps as a corollary, a model that your
witnesses and the jury can handle is worth at least 1,000 pictures on a PowerPoint screen. 
For example, in 1992, McGraw-Hill published the Weiss-McGrath study, designed to
examine information retention over time. The study compared information retention across three
different modes of presentation: (1) orally only; (2) visually only; and (3) visually and orally
together. After the initial presentation, retention was measured at prescribed intervals. After 72 
hours, the group presented only with oral information retained a mere 10% of the material. The
visual cohort retained twice as much — but still topped off at 20% retention. But the third 

2 
group — which received the information BOTH orally AND visually retained 65% of the material
presented, fully 3 days later. Thus: 
To paint the point in starker contrast, ask yourself which resonated with you more: the preceding
paragraph, or the visual chart that summarized it. 
In any event, Demonstrative Exhibits give you the opportunity to frame and summarize in
ways that are bespoke to your themes, in a format that the jury will retain. 
III. BUILDING THE BETTER MOUSETRAP: DESIGNING DEMONSTRATIVES
THAT FIT YOUR CASE. 
But fancier isn’t always better. A good animati on can be expensive--$30,000 or quite a
bit more, for a flash 3D rendering from CAD drawings. Worse yet, it’s ephemeral. Once the
animation i s off the screen, it’s gone. And while impressive, it can come across as either
polished and professional or inappropriately slick — depending at least in part on how favorably
the jury looks upon your client to begin with. 
By contrast, a well-designed static exhibit can come across as straightforward and honest.
And while it, too, is unlikely to go back with the jury for deliberations, you have a better chance
of keeping a static display visible to the jury throughout the trial. 

3 
One of the best trial lawyers that I ever worked with preferred to use well-designed static
demonstratives, or models, to the exclusion of computer animation. He represented doctors and 
physician groups in medical malpractice cases. Invariably, the plaintiff’s lawyer would appear in 
court wearing an expensive suit, driving an expensive car, and brandishing seamless, polished
computer animations of whatever medical procedure was at issue. My colleague, by contrast,
was slightly rumpled and used clear, but static demonstrative blow-ups, half of which he would
knock over, while switching on the easel. The testimony was clear, as were the static
illustrations. But it was my colleague who provided the animation. It came across as
unvarnished and trustworthy, and jurors always loved him for it. Which is to say that
demonstratives need not be sleek to resonate with the fact-finder. 
But they do need to fit with the themes you are trying to develop, and help reduce
abstract ideas to concrete presentation. Imagine an environmental case, where relatively small
changes in parts per million can be both important and hard to visualize. Consider the below
graphic, which is offered not for its substance or climate change commentary — but rather for the
way that it quite effectively reduces the abstract idea of 400 parts per million to a more tangible 
measurement within a juror’s common experience. 
http://www.carbonvisuals.com/blog/400-ppm . 
By reducing this abstract ratio to the proportional and familiar measurements of a 9x20 foot
room, this graphic gives the jurors a hook for understanding the testimony in a specific,
approachable way. In fact, if this were my exhibit, I would take it a step further, and scale it to
the dimension of the courtroom where the trial will take place. Then, after first showing the 

4 
fixed graphic on an easel or PowerPoint, I would produce a scale model of the multi-colored
cylinder depicted in the image. And balance it on the bar before the jury box (or pass it around if
the judge will permit). 
For another example of a really effective graphic, consider this image showing the
difference between 20 psi and 100 psi: 
https://www.plumbingsupply.com/residential-water-pressure-explained.html . 
With a single well-conceived visual, an otherwise abstract differential of three ratios
becomes as familiar as a juror’s morning shower. Of course, whatever demonstrative image you
choose needs to fit with the themes of your case and the comfort zone of your testifying
witnesses. 
For another creative use of demonstrative exhibits, consider a trade secrets case, where
one of the issues is whether customer lists could be a trade secret. Because at least some aspects
of each major customer relationship with this publicly traded company were disclosed in SEC
filings, the question for the jury was whether the customer lists as a whole could be proprietary.
The answer, at least by analogy, could be found on the back of a can of Coca-Cola. 
There is no mystery what major ingredients go into Coca-Cola. The ingredients are listed
right on the side of the can — for review by the public and competitors alike. But that doesn’t 
change the fact that the actual recipe for Coca-Cola is one of the most closely-guarded trade
secrets in the history of American manufacturing. While a competitor or consumer may realize
that Coke contains carbonated water, sugar, Caramel Color E150d, phosphoric acid and caffeine, 
that doesn’t mean that the recipe for Coke isn’t entitled to trade sec ret protection. 

5 
At trial, this point was made in opening statements, and repeated by the expert on direct
and re-cross. While the expert was on the stand, he walked the jury through this analogy using a
blow-up of a Coke can: 
At the same time, an actual can of Coca-Cola, cold from the courthouse vending machine
was passed around the jury box. It was an entirely familiar object, but dutifully passed around to
each of the jurors — each of whom took time to inspect the can, feeling its weight, temperature
and shape, as well as the writing on the back. It reinforced the themes of the case in a way that
every juror could understand. At the end of the case, it was revisited again in closing. But even
more, because the court permitted beverages at counsel table, there was always a can of Coke
nearby and in full view from that point forward. 
IV. GETTING YOUR DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE ADMITTED. 
Of course, to do any good, your well-crafted exhibit must first pass judicial scrutiny and
get in front of your jury. Generally speaking, evidence comes in two flavors: (1) substantive and
(2) demonstrative. 
Substantive evidence is the testimonial, documentary and real or tangible evidence
admitted in the case. It is governed by Fed. R. Evid. 401 and its state counterparts, and presumes
admission where the evidence makes a fact of consequence more or less probable than it
otherwise would be. Demonstrative evidence, by contrast, does not make a fact more or less 

6 
probable, but instead explains or illustrates the substantive evidence previously admitted. Courts 
have explained demonstrative evidence as “evidence admitted solely to help t he witness explain 
his or her testimony” and caution that such evidence “has no probative force beyond that which 
is lent to it by the credibility of the witness whose testimony it is used to explain.” Carson v.
Polley , 689 F.2d 562, 579 (5 th Cir. 1982). 
As a practical matter, demonstrative evidence is admissible if three criteria are met: (1) it
relates to a piece of admissible substantive evidence or testimony; (2) it fairly and accurately
reflects the essence of the substantive evidence; and (3) it aids the trier of fact in understanding
or evaluating the substantive evidence. Because demonstrative evidence must be authenticated,
it is critically important that your testifying witnesses are involved in each logical stage or 
component of the exhibit’s creation and can affirm its accuracy. 
To use the 400 ppm carbon dioxide example above, it might be helpful to have the
witness testify to the dimensions represented on the graphic. Then, when bringing out the scale
model of the cylinder, it might be useful for the witness to first affirm that he personally
measured the dimensions of the courtroom (perhaps on a break), and then produce a tape
measure for the witness to measure the demonstrative model in real time in front of the jury, and
affirm its accuracy. This obviously takes work and advance preparation, but can be very
effective — and much more visually interesting and memorable than a dry recitation of abstract
numbers and ratios from the stand. 
V. WHEN TO USE YOUR DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE. 
Finally, if considering creative uses of demonstrative evidence, there is no good reason to
limit oneself solely to the time of trial itself. To begin with, certainly, demonstrative exhibits
should be used with each important witness during the trial. Preferably in a combination of
charts, pictures, on-screen graphics, and tangible models. Where permitted, they should be used
in a way that allows the testifying witnesses to get out of the jury box and interact with their
jurors as a teacher, directly and up-close. Those same demonstratives can be used again in 
summation, as a way of reinforcing the themes of the case. But if that’s all you do, opportunities 
have likely slipped by you. 
For example, any video deposition that may be used at trial is an opportunity to present
both the demonstrative on the video screen with the witness at the deposition, and again in the
courtroom itself. This works especially well with static displays and models. Thus, while the
video is running, and the witness on video is interacting with the display on screen, the same 

7 
blow-up or model can be live in front of the jury box. Thus making the absent witness seem
more present and live in the testimony as it unfolds in the courtroom. 
Equally, there are times when the best use of a compelling demonstrative is during the
pretrial phase to either argue the substantive motions in limine , or to make an impact in
mediation to resolve the suit prior to trial. As to the former, judges are persuaded by the same
logic and accessibility of well-crafted demonstrative exhibits that moves jurors, and for the same
reasons. Provided the evidence is admissible, and the initial gatekeeping function of the
demonstrative is satisfied, the final pretrial is an opportunity to test the force and effect of
demonstrative exhibits while addressing other issues before the Court — such as admissibility of
the substantive evidence, or the instructions appropriate for the jury charge. 
Finally, inasmuch as most civil cases resolve prior to verdict, it is often true that the
maximal advantage from your well-crafted demonstrative exhibits stem from their use during
settlement talks. To the extent that the demonstrative exhibit could be persuasive to a juror or
judge, it may hold equal weight with a neutral mediator. Or give the opposing party something
new to worry about in their risk assessment. The well-timed reveal of a demonstrative exhibit
can force opposing counsel to come to grips with the weaknesses in their case, especially when
reinforced as viable and persuasive by the mediator. 
VI. CONCLUSION 
A well-crafted demonstrative exhibit can breathe life into dull testimony. It can add
clarity to the opaque. It can transform your witness from a distant talking head, sequestered on
the stand, into the more familiar and trusted role of an animated and vibrant teacher, explaining
difficult concepts in comfortable approachable ways. 
But to have maximal impact, these exhibits need to be carefully thought out and planned
even as discovery is at its earliest points, and as the initial case themes are being developed and
tested. Because, by the seventh day of trial, as your expert marches through the testimony
methodically from the distant stand, before a listless jury, it is simply too late. 
C.A.A.