David Weinzweig at X:
I’m an appellate court judge. I’ve read thousands of briefs. Here’s what no one told you about persuasion and how to win.
Judges check page length before reading a word.
• Long brief? We read faster and with less attention.
• Short brief? We slow down and pay closer attention.
Brevity signals confidence. Most lawyers have it backwards.
Adverbs sometimes destroy the arguments they’re meant to strengthen and protect. I call them badverbs.
1. Intensifier adverbs: Used to pump up weak arguments (“Clearly,” “Obviously,” “Outrageously”).
2. Hedge adverbs: Used to cushion shaky arguments (“Arguably,” “Apparently,” “Fairly strongly”).
Researchers studied U.S. Supreme Court briefs and found something striking: the more intensifiers a brief used, the more often the party lost.
More here. Zen and the Art of Persuasive Writing book, here.
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