Persuasion and convincing techniques in human communication

Convincing People -- 12 Angry Men

Angry Men may be the most famous American courtroom drama, though most of it is not even held in a courtroom. Beginning with the end of a trial and the judge's instructions to the jury, it seems that the Defendant is certainly going to the electric chair. Starting with an 11-1 vote for "guilty," the film slowly shows how a single juror named "Davis," who stands up for the Constitutional protection of "reasonable doubt," eventually persuades every other juror to vote "not guilty" along with him.

Which of Mr. Davis' strategies would have been most effective on you?

The strategy that would have been most effective on me as a fellow juror would be his very first strategy: "owing" it to the Defendant to at least discuss the issues and evidence because of the seriousness of the crime and penalty. That is a very reasonable request and it actually worked on the other jurors immediately. It's true that some of the other jurors did not like the idea but they all at least grudgingly went along with it because it was perfectly reasonable, would not be too inconvenient to any of them, and nobody could really come up with a good argument against just talking about the case for a little while.

b. Are there things he could have done differently to be more effective?

The "correct" answer to this question should probably be that Davis could have done things differently; however, after watching him maneuver and adjust and ultimately win every single juror over to "not guilty," there does not seem to be anything that he could have done differently to make himself more effective. He was so effective that he convinced everyone to agree with him. That is about as effective as a person can get.

i. How does Mr. Davis handle conflict?

Mr. Davis' handling of conflict depends on how many other people are "with" him. Initially, when he was alone, he basically pleaded for common decency toward the Defendant in the sense of discussing the issues and evidence; then, when some jurors objected to that approach, Davis said he would vote guilty if all the other 11 voted guilty. When Davis had one or more other jurors on his side, he became bolder and bolder to anyone who opposed him, even to the point of calling Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb's character) a sadist. Finally, when Davis had all but one juror on his side, he told Juror #3 "You're all alone now." Consequently, Davis kept shifting his approach, depending on the strength behind him.

ii. How is it compare to the approaches of the other jurors?