Happy Birthday, Shannon! This (true) story is for you.
THE SHARK
Opening Statements
“Hi Shannon, guess where I was this weekend?” I am on the phone with my 6-year-old niece.
“At the cottage?” She loves our cottage.
“Yep. I had a party. A bunch of my girl friends were there.”
“Did you catch any fish?”
Crap. I forgot about her fishing fascination. Think, Kerry, think. You are a lawyer. Answer truthfully and move on.
“Nope. But we swam and played games and-“
Cross Examination
“Weren’t they biting?” Shannon sounds skeptical.
Double crap. Think, think. Your job is to spin answers to tough questions.
“Nope, they weren’t biting.” Technically true: we weren’t giving them anything to bite.
In for the Kill
“Well, did you even try?” Her indignation is palpable.
The witness caves.
“No, we didn’t. We didn’t fish.”
Schooled, Counselor.






