Why you should BLUF in court
The time has come, your case has been scheduled, the court date is set. You know everything there is to know about the . And a lot of that information seems to be important. However, the judge has only given you 30 minutes to make your plea. It is time to BLUF.
BLUF is a military acronym for getting your message across: ‘Bottom Line Up Front’. In the heat of a military battle there is no time for detail, only for the bottom line. In battle you have to make decisions fast. BLUF is specially designed to enforce speed and clarity when communicating. Although getting your message across inside (or outside) of court is not comparable to the described life-or-death situation, the people you communicate with are busy people that value their time. BLUF can help you cut through the noise and effectively get your message across. It is an approach that can help you organize your thoughts, analyze the problem and get your point across.
How to make BLUF happen?
The first step is cognitive offloading; creating a (visual) mind map is the best way to go. Start with collecting and capturing all information and thoughts on an traditional piece of paper. Create a ‘brain dump’ of everything that is important to make your argument. Please, don’t hold back and be as detailed and complete as possible. Include all pro’s, con’s and side-steps that come to mind. Add connections where you see fit; between people, events, or other relevant information-elements. And then… step back and give it a rest.
The second step is about ‘bluffing’: take a look at your mind map with fresh eyes and ask yourself ‘What are the essentials?’ Followed by ‘How do these relate to each other?’.
To ensure we understand our own argument well enough to share it with someone else, we have to distill the essence: what is it is really about? In this process of idea distillation we search for the essence, stripping away all distractions. Details, counter-arguments, weaker arguments, variations on the same topic – none of these will make the cut. Be strict with yourself. When in doubt; eliminate.
In the third step we will explore how the information that is remains can best be translated into a visual, by switching from writing to sketching. Balancing words with visual translations will even further force the essentials of your idea to surface. Creating a Legal design that will get your message across swiftly, correctly and memorably. Making your plea convincing, persuasive and engaging.
Legal Design | Designed for Insight
Based on: Dan Roam, Bah Blah Blah What to do when words don’t work, 2011