A veteran trial judge, who was also an experienced litigator and public defender, concluded that the most significant qualities of the most effective expert witnesses during direct examination with courts and juries are believability, credibility and persuasiveness. To achieve these qualities, the expert witness should pay attention to the following:

• At the outset, presentation of credentials should deal only with the highlights and eliminate the details.
• Hypothetical questions should be stated with clarity, when used.
• All opinions should be clearly stated as such, as based on "a reasonable degree of (scientific, technical or professional) certainty."
• The persuasive expert should be prepared to give reasons for his conclusions and testify using nontechnical terms that can be understood by everyone.
• Weak opinions or testimony should be exposed during direct examination, such as the frequency of previous testimony for a particular side, the length of past examinations, the rate of retention by opposing counsel, payment for testimony, and possible disagreement with other experts' opinions.
• The outstanding expert witness should practice how to respond during direct examination so he can be poised and self-assured.

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