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'But That Wasn't The Deal!'
In litigation, the truth does not always matter. What does matter is the persuasiveness of the evidence. All other things being equal, if your adversary's testimony seems more credible to the judge or jury than your testimony, your adversary will likely win, no matter who's telling the truth.
In a typical case, Widget-buyer Mr. Jones testifies that Mr. Smith, the Widgets Corporation sales manager, told him that if he put his order in now, the price would be discounted by 10%. Mr. Smith, on the other hand, testifies that was not the deal at all. Rather, he says, it was agreed that the discount was to kick in only if Mr. Jones ordered at least one million widgets, which never happened. $300,000 is in question. Which side do you find in favor of, and on what basis?
Assuming that neither party has been caught in a lie or contradiction, there is no rational basis on which to pick one side over the other. Having little choice, jurors are likely to pick the witness who seems most credible ' that witness who made better eye contact, seemed least hesitant, and so on. But the fact is that some people are better speakers ' more relaxed ' and make better witnesses than others, none of which has anything to do with who is telling the truth. Isn't evaluating witnesses based on their appearance tantamount to judging a book by its cover?
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