2850 College Drive, Rice Lake,
WI 54868
715-736-0940
Preparation
Tips for Victim Speakers
(Drunk Driving Victims and
Property Crime Victims)
DO
-Tell
about the crime itself (what happended, when, what was taken, who was injured
or killed, etc.).
-Express
how the crime has affected you (your marriage and family, friends, career, and
life in general). It can be effective to describe a typical day now as
contrasted with a typical day before the crime was committed.
-Use
visual aids if they will enhance the telling of your story. Photos of your
loved one before the death, the death certificate, or autopsy report can be
placed in plastic covers and passed throughout the audience. Slide presentation
photos of the victim beginning as a small child and ending with a photo having
something to do with the crime are also very effective. Do not show death scene
or morgue photos.
-Speak
from the heart, and don’t worry if you become emotional. Genuine emotion (never
contrived) is a great communicator. If you need to stop for a few minutes to
gain your composure, simply say so.
DON’T
-Quote
statistics
-Express
your opinion about violent crime in general or the criminal or civil justice
systems.
-Blame
or accuse those in your audience.
-Express
rage or anger UNLESS you are able to follow it up by saying that underneath it
are sadness and sorrow and it sometimes gets expressed as anger.
Simply
tell your story…in no more that 10-15 minutes. You will lose the audiences
attention if you speak longer than that. Realize it may be harder to speak than
write. Therefore, you might want to jot down a few notes in case you lose your
train of thought. On the other hand, don’t over-rehearse. Above all, don’t read
a prepared statement. After you’ve given the facts about the crime, talk about
how you feel NOW-TODAY. Not yesterday or when it happened , but now. This will
keep you relevant, fresh and poignant. It will also prevent you from giving the
same presentation over and over again.
*information
taken from MADD Manual on Victim Panels