I invite you to our webinar tomorrow, Monday, October 14th, at 1 p.m. Pacific / 4 p.m. Eastern.
We often discuss how to create the right assets—whether it’s a personal narrative, a strategic release plan, documented community service, or other materials for stakeholders. But even the best-prepared asset can be undone by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. A single inconsistency can give the impression of dishonesty or, as one probation officer put it, make you look ‘shady.’
Tomorrow, we’ll walk through discussions you’ll have with different stakeholders and engage in role-playing to demonstrate how small shifts in wording can significantly impact your sentence length and prison term. I’ll also share specific examples of how just a few words—in one case, three: “LOL”—led to serious consequences: removal from programs like RDAP (which can reduce a sentence by up to a year), loss of halfway house time, revoked travel passes, and even longer prison terms. All because of a few careless words. It may not seem fair, but it’s the reality.
I’ll also briefly discuss Nudge, a book that presents data showing how people are often more motivated to avoid losses than to achieve gains. In this context, the lessons from this webinar could prevent you from losing the progress you’ve worked so hard to achieve. I will publish my book report on Nudge this week!
To help you prepare, I’ve included links to three of the key courses we’ll be discussing tomorrow:
Whether pre-sentencing or post, consistent messaging is important at every stage.
My team and I forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Justin Paperny
P.S. On November 18th, 2024, I am interviewing Former Probation Officer, Chris Maloney. Use the same webinar link to join live!