Of Depositions And Derelicts (The Friday Ficks S5 E3)

He looked rough. Like life had put him through the wringer. A frayed ponytail. Ink-covered arms. Clothes that had seen too many days in the same rotation.

To some, he might have looked like a derelict.

The deposition witness worked as a deckhand for the tugboat company I represented. He wasn’t what most people might expect in a legal proceeding.

The case? A pleasure boat crashing into a marine buoy.

Seven "maritime" lawyers assembled around the table. Each one ready to question him.

Maritime lawyers, as they often remind you, consider themselves a cut above. They speak in terms dredged up from King’s English. Archaic phrases most people have never heard. Their behavior that day was no exception.

They sneered at the witness, peppering him with convoluted terms and irrelevant questions. When he asked what certain words meant, they dismissed him. “It’s a maritime term,” they said, as though that settled everything.

Their aim wasn’t truth. It was humiliation.

During a break, I overheard the witness speaking with the court reporter. “Every guy asking me questions thinks I’m an idiot,” he said with a grin. “I’m just stringing them along.”

Derelict? Not even close.

Back in the room, one of the lawyers asked why he hadn’t climbed onto the buoy for maintenance. The witness didn’t hesitate. “Because it was covered in seagull sh*t,” he said. Then he paused. He locked eyes with each lawyer before continuing. “Seagull sh*t. It’s a maritime term.”

The room fell silent. In one sentence, he cut through their egos. Their pretense. Their lack of self-awareness. He exposed their singular goal: to demean him.

Calvin Coolidge once said, “The world is full of educated derelicts.” That day, we both knew who the real derelicts were. Those lawyers. Blinded by judgment. Their own arrogance sealed their defeat.

Most of us judge. We size people up based on appearance. On demeanor. On circumstance. And often, we’re wrong. Judgment, especially the hasty kind, comes at a cost. To us. To others.

Here’s a challenge: check your assumptions. Pause before you label someone. The person you think you’ve figured out might surprise you. They might even teach you something.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl

P.S. Don’t let snap judgments hold you back. Emotional intelligence—especially self-awareness—can transform how you connect and succeed. Learn five practical ways to develop it here: https://lnkd.in/eJUrJyA5