By the time you reach closing arguments the jurors will likely have already made up their minds about the case. At this point it will be very difficult to change the minds of those jurors. You will be lucky if there is 1 juror who has not already made up his or her mind by closing arguments. For this reason persuading jurors in your closing argument should be a secondary goal.
At the end of the case the jurors will go back and deliberate about the case. Therefore your primary goal in closing arguments will be to motivate the jurors who are already on your side, and give them ammunition to advocate for you in the deliberation room. Once back in the deliberation room the jurors will try to persuade each other what the verdict should be as they discuss the evidence. The ability of the jurors to persuade other jurors will likely be greater than the attorney's ability in closing arguments to persuade them. Therefore motivating and arming the jurors who believe in your case will likely be the most persuasive form of advocacy in closing argument.
