My old newspaper buddy Doug and I talk a few times a year. We used to work for the same paper in Sarasota,Fla; I covered crime and he still works there as a sports columnist.
In traditional male mode, I am not super chatty. But I find myself in these calls talking for 10 or 15 minutes straight to my old friend. It’s no coincidence that Doug has had a great career as a journalist and columnist. How does he rope-in me and his other interview subjects? He listens. I try to remind myself of Doug’s patient and active listening strategy when I am in the field interviewing witnesses.
There are several different schools and methods in private investigations and police work that focus on interviewing or interrogations. Some of these techniques perhaps go overboard on the interviewer controlling the subject, content of the interview or even the seating. The truth in the private sector, as compared to law enforcement, is that as investigators we have no authority what-so-ever to force people to cooperate or to talk. You lose all credibility if you make a threat you can’t enforce. Whereas as there potentially are charges for not cooperating with or lying to a law enforcement officer, there are no consequences for telling a private investigator to get…lost.
I don’t make a living if I don’t get witnesses to cooperate. In a high stakes legal case, whether criminal defense or civil, witnesses make or break it. Private investigators in the field are the eyes and ears for attorneys. We also act as buffers in communications between witnesses and lawyers.
As a newspaper reporter and private investigator I have been interviewing people professionally for about 25 years. I approach interviewing as a dialog and opportunity to get important information, sometimes which will result in a statement or declaration for court. If I try to steamroll, arm-twist or bulldoze, I will get shut down faster than a drug deal in a police station.
I want to build trust and get the interview off the street or door step and into a restaurant or home or some other place where we can have a more detailed conversation. (I once had a former P.I. boss tell me “to ask questions until they throw you out.”) Every witness is different, some will hate you at first but come back to you like a lost love, some are “dream witnesses” who have saved important documents, some get involved because they like inserting themselves into a situation and some are deathly afraid to talk.
Some witnesses or interview subjects are just angry, guilty liars. I have had a few interviews where I know I am going down in flames. When confronted, I will sometimes fire back with blunt verbal force that may or may not elicit information. Every situation is different.
My advice for anyone trying to obtain information from someone else is:
- Be prepared. Know something about the subject and or person and be willing to trade some information or facts.
- Keep an open mind. Too many preconceived notions will poison the ability to listen.
- Try the “power of silence.” Just be quiet and see how they respond.
- Determine a “baseline” for your subject. See how they answer and talk about non-sensitive subjects before you escalate to more pointed questions.
- Be aware of non-verbal cues and “micro-expressions.” These little shoulder shrugs or nose wrinkles may not indicate deception but might suggest anxiety, anger, contempt.
- Take your time.
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