Interviewing Techniques for Higher Ed Investigations SCCE Higher Education Conference

Transcription

1 Interviewing Techniques for Higher Ed Investigations SCCE Higher Education Conference June 6, 2012 Presented by Meric Craig Bloch Vice President Compliance and Special Investigations Adecco Group North America Effective interviewing is a professional skill You must be able to influence the behavior of the witness towards learning the truth. You need a defined strategy to achieve your goal. You need to control the interview. You must determine when the witness is truthful and when they are deceptive. You must be able to collect quality information from the witness. You must be able to solicit admissions.. Interviewing Techniques 2 1

2 Interviewing strategy and mechanics What do you know about the investigation and the witness so far? What is your objective in speaking to this witness? Attend, center and direct. Don t overlook the mechanics of a good interview. Have the discipline to control your own responses.. Interviewing Techniques 3 The psychology of communication There are inhibitors and facilitators of communication. Your job is to reduce the former and increase the latter. Understand the concepts of expression. Effective persuasion leads to good interviews. A proper conversation can be therapeutic. Every communication includes ritual. But ritual has little to do with gathering information.. Interviewing Techniques 4 2

3 The dynamics of exchanging information There are communication inhibitors: Time demands Ego threat Etiquette Trauma Forgetting Chronological confusion Unconscious behavior Different backgrounds or cultures The information is more important to you than the witness.. Interviewing Techniques 5 The dynamics of exchanging information There are communication faciliators, however: Fulfilling expectations Recognition Altruistic appeals Sympathetic understanding Catharsis Extrinsic rewards New experiences A communications facilitator makes a witness more forthcoming with information.. Interviewing Techniques 6 3

4 Personal preparation for an interview You are the choreographer of the interview. What information do you want from the witness? There is no substitute for preparation. Review your hypothesis. Is there anything management needs you to find out for them? Thinking about post-investigation possibilities. Has this person been interviewed in the past? Consider your appearance and demeanor.. Interviewing Techniques 7 The initial steps in the interview Give a standard set of instructions to the witness. Extend basic courtesy. Be alert to signs of hostility, such as the refusal to engage in the basics of social acts. Start norming the witness. Consider your personal and professional safety.. Interviewing Techniques 8 4

5 Interview strategies A directive interview will take the bull by the horns. A non-directive interview asks open questions and gives the witness the chance to talk. Most productive interviews are a combination of directive and non-directive strategies. Both interview types contain primary and secondary questions. You can always use tie-down and leading questions. Either strategy must have a questioning sequence.. Interviewing Techniques 9 The importance of questions People have a natural inclination to talk, so a good interviewer uses that inclination to get information. People often feel they are in control when they are talking. But within the interview, usually the opposite is true. The goal of the interview is to get the other person to talk.. Interviewing Techniques 10 5

6 The types of questions witnesses are asked Open-ended questions encourage a narrative. Expansion questions build from an open-ended question. Close-ended questions nail down specific facts. Leading questions proceed from your ulterior motive. The final question pushes things to the witness. The type of question is important because the question determines the answer.. Interviewing Techniques 11 The hostile interview There are only two reasons people become hostile in an interview. If you can recognize the volatility, you can probably defuse it. Hostile witnesses have three common personality characteristics. Hostile interviews are charged with emotion, and there are physical symptoms to look for. The techniques for a hostile interview are different, although you are still looking for information.. Interviewing Techniques 12 6

7 Permitted interrogation tactics I am confident that you are guilty Show them circumstantial evidence Observe deception Help with rationalization Minimize the significance of wrongdoing Be non-judgmental Show the futility of lying. Interviewing Techniques 13 Methods of interrogation The factual interrogation The classic emotional interrogation The Wicklander-Zulawski method It s non-confrontational Convince witness you know they are guilty Use factual information and offer rationalization Build from a small admission. Interviewing Techniques 14 7

8 The decision to confess Confessing is counterintuitive You can get away with lying The five reasons people don t confess Why people do, in fact, confess The importance of rationalizations The types of denials you encounter. Interviewing Techniques 15 The truth It can be told with acute memory It has a perceptive recounting of the facts It can be told in a flowing narration There is a consistent recollection of the facts. Interviewing Techniques 16 8

9 The psychology of deception Telling the truth is easy Lying and deception are different but the same to you. Because all behavior is goal-oriented, deception is their goal. Lying is difficult and intentional Lying is complicated Lying is stressful. Interviewing Techniques 17 The physical effects of deception The stress of lying Stress that, however, may not signal deception Lying points you right to the lie Finding the baseline. Interviewing Techniques 18 9

10 The types of lies you will encounter The simple denial The lie of omission The lie of fabrication The lie of minimization The lie of exaggeration. Knowing how to respond to the lie will allow you to neutralize it.. Interviewing Techniques 19 Spotting the deception No one gesture is dispositive. Look out for conscious and subconscious gestures Verbal clues that show deception Body language clues that show deception What do you do when you spot it?. Interviewing Techniques 20 10

11 The interview memo If you don t document it, it didn t happen. The memo must effectively transmit details of the interview. Write a complete memo and destroy your notes. Reconfirm facts with the witness rather than depending on the witness agreement to what your wrote. Quotes are terrific, but make sure jargon is explained so you both have the same understanding. The memo should be impartial and with a minimum of your involvement. Your opinions are not included. The memo must be completed timely.. Interviewing Techniques 21 Contact information Meric Craig Bloch Vice President Compliance and Special Investigations Adecco Group North America meric.bloch@adeccona.com Follow me on Interviewing Techniques 22 11