Interview-Less: Interviewing Traits You Must Avoid

“Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.”

–?Albert Einstein

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a list of qualities that we don’t want to see in our leaders. As I wrote it, I reflected on the similarities to the communication weaknesses that also plague interviewers. Much like in that post, we can learn so much from bad interviewers.? These lessons apply in interviewing, investigations, and auditing. So let’s take this list and do an honest self-assessment of where we stand on each of these issues.

In investigative interviewing, the goal is to gather accurate and reliable information from witnesses, victims, or suspects, often in sensitive or high-stakes situations. Certain traits and behaviors can negatively impact the process, leading to unreliable information, coerced confessions, or even miscarriages of justice. Our practice needs to be evidence based and scientifically validated approaches in order to be above reproach. Here are traits and practices to avoid during investigative interviews:

1. Aggression or Coercion

• Intimidation tactics: Yelling, threatening, or using an overly aggressive tone can cause the interviewee to shut down or provide false information just to escape the situation.
• Coercive pressure: Applying pressure to make the interviewee confess or provide specific answers can lead to false confessions or unreliable information.
• Physical intimidation: Any form of physical threat or harm is unethical and can lead to invalid information and legal consequences.

2. Leading or Suggestive Questions

• Leading questions: Asking questions that suggest a particular answer ("You saw him do it, didn’t you?") can bias the interviewee's response.
• Planting ideas: Introducing facts or details that the interviewee hasn’t mentioned can distort their recollection or lead to false memories.
• Assumptions: Making assumptions based on preconceived notions about guilt or innocence can result in steering the interview in the wrong direction.

3. Failure to Establish Rapport

• Cold or indifferent behavior: Failing to build rapport with the interviewee will lead to a lack of trust and willingness to share information.
• Lack of empathy: Particularly when dealing with victims or vulnerable individuals, a lack of empathy can make the interviewee feel disregarded, affecting their willingness to open up.

4. Interrupting or Not Listening

• Interrupting responses: Cutting off the interviewee while they are speaking can hinder their thought process and prevent critical information from being shared.
• Selective listening: Only focusing on the information that fits a specific theory/bias, while ignoring or dismissing other potentially relevant details, can lead to incomplete or inaccurate findings.

5. Confirmation Bias

• Seeking specific answers: Focusing only on evidence or responses that confirm your theory or assumptions rather than exploring all possibilities can skew the investigation.
• Ignoring contradictions: Overlooking information that contradicts your expectations can lead to false conclusions and missed opportunities to uncover the truth.

6. Being Judgmental

• Moral superiority: Acting judgmental or condescending toward the interviewee can lead to defensiveness and non-cooperation.
• Accusatory tone: Using an accusatory or confrontational style may cause the interviewee to become hostile, defensive, or provide misleading information.
• Pre-judging the interviewee: Assuming guilt or innocence before obtaining all relevant information can prevent a fair and impartial interview.

7. Over-reliance on Confessions

• Overemphasizing confessions: Prioritizing obtaining a confession over gathering all available evidence can result in false or coerced admissions of guilt.
• Tunnel vision on guilt: Focusing on a confession rather than corroborating details with other evidence can cause critical facts to be missed.

8. Not Adapting to the Interviewee’s Needs

• Ignoring vulnerability: Failing to consider the mental, emotional, or physical state of the interviewee (e.g., trauma, intoxication, mental illness) can result in unreliable information or retraumatize the individual.
• Rigid questioning: Sticking too rigidly to a prepared set of questions without adapting to the interviewee’s responses can limit the depth and accuracy of the information gathered.

9. Overloading with Complex Questions

• Confusing language: Asking overly complex or ambiguous questions can confuse the interviewee and lead to unclear or inaccurate answers.
• Multiple questions at once: Asking more than one question at a time can overwhelm the interviewee, making it difficult for them to respond effectively.

10. Failure to Clarify or Verify

• Not probing for clarity: Accepting vague or unclear answers without seeking clarification can result in ambiguous or misleading information.
• Failure to cross-check details: Not verifying facts through follow-up questions or other sources can lead to over-reliance on potentially faulty testimony.

This is not an exhaustive list by any measure.? It is a list that should stimulate self-analysis of your interview behaviors.? Do you have the training and skills necessary to avoid these significant shortcomings.? By avoiding these traits, investigative interviewers can create a more productive environment where accurate, complete, detailed, and reliable information can be obtained in an ethical and legally sufficient manner. All of these are addressed in detail in the training that we provide.? Solutions from an evidenced based and scientifically validated perspective.

The next time you see poorly executed interviews, don't just ignore them. Pay attention to the mistakes and traits that hold them back from success and quality information. It isn't just your own mistakes that you can learn from. This way, you will be ready when it becomes your turn to occupy the interview room. You will make your own mistakes along the way, but at least you can avoid the mistakes of others. Again, the parallels are significant between interviewing and leadership; integrity, credibility, empathy.

Anderson Investigative Associates is positioned to custom-tailor training to your specific needs.?If you have any questions or would like to discuss the issue of good interviewing, or lack thereof, or any training need, please reach out.? Additional issues pertaining to interviewing, auditing, and investigations can be found in other blogs and videos that I have produced and are contained in most blocks of instruction that our company presents.

If you have additional questions, comments, or have an interview topic you would like me to address, give me a shout.? In the meantime, be well, stay safe out there, and establish those qualities of good interviewers, because no matter what role you have you need to interview with integrity, credibility and empathy.? These qualities can improve every aspect of your life.

Mark A. Anderson

Director of Training and Development

Anderson Investigative Associates, llc

114 Loucks Avenue

Scottdale, PA 15683

[email protected]

tel:912-571-6686

www.AndersonInvestigative.com