Telephone Interviews
You've got a problem.
You are investigating a serious incident and your key witness
is working at a site five hours away. You need to decide
if the trip is worthwhile, especially since you've been informed
that the witness has a reputation for being uncooperative.
Consider a telephone interview. It may be more productive
than you think.
Besides the obvious travel
time and cost savings there are other advantages. The use
of the telephone allows the investigator most familiar with the
incident to conduct the interview. While someone at the
branch office could conduct the interview; without all the background
information it would likely produce little benefit.
Research has shown that
people are generally more truthful in telephone interviews and
on written questionnaires, than they are in face-to-face meetings.
This may be caused in part because the use of the telephone
creates the perception that the matter is not all that serious.
We live in a telephone world. Talking on the phone
is part of a daily routine. It's not a stressful exercise;
people are relaxed and less guarded in what they say on the telephone
as compared to a face-to-face meeting. Think about the
cell phone conversations of others that you would rather not have
heard.
Of course there is a downside
as well. The telephone might be viewed by the witness as
being a very impersonal tool. Your communications are limited
to being verbal, giving you no opportunity to observe body language.
You may have a lack of control over the interview location.
The witness could be in their home or another supportive
environment and you need to deal with this ahead of time.
Consider asking the witness to move to a more private area or
call ahead to schedule an appointment. Hopefully, this
will allow the interview to be conducted when the witness's family
or friends will not be a factor.
Use the telephone interview
situation to your advantage, and as you would in a face-to-face
interview develop a game plan ahead of time. The difference
here is that you can have your written questions, statements and
photographs spread out in front of your for easy reference.
The use of a speakerphone frees up your hands to locate evidence
in front of you and the witness will be unaware of your actions
and any body language.
Watch people having a very
personal conversation on the telephone. Quite often witnesses
while speaking on the phone will place themselves in a submissive
head-down position as they focus on the conversation. With
the earpiece held to their ear your voice will appear close and
this aids in building rapport. You can create an even greater
sense of intimacy by picking up the handset from the speakerphone
when talking about a sensitive question. The witness will
notice a change in the quality of your voice, and it will appear
to the witness that you have moved even closer to him.
Secrets are disclosed in moments of intimacy.
You need to create this intimate environment and building rapport
with your witness must be part of your game plan. Use a
good quality speakerphone, one that allows both parties to talk
at once.
The ideal interview environment would be
for the witness to come to your branch office site to receive
your phone call. If need be, the element of surprise can
be used and the witness simply told there is a telephone call
for him. Have the room prepared as you would if you where
there in person by having distractions removed from the desktop
or walls. As in a face-to-face interview and as part of
your rapport building exercise you should contact the manager
or supervisor for background information on the witness.
If the matter under investigation is
significant you may want to ask a management representative to
be in the same room as the witness. This person is not
part of the conversation, but rather, is acting as your extended
presence in the room. They should limit any eye contact
with the witness and have pen and paper available to make any
notes and to take a full statement if required. The witness
needs to be briefed on this person's role and understand this
process.
The most critical part
of the process is to train yourself to become an active listener.
You need to clear your mind of all distractions and biases
and listen to what the witness is saying. Don't allow yourself
to mentally answer the witness's questions and if you find your
mind is drifting bring it back to the subject at hand.
To help evaluate what is being said take
a piece of paper and divide it into four quadrants. As
the witness speaks make notes for the follow four items:
•
FACTS: These are the foundation of the story.
•
ASSUMPTIONS: These might be true or fit the facts being
proposed.
• JUDGMENTS:
These may or may not be true and are based on the witness's
belief in facts and their assumptions.
•
BIAS: A witness's bias can cloud the facts creating unjustified
assumptions and judgments.
As part of your evaluation identify
key words and phrases spoken by the witness that helped identify
assumptions, judgments and biases? Ask yourself some questions.
Did the witness answer your question? Was additional information
volunteered?
Like other investigations skills, this
takes practice. You might begin by interviewing witnesses
in less serious situations who are located near your location,
but perhaps who are working an off shift. If you are not
satisfied with the initial responses you can always arrange a
face-to-face meeting with little inconvenience to yourself or
the witness.
Reference: Practical Aspects
of Interview and Interrogation. David E. Zulawski &
Douglas E. Wicklander. CRC Press.
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