Primary Intelligence Collection:

Interviewing & Elicitation

Ellen Naylor

Business Intelligence Source

ellen@thebisource.com

+1-303-838-4545 (USA)

www.thebisource.com

http://cooperativeintelligenceblog.com

Interviewing

“The next best thing to knowing all about

your own business is to know all about the

other fellow’s business.”

John D. Rockefeller

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Interviewing

Obtain what you want from someone who probably

has the answer,

Who knows WHO you are and probably WHY you

want it

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Planning

• Formulate Relevant Questions

• What’s Your Relationship with the Target?

• Re-word Questions to Motivate Sharing

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Relationship with Target

• Attitude about information sharing?

• What have they shared before?

• Where comfortable sharing?

• Why share more?

• Cold Call?

• What will you share?

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Practical Motivators

• Profession

• Politics

• Personal Issues

• Personal

• Predisposition

• Emotional Intelligence

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Dominant

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Influencer

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Steady/Amicable

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Conscientious

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Re-word Questions to Motivate

Minimize Ego Threat

• Start with broad/open ended questions

• Hypothetical questions

• Indirect questions/statements

• Narrow questions

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Listen for the Hints or Cues

• Be patient, alert

• Judge target’s emotional state

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Lay Aside Pre-Conceived Notions

• Failure to Listen

– Biased expectations

– Desire for self-expression

– Performance anxiety

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Observe Target’s Visual Response

Visual cues indicate emotions

– Intentional body language

– Involuntary body language

Involuntary Validity of response

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Leakage

• When words & visual cues don’t match up

• When Visual cues don’t match up

Change the subject

Probe more deeply

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Elicitation: Definition

• Conversation that compels people to

voluntarily tell you things without you

asking

• Involves planned, conversational

interaction to gather the data needed.

• Conversation flows without raising that

person’s concern about what he told you.

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Remember Questions Better

• Who is s/he?

• Why are they asking?

• What’s in it for me to share x, y or z?

• How shall I respond?

• How will s/he use what I say?

• How much should I share?

• Or should I share at all?

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Elicitor Skills

• Natural gift for making friends

• Good listener

• Establish rapport well

• Practical psychological insight

• Broad general knowledge

• Good memory

• Two level listener

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Elicitation: “Planned Conversation”

• Your personality

• Your target’s personality

• Desired outcomes?

• What steps to take?

• Builds on what you know

• The right conversational points: timely

• Conversation is interesting to target

• Builds on human tendencies

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Human Characteristics in Elicitation

• Desire to be recognized, appreciated

• Curiosity, Gossip, Complain

• Show off/share confidences w/other professionals

• Occupational hazards: advising, teaching, correcting challenging

• Self-effacement – downplay accomplishments

• Habit to correct others

• Prove someone else wrong

• Over-talking when overly emotional

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

The Conversational Hourglass

Customer Knowledge

Personal, profession

What’s worked before

Expertise, knowledge

Intended

Outcome

Your favorite

Techniques

Elements StylePre-selected Questions

about general topics

Innocuous and

non-threatening

Stacking of Elicitation TechniquesTest generalizations and

presumptions about human

factors in elicitation

Attention on details of

information being provided

Pre-selected questions

on other general topics

Note signals from Target

e.g. discomfort or comfort

Pleasant and

Non-confrontational

Macro Topics

Macro Topics

Micro

Topic

Paraphrased from Confidential by John Nolan, p. 28

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Expression of Mutual Interest

• Often lowers defenses, and opens up

conversation

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Provocative Statement

• Used to engender a question in response,

and usually sets up another elicitation

technique

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Simple Flattery

Often coaxes a person into conversation

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Naïve Mentality

• Causes knowledgeable people to instruct

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Opposing Stand

• Purposely take the opposite stand

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Unbelieving Attitude

Denial of the obvious leads to enlightenment!

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Quid pro Quo

• I’ll share if you’ll share

• Gesture of good faith and openness

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Purposefully Erroneous Statement

• Deliberate false statements cause the

knowledgeable person to correct you

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Oblique References

• Comments made indirectly, in either a

positive or negative light, which generate

either defense or criticism

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Exploit the Instinct to Complain

• Indirectly criticize an individual or an

institution or industry expert

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Bracketing Techniques

• Start broader, and get narrower

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

Silence

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

“I've learned that people will

forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget

how you made them feel.”

Dr. Maya Angelou

Sep 2012 ©The Business Intelligence Source Inc

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Ellen Naylor

ellen@thebisource.com

+1.303.838.4545

www.thebisource.com

http://cooperativeintelligenceblog.comhttp://twitter.com/EllenNaylorwww.linkedin.com/in/ellennaylorcolorado