Interview SkillsInterview Skills

Danalynn RecerDanalynn Recer

Gulf Region Advocacy CenterGulf Region Advocacy Center

Seven assumptions about Seven assumptions about interviewsinterviews

1. Every interview is strategic and contingent2. Every interview is conducted in light of team

strategies and goals3. Interviewing is cyclical in nature and

requires returning to the witness as new information is discovered

4. Cultural competency is essential5. Interviewers know they must identify,

understand, and overcome barriers to disclosure

6. Trust must be established7. Background investigation is conducted prior

to the interview

Investigation ProtocolsInvestigation Protocols

• Initial visits without an agenda

• Do take notes to show respect

• Don’t take notes if it has chilling effect

• NO CHECK LISTS OR FORMS

• ALWAYS GET RELEASES

• ALWAYS GET ARTIFACTS

Protocols – Visits, cont’dProtocols – Visits, cont’d

• Teach witness confidentiality by object lesson

• Don’t let witnesses do your job

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep

• Invoke the rule

• Disclosures only for strategic reasons with team planning

Witness RelationshipsWitness Relationships

• Preparation• Visits• Client comes first• Promises, money, gifts, food, legal advice• Building a relationship with the witness is very

important, even if they are a minor witness.

Conducting the interview: Basic Conducting the interview: Basic techniques to keep in mindtechniques to keep in mind

• Start off in a private setting• Ask open ended questions.

– How did you feel about ________?– What did you think about _________?

• Show empathy• Keep confidences• Mirror and loop language – active listening • Get anecdotes (tell me about a time when . . .)• Minimize intrusiveness of note-taking• Clear up any confusion, misunderstandings before the end

of the interview. • Be comfortable with yourself, your surroundings, and the

subject matter. • Always accept offers of something to drink or eat• Take note of any questions they have that you are unable

to answer, so you can look into them and get back to them. • Leave your contact information

Conducting the interview: Conducting the interview: Techniques to avoidTechniques to avoid

• Do not interview cold. This could be your only chance to speak with this witness so make it count and be prepared!

• Don’t be rigid. You are prepared but flexible. • Do not jump around from subject to subject. Stay

clear. You are a tour guide, and you will need to keep the flow simple and easy to follow.

• Do not interrupt pregnant pauses. If you let an uncomfortable silence last, eventually the interviewee will fill the silence with exactly what is on their mind.

• Do not adopt a particular perspective. Even if they ask you specifically what you think happened or whether a particular person is to blame about a situation, stay noncommittal.

Conducting the interview: Conducting the interview: Techniques to avoid continuedTechniques to avoid continued

• Do not interrupt. Do not be abrupt. Do not break the flow of what they are saying. Hold your questions until the person is finished talking.

• Do not be alarmed / disgusted / surprised by the things they say. Pay close attention to your own reactions.

• Do not reveal client confidences or sources of information

• Do not ask closed questions• Do not pass information on to family or others• Do not use judgmental language like the word “abuse”• Do not settle for misperceptions (loner, spoiled, mean)• Do not link releases to etiology of social history• Do not use any recording devices

Obstacles to Development and Obstacles to Development and Presentation of TraumaPresentation of Trauma

• Client/Family lack of disclosure

• Time and Money to build relationships

• Client’s self-hatred/self-destruction

• Conditions of Confinement

• Parameters of Investigation

• Our own inflated sense of importance

• The causality or “nexus” trap

Interviews about AbuseInterviews about Abuse

In order to conduct objective, reliable, and client-sensitive interviews, professionals need an awareness and understanding of child development, the history and dynamics of trauma, and a working knowledge of the continuing evolution of the evaluation process.

Strategies of Coercive Strategies of Coercive ControlControl

• Corruption• Physical and social isolation• Forced false confession/interrogation• Forced acceptance of responsibility

for violence• Sleep interruption/deprivation• Control over basic bodily processes

Strategies of Coercive Strategies of Coercive ControlControl

• Denunciation of treasured ideal• Public humiliation and/or verbal

degradation• Occasional indulgences• Physical and/or sexual abuse• Destruction of pets and/or property• Threats to kill or maim

Day in the Life InterviewingDay in the Life Interviewing

• Establish eras of witness’ life (combination of people and places)

• For each era, go through one day

• Collect details, minute-by-minute, event by event of witness’ day

• Ask where other other household members were at each juncture

• Allow tangents and feelings to unfold naturally

Culturally Competent Culturally Competent InterviewingInterviewing

Lessons from Ethnographic Lessons from Ethnographic InterviewingInterviewing

Understanding a life in a context Understanding a life in a context unfamiliar to usunfamiliar to us

Active Listening is necessary to understand the narrative of a family’s life

Respect for cultural knowledge of families requires us to learn from clients and their families

Approach is respectful and collaborative

Goal of InterviewsGoal of Interviews

• Learn, understand, and appreciate experiences and worldviews of people who are different from us.

• Create a space where voices of the witnesses can emerge

Roles ReversedRoles Reversed

• You are not the expert, but a learner

• Assume a position of informed not-knowing

• The witness becomes a cultural guide

MethodologyMethodology

• Build on witness’s strengths

• Do not blame them or pathologize their experiences

• Do not generalize

• Be slow to access

Methodology (cont)Methodology (cont)

• Set tone with friendly conversation

• State the purpose and goal of the interview

• Express your lack of knowledge about the culture

QuestionsQuestions

• Prepare a few questions before interview

• Ask questions about the witness’s perception of problems, group role norms, rituals, help seeking and problem resolution

• Ask open ended questions

Open Ended QuestionsOpen Ended Questions

• Physical setting of the cultural scene (describe the farm to me)

• Sequence of activities for social relationships

• Who are people in relationship to each other

• Ask for an example of single act or event

• Ask about experiences in a specific setting

Language QuestionsLanguage Questions

• Hypothetical: Ask witness to speak as if talking to a member of the cultural group

• Typical sentence: Ask witness to use a cover term in a typical way

• Cover terms: words that identify an important aspect of life experience