Weekly Edge: Interviewing

Empathy Meets Evidence: The Case for Trauma-Informed Interviewing
Because of my background and who my clients are, these blogs are written for interviewing, investigations, inspection, and audit communities, but their applicability beyond those arenas should be apparent. That is especially true here. This is about being in tune with those around you. Being sensitive to trauma in its many forms and appearances. Beyond that, work is but a

WISCI Unveiled: The Evidence-Based Approach to Critical Incident Witness Interviews
I suspect that many of you have not heard about WISCI, or you think I have a spelling disorder, or have been drinking too much of it. Up to last week, I, too, was unfamiliar with the name or the research that could be very beneficial to our work in interviewing. Upon learning about it, and considering it importance, I

Building Trust and Gathering Truth: Research-Driven Communication Strategies
These blogs are clearly written for the interviewing, investigations, inspection, and audit communities, but I hope you all see applicability across the board. They would help in sales, in teaching, in community service, and even in leadership, God forbid. Beyond that, work is but a slice of our lives impact, so really, I want them to also improve relationships and

Creativity in Evidence-Based Interviewing: A Forward-Looking Perspective
Last week we talked about evidence-based practices and examined the issue of influence vs. persuasion in our interviews. Today we will look at creativity and the necessity to develop and employ it to be successful in our interactions. Much like the last two weeks, I ask you to do another New Year’s self-assessment to identify whether changes are necessary to

Evidence-Based Insights: Why Influence Outperforms Persuasion in Investigative Work
Last week we talked about evidence-based practices to conduct more effective interviews, and I asked you to do a New Year’s self-assessment to identify changes necessary to your repertoire. Did you, do it??? Hmmm? Well, guess what? More self-assessment today on our use of persuasion vs influence and what that looks like. And just to be clear. I write these

Mastering the Truth: Evidence-Based Investigative Interviewing Techniques
Happy New Year to my readers here. 2025 is upon us and this is my first blog of the New Year. With each new year we often make resolutions which statistics say are normally broken by the second Friday of January, known as Quitters Day. Regardless, I am going to challenge you in this blog to make some changes, not