Interview Training Basic Skills

Course Objectives To understand:  your policies and procedures  interviewing as a methodology  documenting interviews To practice:  developing different types of interviews and questions  conducting an interview

When to do interviews? Background information Technical information Issue identification Problem identification Follow-up information

Categories of Evidence Physical – direct inspection or observation Analytical – comparisons or computations Documentary – letter, contracts, and invoices Testimonial – interviews or questionnaires

Types of Interviews Informal and conversational Guided Standardized open-ended Closed, fixed response

Question Sets

Class Exercise #1 Review the standardized open-ended interview, and; Identify the type of question that was asked.

Question Order Non-controversial items Current condition Opinion about condition Past condition Future condition Anything else...

Question Wording Avoid: unintentional “primes” dichotomies “why” questions implied critiques or judgments indirect questions

Question Wording Clear Concise Contain single ideas Correct grammar

Class Exercise #2 Review the standardized open-ended interview, and;  identify issues in question sequence  wording strengths and weaknesses

Managing the Interview: The Three P’s Priming Creating associations between groups or objects to elicit a particular response.

Managing the Interview: The Three P’s Probes Following up on a question to obtain more information. Elaboration Clarification Detail

Managing the Interview: The Three P’s Prompts Sends the message that you are engaged and lets you control the interview through setting the pace, tone, and tasks.

Listening Be engaged Demonstrate your interest Tolerate silence …and watch for non- verbal cues.

Tips on Note Taking Make attributions correctly Note follow-up questions and info requests Develop a short hand style

Closing the Interview Stay on time Ask if they have any questions Thank the person for their time Ask for permission to follow up with questions

Documenting Interviews Write up your notes quickly Identify follow up Have others review your work Distinguish between facts and stated personal views

Documenting Interviews Q&A Sequence  Organized by question list  Ensures complete answers to questions  May be tedious or difficult to read  May miss big picture Topical Sequence  Narrative structure, easy to read  Summary of big picture  May miss responses to specific questions

Class Exercise #3 The Hot Seat  The Proud  The Dismissive  The Quiet One  The Talker  The Whistleblower