prelims
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Body Language
Body language includes posture, movement, gestures, facial expression, and eye contact. It is an important part of the climate of an interview, which is in play from the beginning to the end of the encounter. You will convey your expectations to the interviewee through your body language. During an interview, your nonverbal behavior is under constant scrutiny, and a single negative message has the potential to render an entire interview ineffective. Before you utter your first word, the interviewee will examine you for signs of acceptance and trustworthiness. Your only defense is to display positive and believable signals of acceptance. A subtle delivery is needed to avoid the appearance of pretense and to avoid arousing the interviewee’s suspicion.
Use your tone of voice, deliberate silences, variations in eye contact, facial expressions, distancing, and posture to express positive or negative feelings ( Communication 1975).
Body Posture and Movement
Signal that you are paying attention to the interviewee by sharing postures, by standing or sitting close, and by facing the interviewee squarely or at a 45-degree angle. Move slowly and confidently to avoid scaring the interviewee. Lean forward to show that you are warm and attentive. When you disagree with something the interviewee has said, be careful not to allow your posture or movement to announce your disagreement. People generally shift their position before voicing their disagreement with what the speaker has said (Scheflen 1964).
When you sense that you are communicating effectively with an interviewee, begin to move in synchrony with him or her, signaling attentive listening (Davis 1975). Try to move in time to the rhythm of the speaker. People are drawn to those who seem to mirror them. Just as a perfect meshing of gears is essential to a smooth-running engine, an effective meshing of personalities is key to a successful interview.
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Gestures, Facial Expression, and Tone of Voice
Proficient investigators use nonconfrontational interviewing tactics, and their body language reflects their nonconfrontational style. If your gestures are in any way accusatory—for example, by pointing your finger—the interviewee will become defensive.
When gesturing, display your total involvement in what is being said. Keep your arms open and your palms extended. Turn your head toward the interviewee; do not look at him or her out of the corner of your eye. Look at the interviewee often, and wear an interested or pleased expression. Your face will not crack and break if you flex your facial muscles to show expression! Be careful not to indicate an authoritarian attitude with your facial expressions or intonation, though. Phrases like “I see,” “Please go on,” and “Uh-huh” indicate interest and desire to hear more (Woody and Woody 1972, p. 165). But the impact of these phrases can be negative or positive depending on how they are expressed. You might say,
“Please go on,” but stop the flow of information with a tone that proclaims disbelief or boredom. Collect evidence in a fair and impartial manner by keeping your tone alert and neutral.
Eye Contact
The interviewer’s easy eye contact promotes rapport with the interviewee and encourages communication. Like gestures, eye contact works to control the flow of conversation. Most people look away for a few seconds before they finish speaking; they look back just as they conclude, signaling that it is the other person’s turn to speak (Davis 1975). Used properly, eye contact is effective in establishing and maintaining communication.
If you are a dominant, assertive individual, be careful how you use eye contact. You don’t want to frighten interviewees with your eye contact pattern. Do not stare at the interviewee; this creates undue stress, which may interfere with communication. Be sure to give the interviewee time to think clearly without trying to stare the person down (Drake 1972, p. 86).
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Touch
Touching another human being in a gentle, reassuring way indicates concern, warmth, and closeness. At times, it is helpful to place your hand gently on the interviewee’s hand, arm, or shoulder. A reassuring touch strengthens the bonds of rapport. Proficient interviewers learn to use reassuring touch to exhibit their acceptance of the interviewee and to strengthen interpersonal communication.
When it seems fitting, your touch can be an integral part of an interview, signaling a special caring inexpressible through words.
A complicated combination of things occurs when two people touch, however, so be careful to determine whether it is appropriate to touch a particular interviewee. Not everyone will allow touching to take place. Hostile or extremely reluctant interviewees will usually not allow themselves to be touched, sometimes not even to shake hands. Many interviewees sense their personal space as an extension of their ego and will go to almost any length to preserve it. They do not want others to come close to them, and they certainly do not want to be touched by anyone.
This restraint usually has nothing to do with you personally and probably has nothing to do with the matter under investigation.
Positive Silence
The tactic of silence can be a weapon for battle or a marvelous instrument of the most delicate construction. Improperly used, the interviewer’s silence is a form of authoritarian punishment.
The “silent treatment” is the ultimate form of rejection and a sure sign of the interviewer’s displeasure (Bennis et al. 1973, p. 78).
The use of abusive silence is a self-defeating tactic that often offends the interviewee, builds tension, and reduces cooperation (Drake 1972, p. 85). Unless employed subtly, your silence may be equated with withdrawal, rejection, disapproval, or an implied threat. Silence shakes up interviewees when it occurs repeatedly.
When used appropriately, however, without an intentional threat to the interviewee, silence can strengthen rapport and
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encourage compliance. You can use a positive silence to indicate your acceptance of the interviewee or to signal your control of the interview. Interviewees can sense the mood of the moment, the implicit meaning of the interviewer’s silence. I support using silence to keep the pot bubbling, not to antagonize or alienate interviewees. It can be a constructive part of your tactics and need not be a harsh method.
Keep your questions simple and direct, and wait after asking each question to give the interviewee time to construct a thoughtful reply (Dexter 1970, p. 112). A brief silence or pause after the interviewee finishes speaking can be used to indicate that more is expected in response to the question. When I pause between questions, I find that interviewees often provide further information to fill the silence (Drake 1972, p. 86). A positive silence thus produces meaningful and relevant information that would not be available from a fast-moving interview (Drake 1972, p. 85). Research indicates that “there is positive correlation between the amount of silence used by the interviewer and the interviewee’s general level of spontaneity” (Gorden 1969, p. 188).
When I choose to use silence as a tactic, I glance at the interviewee rather than stare. Staring can be oppressive when coupled with silence; silence alone is enough to bring out meaningful tension in the interviewee. It is sometimes helpful to introduce silence when the interviewee least expects it.
As useful a tactic as positive silence is, some interviewees can withstand it. Experienced, composed interviewees handle silence by sitting patiently and expectantly or by asking questions to distract you from your efforts. Some interviewees handle silence by returning the interviewer’s stare with a calm, anticipa-tory look. Others counter with their own silence in the hopes of revealing the interviewer’s tension or lack of confidence. The skill of interviewees in handling silence is a sign of their ability to control distress. Hence, it is beneficial to try to gauge an interviewee’s skill in this regard.
Interviewees who resent your authority may engage in long intervals of silence before answering
your questions (Davis 1975).
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Interviewees who have a poor self-image, who feel inadequate and helpless, may use silence to express their annoyance, resentment, or anger. They may engage in lengthy pauses, sudden silences, and an unexplained inability to discuss pertinent detail (Woody and Woody 1972, p. 163). Many interviewees resent being interrupted when speaking. Some can become so petulant, impatient, or irritable that they refuse to talk at all. Interviewees who realize that silence makes the questioner uncomfortable and may intentionally use it to trap the interviewer into proceeding before they have answered the question (Benjamin 1974, p. 25; Gorden 1969).
Inexperienced interviewers sometimes have a low tolerance for silence and become distressed by it. For anxious interviewers who lack self-confidence, a brief period of silence may seem almost endless. However, the interviewee’s silence is not necessarily a hindrance (Woody and Woody 1972, p. 166), and it need not disrupt the interviewer’s strategy. Through training and practice, interviewers can learn to tolerate quiet in an interview and to use it to maximum advantage. Even if the interviewee’s silence makes you feel uneasy, opposed, or thwarted, it is vital that you not respond in an aggressive manner. Don’t respond to the silence as if it were a personal attack on you (Benjamin 1974, p. 25). It is equally important that you not suggest responses to your questions. When I sense that interviewees are trying to use silence to their advantage, I assume that they are also using other ploys to try to manipulate me. These formidable competitors need special attention, closer observation, and more careful assessment. Truthful, straightforward, compliant interviewees do not employ tactics of strategic silence.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. How does the interviewer act as a catalyst during an interview?
2. What is rapport?
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3. When should you begin to develop rapport during an interview?
4. What are the advantages of establishing rapport?
5. Are you approving of the crime when you are friendly to the criminal?
6. How might you go about building rapport?
7. How can you tell if a silent interviewee is truly listening?
8. Why doesn’t the use of sarcasm, ridicule, or cynicism help you gain cooperation?
9. What is role reversal, and how should it be handled?
10. How should you end an unproductive interview?
11. What is active listening?
12. What does it take to be a “perfect listener”?
13. How can you show that you are paying attention to the interviewee?
14. What are the consequences of inattention during an interview?
15. Why is it important to concentrate during an interview?
16. How can you signal your acceptance of the interviewee?
17. What is detachment, and how can you use it?
18. Why is patience a virtue for interviewers?
19. How can you use body language to signal positive messages?
20. How does eye contact help control the flow of conversation?
21. When is it okay to touch an interviewee?
22. How can you use silence in positive ways?
23. How shouldn’t you respond to an interviewee’s silence?
7
Authority and
Neutrality in the
Investigative Interview
Typically, an authority figure functions as a representative of some organization or entity. As difficult as it may seem, an investigator is most successful maintaining a middle ground—balanc-ing on the tight rope of neutrality. An investigator’s loyalty is to the organization he or she represents, but it can be extremely helpful to the success of an inquiry if this connection is clouded over and not too clearly discernible.
AUTHORITY AND POWER
In its simplest form, power is the ability to control, influence, or cause others to do what you want them to do ( Effective Uses of Power and Authority 1980). It can be expressed negatively or positively. Authority is the vested, or conveyed, right to exercise power over others. It is the right to command, to enforce laws, to 89
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exact obedience, to determine, or to judge, and its basis may be legal, traditional, or social. For example, as an FBI agent, I was vested with specific responsibilities to act on behalf of the United States government. To a large extent, my behavior was dictated by the Constitution and the rules and regulations of the FBI. As an authority figure, I functioned within these guidelines, but beyond the guidelines, I set my own personal standards of operation in dealing with people. Investigators wield the authority granted them by virtue of their position, and they function on behalf of a segment of the community (Bennis et al. 1973, p. 62). As with all positions of authority, there is an organization establishing guidelines that impact investigators’ behavior. Each investigator then functions based on personal ethics, and no matter which organization investigators represent, they are personally responsible for how they command, determine avenues of inquiry, and judge outcomes. Because the misuse of their authority carries serious potential consequences, investigators have a great responsibility to exercise their power thoughtfully.
Some investigators wrongly consider power to be a perma-nent possession. In fact, legitimate power emanates from the role or position that the investigator holds. When used positively in an interview, authority promotes confidence and accomplishment, boosting the interviewee’s self-esteem and encouraging his or her cooperation.
The Misuse of Authority
Some interviewers exercise their authority aggressively all the time, rather than assertively and only when necessary. These authoritarians demand absolute obedience without regard for the individual rights of others (Bennis et al. 1973). When crossed, they become intolerant. They threaten interviewees, describing the steps they will take if the interviewee does not cooperate. Arrogantly passing judgment, authoritarians humiliate interviewees, stripping them of their self-respect. They expect to be treated like gods, and often are, because of the
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power they hold to affect the lives of others. Power misusers lack an awareness of their real selves. They are corrupt, prejudiced, sadistic opportunists exploiting their position of power to earn the respect of their peers (Adorno et al. 1950).
Authoritarians wield their power in such a way as to make interviewees feel helpless, impotent, and fearful, forcing them on the defensive (Bennis et al. 1973, p. 252). The investigator’s superior attitude tells interviewees that the investigator is not seeking a problem-solving relationship, that their help is not desired, and that it is likely that their power, status, or worth will be reduced if they cooperate in the investigation (Bennis et al. 1973, p. 492). The result is resistance. If the investigator responds aggressively to resistance, someone may get hurt. The modulated use of power is the only legal and civilized tactic.
The more you understand about what is happening in the interview, the more likely it is that you will respond in a constructive manner (OSS Assessment Staff 1948, p. 171). We all act in accordance with our own individual reasoning power; we tend to invent plausible explanations, or rationalizations, for our acts (Nierenberg 1968). Typically, interviewees use rationalization to preserve their self-image (Berg and Bass 1961, p. 252). Your use of power in any form may provoke the interviewee to behave defensively (Woody and Woody 1972, p. 170). Anxiety does not promote compliance. Therefore, avoid entering into a power struggle with interviewees; this will only lead to alienation (Nirenberg 1963).
The Positive Application of Authority
The authoritarian interviewer’s negative use of power arises from his or her feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Proficient interviewers, on the other hand, use power in positive ways as they strive toward personal growth and self-affirmation. They are empowered w
ith self-appreciation, vision, and purpose.
Personal motivation is based upon the principle that you are the end result of what you want to be. Success comes from inner
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strength, conscious willpower, and an unwavering determination to succeed. With these you can develop courage, enthusiasm, confidence, and belief in your own ability.
When the needs of interview participants clash, develop a strategy to use to your advantage, applying referent power, the power of your position that symbolizes the organization you work for, in subtle ways. To argue with the interviewee is self-defeating, as is running away. For interviewees, information is power. Faced with a threatening authoritarian, interviewees rarely see any constructive advantage to giving up what little power they retain. You should be willing to subtly and indirectly reach a point of agreement where some of the interviewee’s needs are met. Interviewees may willingly provide information in return for assurances of confidentiality, protection, or some other concession.
Interviewees who have been pushed, pressured, bribed, or overpowered by parents or other authority figures may be guarded, extremely uncomfortable, or uncooperative during an interview. Don’t take the interviewee’s resistance personally.
You may merely be a handy authority figure for the interviewee to lash out at. Try to suggest subtly that power returns to those who decide to comply.
The interviewing techniques suggested in this book are intended to encourage your use of positive authority in everything you do—from the tone of your voice to the way you actively listen. Although you may, to some degree, be insecure and self-consciousness in your behavior, your human interaction skills will improve with practice. It is too easy to use harsh, abrasive methods. If you strengthen your willpower, you will not be easily drawn into destructive behavior.