of interest as the need arises. Make it appear that some details are not as clear as they could be, or claim to have missed some meaningful information.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Two main types of questions are generally used in interviews: closed ques-
tions and open questions. The objective of the inquiry determines the use of
closed or open questions. Fewer tactical restrictions apply to using open
questions. By tactical restrictions, I mean strategic limitations that might
hamper your progress in calling for the truth. Open questions allow for var-
ious angles or degrees of considered approach. They can be calculated to
emphasize points of the inquiry using various levels of review and
encouragement.
Closed Questions
Closed, or closed-ended, questions are specific, offering a limited number of
possible responses. Yes-or-no questions and multiple-choice questions are
types of closed questions. These types of questions are also risky because they
don’t allow the interviewee to communicate freely. Often times, closed-
ended questions are counterproductive and limit rapport building. If used,
ask them at the beginning of an interview to encourage affirmative responses
and to put interviewees more at ease. Used later in the interview, closed
questions will limit your efforts to reveal information.
The yes-no or either-or option of some closed questions limits the scope
of responses and options. This can be useful when you want to maintain
maximum control over the interview and thereby save some time. They
are also handy when dealing with reluctant interviewees who will not give
detailed responses. To gain information, narrow [closed] questions have
the advantage of eliciting details. Open-ended questions rely on the
Questioning Techniques
131
[interviewee’s] ability to recall. However, the unrestricted use of closed
questions will hamper your efforts. “Narrow questions can inhibit the devel-
opment of rapport. . .. The misuse of narrow questions involves detailed
probing before the [interviewee] is ready. People will be willing to provide
details, particularly about sensitive subjects, only if they feel comfortable in doing so. Therefore, probing too soon, without first having developed a
rapport, may cause the interviewee to feel improperly invaded”.1
Open Questions
Open, or open-ended, questions start with who, where, what, when, how, or why.
They cannot be answered yes or no, and they require the suspect to think clearly.
Although they create the most distress, they also reveal the greatest amount of
information. These questions are also the most productive ones. Open questions
help interviews flow. Most open questions ask what, why, or how.
To learn the cause, reasons, or purpose, ask the question why. Why ques-
tions search out the facts of a situation and probe areas not commonly
touched by more complicated questions. There are times, however, when
the why question creates a threatening situation in which interviewees
become defensive. Faced with the question “Why?” they may feel rejected,
misunderstood, or imposed upon. They may withdraw, prevaricate, or hit
back with silence that may confuse or frustrate you. Questions beginning
with why may provoke undue stress because they generate too much chal-
lenge. Interviewees generally cannot answer the question “Why?” regarding
subconscious thinking or behavior. Answering reveals too much of the self,
and self-disclosure makes people uncomfortable.
Open questions can help you accomplish several goals:
•
Discover the interviewee’s priorities, attitudes, needs, values, aims, and
aspirations.
•
Determine the interviewee’s frame of reference and viewpoints.
•
Establish empathic understanding and rapport.
•
Engage in active listening, stroking, positive regard, and recognition.
•
Allow and encourage interviewees to express their feelings and reveal
facts without feeling threatened.
•
Promote catharsis or expression of the interviewee’s emotions.
Several different types of open questions can be used effectively during an interview. Anticipating the impact of each question that you ask will help you
formulate them. Open question types are discussed in the following sections.
1 Binder and Price, 1977, pp. 44–45.
132
The Art of Investigative Interviewing
Reflective Questions
Reflective questions mirror the subject’s comments. They are used to handle
objections. You might begin, “Let me see if I’ve got this straight . . .” or
“So, what you’re saying is . . ..” Once you’ve responded to the interviewee’s
concerns, repeat the question that triggered the objection. By removing the
obstacle to cooperation, you help the interviewee feel more comfortable
responding to your subsequent questions.
Directive Questions
Directive questions are used to direct the interviewee’s attention to areas of
agreement with the investigator. Interviewees want to know the benefits
to themselves of cooperation. A directive question answers this concern:
“You do want to get to the bottom of this, don’t you?”
Pointed Questions
Pointed, or direct, questions are detailed and specific in nature, pointing directly at the goal. Pointed questions are complex and persuasive. They are designed
to rouse the interviewee to action. Most of the questions asked in forensic
interviews are pointed questions. By asking exactly what is desired, you
show interviewees that you believe they are ready, willing, and able to
respond. This method, which is based on the self-fulfilling prophecy, works
most of the time.
Pointed questions might stimulate the physical expression of the inter-
viewee’s stress, but they need not be offensive or accusatory. On the con-
trary, they should be thoughtfully developed and subtly applied to avoid
invoking stress and making the subject defensive. You can gently stimulate
the interviewee’s thinking with pointed, creative questions. For example, if
you believe that the interviewee accidentally set a fire, you might ask, “On
the day of the fire, how often did you smoke in the break room?”
Indirect Questions
Pointed questions are not always appropriate. Indirect questions provoke less
stress, less fear, and hence less defensiveness on the part of the interviewee.
They help subjects save face and rationalize their behavior by giving them “a
universal blessing.” For example, you might say, “I’ve talked to many of the
other employees, and they believe that. . . What do you think?” Indirect
questions of this nature can help interviewees express their hidden selves,
their thoughts and feelings, and so on. Indirect questions are often used at
the beginning of an interview and as a change of pace during the course
Questioning Techniques
133
of the discussion. They can also be used as diversion questions (see the dis-
cussion that follows).
Self-Appraisal Questions
Self-appra
isal questions ask the interviewee to evaluate or judge himself. They
help the investigator develop a hypothesis about the who, how, and why of a
crime or another incident. Through self-appraisal questions, the interviewer
gains a deeper understanding of the interviewee’s needs and probes his opin-
ion, revealing possible evasiveness and distress. It is almost impossible for a
deceptive or evasive interviewee to be consistent in answering self-appraisal
questions. To respond deceptively, the interviewee must first think of an
answer, decide that the answer would not sound good, and then make up
a new story and tell it convincingly.
Diversion Questions
Diversion questions focus on something or someone near and dear to the inter-
viewee. They have two purposes: (1) They lessen tension by distracting the
interviewee from a tension-producing issue, and (2) they restore rapport
between the subject and the investigator with a direct or indirect compli-
ment. Diversion questions are useful when dealing with highly emotional
interviewees. For example, the investigator might say in a matter-of-fact
tone, “Now, let’s put that aside for a minute. I want to cover another point
with you about your view of how the company can improve the security. As
I mentioned, part of why I’m interviewing several people is to accomplish
two things. First, I would like to get that missing money back and second, I
want to prevent this from happening again. Let me ask you, how can such a
loss be prevented in the future?” The rambling nature of the question pro-
vides time for the interviewee to calm down if the interviewer had pushed
some emotional buttons in previous questions.
Leading Questions
Leading questions include some assumption on the part of the investigator. For
example, the statement “From what I hear you say, you must have had a
rough time in that job last summer” contains an assumption and invites
the interviewee to elaborate or explain. Leading questions containing
implicit messages can be used to maintain moderate emotional tension in
the interview, but they need not be abrasive if thoughtfully constructed.
Leading questions can guide the interviewee toward greater cooperation
with your investigation. They reflect your assumption that the interviewee
134
The Art of Investigative Interviewing
can provide useful information. Leading questions can convey the inter-
viewer’s acceptance of the individual, thereby enhancing rapport.
Leading questions are usually thought to produce invalid, unreliable
answers. This is true when they are carelessly used. Novice investigators
sometimes have trouble using leading questions because their tone of voice
and related nonverbal signals are not well controlled. Consequently, inter-
viewees may feel condemned when faced with carelessly presented leading
questions. Ulterior motives are typically built into leading questions. Use
leading questions with the ulterior motive of stimulating conversation
and encouraging the interviewee to reveal the truth.
TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING
The following guidelines will help you formulate effective interview
questions:
•
Avoid the third degree.
•
Use closed questions when appropriate.
•
Use open questions when appropriate.
•
Keep your questions simple.
•
Avoid ambiguously worded questions.
•
Use leading questions properly.
•
Ask self-appraisal questions.
•
Have the gall to ask tough questions.
•
Encourage cooperation.
•
Mentally assume an affirmative answer.
•
Pursue unanswered questions.
•
Identify and challenge deception.
•
Handle trial balloons calmly.
•
Assume more information is available.
Having the Gall to Ask
Investigators sometimes have problems asking tough or embarrassing ques-
tions, and they may even avoid asking these questions to save themselves
from embarrassment. There is no doubt it takes a certain amount of gall
to ask someone if he stole the money or killed the wife. Conducting an
investigative interview requires that you be brave enough to ask questions
that would be rude and intrusive in other situations. As a skilled interviewer,
you will know when and how to ask the hard questions.
Questioning Techniques
135
Encouraging Cooperation
If an interviewee has a role in an investigation, it is one of assisting the investigator by providing information that she alone may have. Encourage inter-
viewees to provide information even when they might not understand what
inquiry. Intentionally altering your verbal and nonverbal communication in a
positive manner may stimulate your interviewee to be cooperative and truth-
ful. Encourage her to feel that cooperation enhances her sense of usefulness.
When interviewees try to argue that they should not comply, they are indi-
cating that they are at least considering compliance or they wouldn’t argue the
point. Even interviewees who show up for a scheduled interview and sit quietly
without responding to questions signal that they are considering compliance.
Assume that reluctant interviewees have some degree of resentment, and ask
questions designed to uncover that hidden resentment. An interviewer’s con-
cerned attempts to convey compassion to a victim may be enough to encourage
someone to share needed information. That someone may be the interviewee’s
friend or relative who learns of the attempt at compassion.
Refusal tends to be the most resistant response from uncooperative inter-
viewees. The interviewee may decide to cooperate in the future. If inter-
viewees sense that they can leave if they choose, they often start trusting
the interviewer. Their freedom to leave tends to release any fear that might
hinder compliance.
Although most interviewees feel a personal obligation to answer truthfully,
that obligation is lessened when the investigator is obviously unskilled in for-
mulating questions. If the interviewee’s expectations conflict with the inves-
tigator’s questioning style, the interviewee may feel frustrated or annoyed.
Rapport needs to be a developed in order to encourage cooperation.
Interviewee reluctance or hostility may indicate avoidance of the topic
under investigation, fear of retaliation, or maybe personal involvement in
the delinquency. Your task is to guide the subject toward cooperation, con-
vincing her to cooperate. If and when the interviewee feels a sense of obli-
gation, she will provide you with information. If necessary, help the
interviewee create a temporary new identity that will allow her to move
from limited compliance to more complete cooperation. Such tactics are
not negative if your intentions are basically helpful and honorable.
You can encourage cooperation by beginning the interview with simple
closed questions that invite a positive response before asking more complex,
specific, open questions. By conveying the impression that you need and
136
The Art of Investigative Interviewing
expect additional facts, you can subtly encourage the interviewee to reveal
more information. If you can do so without creating unnecessary tension,
imply that you have already obtained considerable information against
which you will check the interviewee’s responses.
Mentally Assuming an Affirmative Answer
Uncooperative interviewees are willing to terminate an interview as soon as
comfortably possible, particularly if they sense that you doubt your own abil-
ities to obtain information. All they need is some encouragement in the form
of negatively phrased questions, such as, “You wouldn’t happen to know
anything about the fire, would you?” Investigators typically shake their head
from side to side when asking questions such as this one.
To avoid receiving negative responses that lead you to a dead end, men-
tally assume an affirmative answer to a closed question and ask the next log-
ical question instead. For example, don’t ask, “Have you seen or talked with
Sam Smith recently?” The interviewee could define recently as “within the
last several hours” and could answer no, closing off further discussion.
Instead, assume that the interviewee has seen Smith recently and ask, “When
was the last time you saw or talked with Sam Smith?”
This second question, an open question, cannot be answered yes or no.
The interviewee must give a complete response if he answers at all. The
response you receive will determine the direction of subsequent questions.
For example, if the interviewee responds, “I spoke with Sam two days ago,”
you might ask, “What was Sam wearing when you last saw him? What kind
of car was he driving? Who was he hanging around with?” These questions
will help you determine Smith’s appearance, his means of transportation,
and his current associates.
Pursuing Unanswered Questions
There are many reasons why an interviewee might fail to answer a question