Interviewing Techniques Developed as part of the National Emergency Services Curriculum Project

What is an Interviewing Team? The interviewing team is a small, lightly equipped, mobile unit used to conduct interviews to find new information and to investigate leads during a search Information collection should be considered one of the most important functions of a search, in that one piece of information could bring a search to a rapid close

Who to Interview? People in remote areas and relatively quiet suburbs tend to notice unusual sights or sounds Forest service personnel All night gas stations Farmers People who work outdoors Persons frequenting places where people gather and may have discussed events

Interviewer Attitude Professionalism in questioning citizens will do much to reveal information. Steps to take include: Properly identify yourself as a member of Civil Air Patrol Wear a proper uniform and show an ID card. Photo IDs are best Do not relate details of the mission to civilians. Do not "put words in their mouths" Only give enough detail to help the interviewee recall the situation

Interviewer Attitude Continued Let the witness tell his story in his own words and in its entirety. Afterwards you can question him about details or to establish the validity of his information Use CAPF 106 and/or the Missing Person Questionnaire only after the interview is complete. Most people interviewed will not follow a form exactly to relate information Tape recording the interview with the interviewee’s permission can help, but should not be a requirement

Interviewer Attitude Continued Be skeptical of statistical information given by untrained observers like altitude or angle of attack. Courtesy and patience when dealing with a witness is essential. Never rush a witness because he or she may leave out important information.

Interviewer Attitude Continued If the witness is a child, question very carefully and have him tell his story several times and in several ways. Talk to the child's parents about the child's reliability under such circumstances Make sure that you don’t offend the parents in the process

Interviewer Attitude Continued Leave the mission operating base telephone number and the interviewer’s name with the witness and ask them to call in if they recall any other helpful information. This let’s the interviewee know that you are interested in additional relevant information

Speed of Information Distribution Data collected must be transmitted to the Mission Coordinator or designated receiver as soon as possible Use the telephone primarily and two-way radio alternatively if it must get back, couriers may be a wise idea as well CAPF 106 and other standardized forms facilitate transmission of data by using the block numbers or sequenced sections instead of saying the whole phrase

Guidelines for conducting an interview Introduce yourself and state the exact purpose of the interview, but don’t be forceful Try to make yourself available to the person By forcing an immediate interview, you may frustrate a person with prior engagements to rush and forget an important detail Create a comfortable atmosphere What climate would you need to reveal things about yourself?

Guidelines for Conducting Interviews Continued Start with non-threatening questions. It helps in two ways: Reduces tensions between the interviewer and the interviewee Shows you care about the interviewee’s feelings Understand his/her need to express emotional feelings

Guidelines for Conducting Interviews Continued Know yourself and how you come across - you get back what you project Know what you are after and have a general plan of attack Prepare the interviewee for personal questions Listen! Listen! Listen! You will learn nothing if you do all the talking

Techniques to get people talking Use structured questions (questions that require only a simple one or two word response) to clarify a point. Use unstructured questions (questions such as why...? How about ...? What do you think may have happened? Etc.) to get the interviewee thinking and talking about the subject of interest. Once you have the person talking, encourage him to continue. Listen!

Techniques to get people talking Continued Give no implicit message to stop Show acceptance - nod, uh-huh, yes..., Please continue, etc Silence forces him to continue Ordinarily those being interviewed will add additional information and it will probably be the most important information received

Techniques to get people talking Continued To probe an area of interest (particularly a touchy or sensitive area): Restate words that the person just used, but don’t interrupt Summarize back what you perceived him to communicate

Evaluating Information Received Guide the interviewee into giving you more information to either support or refute each hypothesis that you make Remember, you are trying to put together a picture of what may have happened, and the information gathered is only one piece of a big puzzle

Evaluating Information Received Continued Do not try to analyze leads in the field. You don't have the "big picture." If asked for your opinion or analysis, give it. Don't jump to conclusions, but listen to what is being said and form hypotheses as you go

Interviewing Tasks Ground Team Leader O-1101