INTERVIEWS
Challenge your own thinking before you challenge the evidence
One of the greatest risks to an investigation isn't a lack of evidence, it's becoming too confident in what you think the evidence means.
As investigators, you're naturally driven to solve problems. That drive can sometimes lead you to form conclusions before you've fully explored alternative explanations. This is where cognitive bias quietly takes hold. Before your next investigative interview, pause and ask yourself four simple questions:
•What do I know for certain?
•What do I think I know?
•What assumptions am I making?
•What evidence could prove me wrong?
These questions create a deliberate pause between observation and conclusion, helping you distinguish verified facts from inference. They also improve the quality of your interviews. Instead of asking questions that confirm your theory, you'll ask questions that genuinely explore the facts, encourage fuller accounts, and uncover information you may not have considered.
Professional investigators don't measure success by how quickly they reach a conclusion, they measure it by the quality of the process used to get there. The most effective investigations are evidence-led, curiosity-driven, and disciplined enough to let the facts change the investigator's mind when necessary. Adopting an investigator’s mindset, both in your preparation and execution of an interview, becomes your greatest investigative tool and alters your willingness to think objectively about what that evidence really means.
by Chris Norris, CFI
For more information about WZ non-confrontational interview techniques, click here.
