The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But the Truth -- II
An E-Book by Barry Zalma
© 2009
Barry Zalma has rewritten his seminal work on interviewing as an e-book. It provides materials to help everyone, whether a professional investigator, lawyer, insurance adjuster or news reporter or just someone who needs information to conduct business properly, this book is essential. It provides the reader with tools to obtain information from anyone about anything, whether the the person wants to provide the information to you or not.
The Interview Is an
Essential Form of Fact Gathering for Every Type of Human Interaction.
The Interview is a
structured conversation. It is not an interrogation. It is not the stuff of spy
films, police investigations, or prisoner of war camps. Interviews are
everywhere. Interviewing is an art. Use of methods similar to those used by
scientists conducting experiments is a more accurate description of
interviewing.
Everyone has been interviewed.
Everyone has, at some point in his or her life, interviewed someone.
One of the first experiences of the interview is the conversation between mother
to child:
Mothers interview sons. Children interview parents. Teachers interview students. Students interview teachers. Employers interview employees. Store clerks interview customers. Customers interview store clerks. Everyone who wants to know something from someone else interviews the other person to obtain information.
We live in a time when information is essential to survive.
The person who is curious and applies one or more of the techniques set out in this book will obtain more information than his or her competitors. With more information, the interviewer or his or her client can make intelligent decisions.
When Edward Lloyd opened his coffee shop in the shipping center of the city of London, England he knew information was the essence of insurance. An Underwriter who was not fully informed lost his investment.
Because his customers needed to be fully informed, Mr. Lloyd kept a chalk board in his coffee shop on which the latest intelligence concerning shipping at the port of London was written. Insurance underwriters, customers of Mr. Lloyd, could gather much of the information they needed to properly evaluate the risks their customers asked them to take. As insurance, and the people who bought insurance, became more sophisticated, underwriters found a need to gather and evaluate information more efficiently.
The Underwriters borrowed techniques from detectives at Scotland Yard. They developed techniques that were unique to insurance. Insurers found that they needed trained investigators before they could properly evaluate a risk or a claim. They learned that minimal investigation before they took a risk could save enormously expensive investigation after a loss.
Other businesses, faced with fraud, embezzlement, employee dishonesty, and competition found that accurate information was necessary to operate a competitive business. In every business the gathering of intelligence about the business and its competitors is essential. News organizations like Reuters, UP, AP, the radio and television networks, CNN, Fox News, and the Internet were all designed to provide credible and useful information to those who needed it.
News reporters – if they are to be effective – must be consummate interviewers. If news is not gathered in a reliable fashion by skilled interviewers, it will be useless and the news organization will lose all credibility.
Businesses who wish to compete effectively must have intelligence about the marketplace and its competitors. Accurate information is the life’s blood of any business. Gathering accurate information is important to the insurer, the retail sales organization, the manufacturer, the corner grocery store or the mother who wants to know where her children have been and what they have done.
The purpose of this book is to help anyone learn how to get the truth about anything from anyone. The reader who applies the principles discussed in this book will learn the science of the interview. With that science the interviewer will then hone the science into the art of getting useful, truthful information.
The Interview is an Art
Interviewing to gather information is an art. The art is supplemented with
scientific technique obtained from criminal investigators and professional
psychologists.
In this book, I refer to those people who gather information by means of the interview as “professionals.” Professionals obtain all of the knowledge available to a person, even if the person tries to avoid revealing the information.
I use the term “interviewer” and “professional” interchangeably as a description of the person who finds it necessary to gather information from people who do not want to provide the information.
Sometimes it will seem that I have written the book for police investigators, insurance investigators or professional private investigators.
The art of uncovering the truth draws heavily from the police sciences. The police science of interrogation draws heavily upon human nature and the skills of the conversationalist.
Interviews and criminal investigations differ more in tone than substance. Both are searches for the truth. Both criminal investigators and the interviewer want as much truthful information as is available. All investigators and interviewers wish their search for the truth to be thorough and accurate.
Police seek a “confession” while the interviewer seeks truth and information. While the police are involved with crimes, the professional is involved with evaluating risk, evaluating business opportunities or attempting to learn how to better control his or her life.
For instance, an insurance adjuster will “take a statement” from a witness while a police detective will “interrogate” the witness. A prosecutor will “cross examine” a witness while an insurance lawyer will conduct an “examination under oath” or a “deposition.” An IRS agent, C.P.A. or Certified Fraud Examiner will audit a suspected criminal’s books while an internal auditor will review those books and records.
On the other hand, and just as importantly, a mother will be curious about the activities of her child while an assistant principal will question the child to learn whether punishment is appropriate.
A young man will seek information to find out if a lovely young girl is compatible. A lovely young girl wants to learn if the young man with overdeveloped pectoral and abdominal muscles has the moral character she wants for a mate.
The criminal investigator, the private interviewer, the mother, the principal, and the young girl are doing the same thing: gathering information. The name given to the task, and the tone with which the professional does it, is the difference. All are practicing the art and science of the interview.
Nothing But the Truth
The interview is the art of uncovering the truth. It does not necessarily have, nor should it be given, the pejorative sense of the “third degree.” professionals do not use rubber hoses, hot lights or torture. Professionals do not have, and cannot use, the power of the state, the reputation of the FBI or the intimidation of a search warrant.
Civil interviewing professionals are compelled to get the information they need by intelligence, wit, skill and experience. They put people at ease. The skill of the professional causes the witness to want to give information to the interviewer. The most important skill of the professional is to cause the witness to want to give information to the professional that the professional needs.
When the interview is successful, the witness becomes a partner with the professional in the effort to uncover the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The use of this book is not intended to be limited to police or other investigative professionals. It was designed to assist anyone seeking the truth about anything.
The techniques referred to in this book will help every person to better interact with their fellow human beings. Whether seeking information from a spouse, friend or relative this book can help every person meet and interact effectively with others.
For whatever reason the information is sought, the person seeking the information, or the tone with which the interview is conducted, the techniques recommended in this book can help the information gatherer.
Some of the techniques described in this book may seem contradictory. They often are. The technique that works with a nervous witness is ineffective with the angry or “wise guy” witness. One method can work with one type of witness and totally defeat any possibility of obtaining information from another type of witness.
Only $24.95 via PayPal.