Controlling the Interview Tempo

Effective interviewing requires a lot of work. Laying the foundation for rapport, closely monitoring body language, and controlling the interview. (Click here for the basics of interviewing) Monitoring and controlling the tempo of the interview is an additional technique that effective private investigators use to increase the amount and the quality of the information they obtain from the interviewee. 

For the purposes of this article, tempo refers to two primary aspects; the emotional state of both the investigator and the interviewee, and speed of the interview, primarily through the speed in which questions are asked. 

Emotional State refers to the emotional state of the both participants -- interviewer and interviewee. Private investigators may feign various emotions at various times during an interview to invoke a response from the interviewee. They may feign lack of interest, anger, and/or empathy during an interview to further a sense of trust or illicit a response from the other. The emotional state of the interviewee during the interviewee also impacts the results. Individuals that are angry, or emotionally upset, may be less likely to impart truthful information, not that they are trying to mislead, but their emotions control their verbal responses. Depending on the incident, emotions may vary from fear, to happiness. 

Speed of the interview refers to how quickly or slowly the private investigator moves through the line of questioning, or the speed in which they guide the interviewee in to responding to questions. Sometimes a line of quick questions, not rapid-fire, may evoke an outburst or emotional response. Consider the private investigator that pauses frequently, slows down in asking questions. Depending on the interviewee's emotional state, this may increase or decrease stress which can aid in gathering important information. 

Technique
Let's start with a disclaimer - The following techniques are provided as a brief overview, not a course. Be careful in utilizing techniques that follow without proper training and then guidance from a skilled investigator. 

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