Page 18 - Oct Nov 2017
P. 18
Elite Investigative Journal
Nonverbal Interviews, pg 18-21
©2014-2017 SYT Global, Inc.
Nonverbal P
Interviews
By Michelle Doscher
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Photo Courtesy of google.com
Gut feelings are real, as witnesses, and sometimes lates to a 50:50 chance B
any interviewer or inves- suspects, give verbal state- of interpreting the inter- R
tigator will tell you, but ments, while the investi- viewee’s behavioral cues U
are they admissible in gator takes notes; howev- correctly. T
court? Physical evidence er, handwritten statements A
is the key. Why not pro- are sometimes provided As an advocate for the L
vide triers of fact with by the witnesses. Hand- wealth of information mi- I
measurable, time-stamped, written statements, col- croexpressions and body T
context-driven behavioral lected before interviews or language can provide, I Y
cues? Handwritten state- interrogations, can provide am also a researcher who
ments are your answer. virgin thought processes. understands where the
They are tangible, nonin- discrepancies lie and why.
vasive, and economical. Memories are created and It is not that gut feelings
re-created; a receiver’s are not real; they are of-
After all, handwriting is reactions or feedback to ten misinterpreted. After
brain writing. Cognitive a sender’s statements or years of experience inves-
blips from the brain are questions, can easily alter tigating, it is not uncom-
immortalized on paper, short term memories and mon to recognize certain
providing an instanta- in turn, behavioral cues. behaviors and quickly
neous view of a person’s In other words, the inves- associate them with be-
behavioral processes. tigator can unintentionally havioral cues.
Interviews and interroga- change the interviewee’s
tions are often preserved thought processes, hence Here lies the problem, we
by video and an investi- their nonverbal behavioral are individual, thinking
gator’s notes. Typically, cues. This in turn, trans- beings who may react in
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