Most People Want to Be Heard: Secrets to Interview Success

During his Monday afternoon session, “What Went Wrong? Common Mistakes Made in Interviews and How to Avoid Them,” Bret Hood, CFE, told attendees about a bank teller he interviewed in 1992 and how he was able to get her to open up and tell him what he needed to know.

The bank teller was suspected of removing $13,000 from her drawer, and Hood wanted to know if she took the money. Hood, a former FBI special agent, avoided using the word “steal,” and asked her instead what happened to the money. She told him the bank had an “undocumented borrowing plan,”  an employee-support program that allowed her to remove the money from the drawer. Employing a technique called mirroring and reflecting, Hood repeated that term throughout the interview. The woman relaxed, told him what had happened, and Hood was able to get the information he needed.

Hood’s anecdote demonstrated how intently focusing on interviewees, listening to their words and using their language effectively builds connections between interviewer and subject. “People want to be heard,” he said. Even someone suspected of fraud has a story to tell and when an interviewer can talk to them on their terms, they build trust and get the information they need. Listening to the language the bank teller used to describe her situation and repeating that language got her to open up.

Interviewing is an essential skill for fraud examiners, but a lot can go wrong if the interviewer fails to apply effective strategies for talking to people. A poorly worded question, whether it’s too complex or misunderstood by a suspect, can destroy a fraud case. An interviewee will notice when their interviewer is distracted or not making eye contact with them. The interviewee won’t warm up to the interviewer and might refuse to provide vital information. According to Hood, the main goal of an interview is getting someone to tell you “their deepest and darkest secrets.” Without trust, an interviewer can’t get the honest-to-goodness facts.

Hood’s session was interactive, and he led a packed room through several exercises. Attendees took turns interviewing each other to discover something unique about their interviewees.

Along with applying listening and focus skills, Hood also talked about how unconscious biases can affect interviews. We see the world through our experiences and assume that others think like us, but we can’t go into interviews with those assumptions. Having a bull-dog mentality and sticking to assumptions about people can cause you to double down when you don’t have the evidence.

Hood supplied practical advice that fraud examiners could easily apply to their next interview. For example, if you’re conducting an interview with another person, ask your interview partner to assess how you asked questions. Getting feedback from a partner is an excellent way to hone your skills.

Sometimes, what we say to interviewees isn’t always received as intended. If an interviewee doesn’t understand your question, they can’t tell you what you need to know. In this case, an effective strategy would be to ask the interviewee to let you know if they don’t understand your questions. Thus, you can restate a question and make sure they understand. Other techniques include breaking up compound questions so that the interviewee is forced to answer each separate question.

Hood ended the session with what might be his most effective strategy to eliminate distractions and optimize your focusing and listening skills: “Put away your phone.”