INTERVIEWS
What is the participatory method?
The participatory method is a fact-gathering interview with structure. Too often, investigators go into a fact-gathering interview with the mindset of “Let’s see if he did it,” or “Let’s see if he knows anything about it,” or “Let’s see what we can find out.”
By creating structure in the fact-gathering interview process, the participatory approach allows you to leave the area of greatest resistance for later in the conversation. For instance, let’s say you need to talk to someone about time theft. If you bring that topic up early and bring them into the office and say, “I want to talk to you about your timecard and the hours you’re working,” that might invite a great deal of resistance immediately.
Rather than approaching the interview by starting out with what you want to talk about. The Participatory Method allows you to neatly tuck away the information that you’re after by starting with a broader, more ambiguous subject matter. You get your subject in a habit of answering non-threatening questions, then work toward the topic of greatest concern from your perspective.
Think of it as a funnel. If you start the interview with a very broad, ambiguous, and general approach, then work yourself down this path to where you’re eventually talking about what you need to discuss. That benefits the interviewer to determine the consistency of the statement your subject provides regarding the issue—and whether or not they’re involved.
by Chris Norris, CFI
Wicklander-Zulawski Europe
