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We interview people every day for information that helps you make smart decisions. Whether you’re a doctor or a patient, a salesperson or a buyer, screening a new employee, or you’re a new employee, we want to help you make safer choices and help others do the same. Ask questions to help you make choices.
As a former Department of Defense certified military interrogator, I interrogated detainees to obtain intelligence information to thwart terrorist attacks. If I don’t have that information, people will be at great risk. The stakes were high. To ensure truthful and detailed information, I have developed and perfected an effective strategic interview method over the years. This is now known as the SISCO Interview Method and includes six core competencies that I believe can make anyone an expert interviewer.
However, there is one technique you can learn and start using today that will greatly increase your chances of getting truthful information in a conversation. That technique is the ability to ask effective questions.
Related: Use this mind trick to get someone to tell you the truth
effective questioning techniques
Asking effective questions may seem a bit obvious, but most people think they’re asking good questions when in fact they’re not. I understand that. Most people don’t even know what words are used in the question. And sometimes their questions aren’t questions at all. They become comments. Use these effective questioning techniques to get the information you’re looking for.
First, follow this simple rule. Begin each question with the words who, what, where, when, why, or how. This makes your question an interrogative or open-ended question that encourages a narrative response. If your question does not start with one of these interrogative sentences, it is a closed-ended question, i.e. a “yes/no” question, and you may only get a “yes” or “no” answer. there is.
To ensure you get detailed answers, ask detailed questions. All you have to remember is to ask for what you want. For example, if you wanted to know what I thought about your product compared to your competitors’ products, you wouldn’t ask, “What do you think about our product?” Because if you do, you’ve just provided me with a way to avoid thinking about how your product may or may not compare to your competitors’ products. Instead, they’ll ask me, “How do you think our product compares to our competitors’ products?”
Ineffective questioning techniques
My saying is, “If you ask a vague question, you’ll get a vague answer.” Ambiguous questions make it easier to lie by omitting truthful information. This is the easiest lie. You don’t want to make it easy for someone to lie to you.
The worst question to ask someone is a leading question. Lawyers are famous for asking these types of questions to lead witnesses to the answers they want to hear. Leading questions, because of their wording, can trap people into saying things that are not true. Believe me, I experienced this firsthand when a defense attorney cross-examined me in a military tribunal. As a trained interrogator, I knew the questions were a trap, so I told the judge I would only answer interrogative questions. It was a show. In the end, I won.
Finally, avoid the common mistake of asking two questions at the same time. It is not easy for a person to answer two questions at once. And if the person has something to hide, the possibility of only answering less harmful questions and avoiding others in the hopes that you will follow up and not ask again the questions you didn’t answer. there is.
RELATED: Use this secret military trick to tell if someone is lying
Don’t ask, ask!
This last technique is very important and can have serious consequences. I have witnessed many interviewers make this mistake. Interviewers who are not confident in their questioning skills tend to give answers instead of asking for answers. This is an example of what I mean from my March 2017 interview with Casey Anthony.
Reporter: “In your understanding, how did she die?” (Regarding daughter Caylee)
Casey: “I don’t know.”
Reporter: “Don’t you know? Maybe about drowning?”
Casey: “Everyone else has their own theories. I don’t know.”
Reporter: “So your parents had a girlfriend?”
Casey: “My father was like that.”
Reporter: “Next thing I knew, she wasn’t there, right? Is that so? How did you play?”
Casey: “I did as I was told. I don’t remember much of what happened.”
This is a classic example of how asking ineffective questions solves nothing. The reporter gave Casey the answer. He didn’t ask her for them. Although she conducted leading questioning, she was unable to obtain detailed information.
If you want to know the truth, ask honest and specific questions. Ineffective questions can lead to people not being able to answer them. Be patient, remain calm, and give the other person time to respond. You’ll be surprised at how much information you can gain by practicing this technique.
Related: How to ask the right questions in the right way
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