Psychology of interviews

This is a useful online seminar on the psychology of an interview by Professor Karl Roberts, from Western Sydney University.  It is aimed at regulators and investigative audits, but will still be interesting for management system auditors.

It looks at:

• the perspective of the auditee, who may be nervous and stessed
• the benefits of guidance from the interviewer in explaining the interview/audit process and building rapport
• the importance of fairness and listening in encouraging the auditee to speak
• the risks of carrying expectations and bias into an audit
• questionning approach, favoring a conversational style
• cases where it is OK to ask leading questions
• the difficulties of reading non-verbal communication when you are busy with an interview

The lecturer calls it the PEACE model - Planning, Engagement, Account, Closure, Evaluate

Its a bit drawn out, but worth keeping on in the background while you are working on something.