Interviewing is not always easy

Whether you are an audit or risk practitioner (or fraud specialist), getting information from people is a critical part of your job.

Some people are better at it than others, but everybody can improve their interviewing skills.

I found a couple of useful articles that merit your attention:

The second is shorter but better structured, which I like. The first has additional, excellent points that are clearly explained – and I like that too.

Before diving into what these have to say, I have some thoughts of my own.

• Be prepared. You don’t want to waste the person’s time by asking questions to which you really should know the answer.
• Don’t either presume or assume. Enter with an open and inquiring mind. Be ready to listen and learn. In fact, be eager to learn.
• Be respectful.
• Make sure you are going to have enough time. Don’t book back-to-back meetings if at all possible. It may be OK for the interviewee to limit your time because they have a meeting, but it’s not OK to schedule insufficient time yourself. You will either have to rush through the meeting or apologize and come back to finish it. Your interviewee will not be happy if you do either.
• Be mindful of your attitude. Don’t be the obnoxious person…