You walk into the interview room feeling ready. Your questions are set. The space is calm. The timing is perfect.
But two minutes in, everything changes.
Your interviewee’s eyes well up. Or they snap in frustration. Or they freeze, suddenly unable to speak. Whatever you expected, this wasn’t it.
That’s the moment every investigator faces the reality: you can plan the interview, but you cannot script the person.
We ask people to revisit moments that are painful, awkward, or deeply personal—and their reactions can be understandably intense. Tears, anger, silence, feeling overwhelmed…it’s all part of the terrain.
Below are practical