Learn two more channels that private investigators learn to master when it comes to interrogation and how they separate themselves from the task at hand. When dealing with the high stress demands of taking testimony, investigators utilize paralinguistic channels as well as verbal channels when it comes to communication.
Last month we spotlighted excerpts from a Jan 2013 article on The Reid Technique and how it addresses the interrogator’s mindset. While the verbal channel is one of the most important and heavily relied on avenues when it comes to communication and capturing meaning during interrogation, you can never undervalue the importance of paralinguistic communication.
To read the full article, click The Investigator’s Mindset: “It’s not personal. It’s business.”
What is the second channel?
The second channel is the paralinguistic channel, which includes characteristics of communication or speech that fall “outside verbal responses. Here are some examples of paralinguistic features:
- Sarcasm
- Mockery
- Cynicism
- Scorn
- Snickering
- Laughing
- Derogatory pitch or tone shifts
These attitudes are conveyed through words and sometimes specific word choices, such as the example the writer mentions when talking about paralinguistic categories:
Investigator: “Yeah, sure, right!”
What the investigator knows and works out in communication are the precise nuances and subtleties of communication that allow him or her to maintain and cultivate rapport with the suspect in order to foster trust, allow for quicker testimony capture and more.
By audio and video recording your interrogations with systems such as iRecord’s, monitoring interactions between investigator and witness/suspects becomes easy, and capturing the tone, pitch and other subtleties between the two can ensure admissibility of evidence and quicker speed to trial times.
Learn more about iRecord’s audio and video recording systems today by checking out our website or requesting an appointment with us.