3 Simple Tips for Better Witness Interview Notes

Previously, I detailed the many reasons why I believe that taking notes during a witness interview is a better approach than mechanically recording an interview.

So how can you take better witness interview notes?

These simple tips can help you master note taking. I developed these techniques during my 30+ years of conducting approximately 12,000 witness interviews.

By the way, implementing these tips will not only improve your note taking accuracy, but will improve the effectiveness of your witness interviews too.

Goal: Capture WHAT the witness says in the MANNER she says it.

Tip #1: Don’t bullet point your notes.

Why not? When you bullet point, you are assessing what YOU think is important rather than what the witness tells you.

The time to incorporate your interpretation of the information, and what you think is relevant to your theory of the case should come later, when you prepare a summary of the interview.

Documenting her words and manner of speaking during the interview will be critical should you need to draft a declaration or prepare a handwritten signed statement consistent with 28 USC 1746 for you to use for motions or a hear.

Declarations and signed statements are supposed to be in the witness’s own words. Like testimony. If you bullet point your notes. and then use that to create the documents then you are using your words, not hers.

I’ve literally had witnesses review their declarations created based upon my interview notes, and say, “these are my words. This is exactly what I said”.

Tip #2: Slow the Interview Down.

The next thing you can do to improve your note taking skills, is to slow the interview down. Slowing down the interview gives you more time to capture what the witness says. This is true whether you type notes or write them.

And doing so also increases your ability to get more information from the witness.

You can slow the interview down through reflective listening and also through the use of silence.

Getting the witness to repeat or restate information will usually lead to more information improving the effectiveness of the interview, while simultaneously making it easier for you to write or type what was just said.

You can say something like, “let me make sure I understand what you just said, you just said _________”. This is a technique called reflective listening. There are many interview benefits to using reflective listening, but specifically it’s great for creating the space you need to take more detailed notes.

I also like to say, “let me back you up for a moment. You mentioned _____ can you elaborate?” And then keep documenting what she said as she elaborates further on what she just said.

Using this type of approach will get the witness to repeat herself. As she repeats herself, pay special attention to the words she uses, and the way she uses them. They should be very similar to what she previously said. Focus on incorporating both into your notes.

And, often as she repeats the information again, she’ll add more details, improving the overall results of the interview.

Another method for slowing down the interview to assist you with taking better notes, is to use silence. After the witness finishes discussing a specific point, don’t respond verbally. Instead keep writing or typing what she said while you remain silent.

Though it can feel weird at first, writing and typing in silence while the witness looks at you should be a routine part of conducting an interview. You’ll normalize your ability to sit in silence while documenting what was said with time and practice.

Silence, especially if the witness finds it uncomfortable, can provide an added bonus. Remember the old scientific principle from school that nature abhors a vacuum?

It’s especially so during an interview. Rather than sit in silence, perhaps because she feels you are judging her on some level, she’ll fill in that silence with more details instead.

And we want that. Interviews are most successful when they are a narrative provided by the witness. Not a Q & A back and forth.

Tip #3: Don’t Conduct the Interview From a Script.

By a script, I mean writing out each and every question you want to ask and then working your way down the list of questions one after the other. I call this interview by checklist.

An interview is about information not questions. When you work down a checklist of questions you become focused on asking the next question on the list rather than on the answers.

You also risk missing following new information that leads off in a different direction.

A better approach is to work by topics. Topics allow you to cover everything you need to cover, while keeping your focus on the answers through better listening.

The better you focus on the answers, the easier it is to take accurate notes.

Topics based interviews create the room for you to document what is said, and thanks to better listening, the ability to follow the witness’s information where ever it can lead you to go.

These three tips are simple to incorporate during your witness interviews. Remember they are about maximizing your ability to document what the witness says in the manner she says it.

If you are ready to improve the effectiveness of your witness interviews to maximize your case results, download my FREE guide, 6 Steps to More Effective Witness Interviews below. Or sign up through the side bar to watch my FREE pre-recorded online workshop.