Witness Interview Tips From Retired FBI Agent: Building Rapport and Getting in Sync

This podcast provides rare insight from a retired FBI agent regarding how to add science into the art of interviewing. 

Perkins Coie partner Kevin Feldis, a former federal prosecutor, talks with retired FBI Special Agent Colton Seale about recent research on conducting more effective witness interviews. Colton spent 22 years with the FBI, including serving as a member of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), interviewing suspects around the world. Kevin and Colton discuss what it really means to build rapport and how to get in sync with the person in a way that opens the door for meaningful factfinding. The goal of any interview is to learn accurate and complete information, but rigid approaches and common misconceptions about how to conduct interviews can go nowhere and lead to incomplete and inaccurate answers. Listen to "Witness Interview Tips From Retired FBI Agent: Building Rapport and Getting in Sync" on Spreaker. Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.