Cognitive Interview Training
The course will enable lawyers to interview clients and witnesses using the cognitive approach to help them gain full and accurate information.
This is a practical skill development course to introduce the participants to the witness recall techniques of cognitive interviewing and to prepare them to apply the techniques in their work place.
Course length
We can run the course for you in a format to suit your lawyers, whatever their level. We recognise that it can be difficult for them to give up a whole day, and that there is usually a need to at least deal with emails and calls at the start and the end of the working day.
Format:
One half-day session: 3.5 hours
A few months ago, some of us took part in a half-day training course on Cognitive Interviewing, a method of interviewing which aims to help a witness recall details, essentially by visually taking them back to the event in question.
Maria and I tried the method on our first guinea pig last week. The method helped our witness recall details of a meeting that took place 4 years ago, which he had not been able to recall by the usual method of specific questioning and taking him through documents.
Financial markets litigation lawyer, City of London
Learning objectives
During the course participants will:
-
observe a demonstration by Geoff Coughlin of the skills involved in cognitive interviewing
-
participate in practise interviews using cognitive techniques as both interviewer and interviewee
-
ask questions about the use of cognitive interviewing techniques in their work.
By the end of the course participants will be able to:
-
recognise the requirements of Practice Direction 57(AC) and be able to comply with it and use to their advantage the link between memory and recalling information during interviews
-
explain how the cognitive approach works
-
apply the cognitive techniques in a structured way to –
- enable them to prepare cases and take statements based on full facts from clients and witnesses
- obtain up to 34% more relevant information about an event or incident
- improve the amount of accurate and uncontaminated evidence from clients and witnesses
- assist clients and witnesses to recall an event or incident correctly without leading or prompting
- enable them to gather detailed factual information clearly and quickly, even if the event happened many months or years ago
-
better detect lies and deceit using the most valid and latest evidence available
-
relate the cognitive approach to practical work situations
-
recognise how effective cognitive interviewing is for lawyers, clients and witnesses.
Interested in Cognitive Interview Training?
Contact us: 07773 126479 or geoff@emphasisonskills.com