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WZ Articles

Interview Strategies, Interviewer Skills, Rapport
April 20, 2026|by Wicklander-ZulawskiBeyond Small Talk: The Science of Rapport in Investigative Interviewing
Rapport is often misunderstood. In everyday social settings, it’s built through shared laughs, casual conversation, and mutual interests. But in investigative interviewing, within any industry, rapport is something far more deliberate, structured, and purposeful. It isn’t about being liked. It’s about creating the conditions where truth can surface. In investigative...
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Interview Methods, Interview Strategies, Interviewer Skills
February 12, 2026|by Jason Adams, CFISeeing the Scene Again: Diagramming and Spatial Memory in Interviews
Trauma can manifest in diverse forms, encompassing major events as well as the ongoing exposure to distressing incidents. First responders must acknowledge that their continual encounters with traumatic situations can take a toll on their mental health. 
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effects of trauma on first responders
Police Interviewing
March 26, 2024|by Wicklander-ZulawskiThe Effects of Trauma on First Responders
Trauma can manifest in diverse forms, encompassing major events as well as the ongoing exposure to distressing incidents. First responders must acknowledge that their continual encounters with traumatic situations can take a toll on their mental health. 
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Interview Strategies
February 1, 2024|by Wicklander-ZulawskiInvestigating Gender-Based Crimes
The integration of empathy into trauma-informed interviewing techniques is instrumental in creating an environment where survivors feel safe, validated, and empowered to share their stories.
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False Confessions
October 4, 2023|by Dave Thompson CFIThe Pursuit of Justice for the Interviewee and Investigator
As investigators, we must seek to understand the typology of false confessions and the common contributors that facilitate them.  Additionally, investigators and those critiquing confessions should scrutinize their reliability, just as we would any forensic evidence or witness testimony.
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Professional Development
September 11, 2023|by International Association of InterviewersETD 2022: Your Future Is Here (Pt 2)
In case you missed it, earlier this year, we shared a letter you had sent us from the future. However, the correspondence was so comprehensive that we needed to break the publication into two separate posts.
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False Confessions
July 25, 2023|by Wicklander-ZulawskiVirtual Reality: Inside the Interrogation Room
Once a participant puts on the VR headset, they are immersed into an interrogation as if they are in the room, sitting right next to the suspect and facing the Detective across the table.
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ETD 2023 your future is here, a letter from an effective interviewer, written by tony paixao cfi cfe
Professional Development
May 30, 2023|by Tony Paixão, CFI, CFEETD 2023: Your Future is Here
One thing is clear—this will be the ONLY event of the year where interviewers from both the public and private sectors can come together for an educational, collaborative, and interactive conference experience.
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building rapport during an investigative interview five powerful strategies by amanda weaver, cfi, phr
Interview Strategies
April 24, 2023|by Amanda Weaver, CFI, PHRBuilding Rapport During an Investigative Interview
Research offers practitioners effective communication methods to gather information. One such example is rapport building. Many studies have demonstrated the positive effect of building rapport on outcomes such as interviewee cooperation and information disclosure. Because an interviewer depends on the interviewee's willingness to cooperate, evidence-based interviewing techniques are essential in...
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the importance of planning and preparation by chris norris, cfi
Interview Strategies
March 23, 2023|by Chris Norris CFIThe Importance of Planning and Preparation
Most investigators understand the value of planning and preparation, and the importance of planning and preparation cannot be overstated. The good news is the steps of planning and preparation can be a learned skill and can improve over time.
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