For those in the business of gathering information from your interviewees, gone are the days of spending hours researching specific topics in pursuit of asking all the right questions during your client facing meeting. After all, AI can supply you with relevant questions to ask your interviewees on any subject matter in record time. So, you might be asking where does that leave you? And, what does all this mean in reference to your future job security.
I once had a boss tell me that the only job security an employee can ever have is “themselves”. By providing your employer with as much value as possible, you are much more likely to survive any downsizing. Let that sink in for a moment. If the only thing in your control is your job performance, then all we need to do is provide more value than our peers. But how? How can you set yourself apart from your peers and simultaneously compete with AI and it’s increasing role in the modern office?
You’re most likely never going to “know more than AI”. As way of an alternative, I’m suggesting the proverb, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Specifically, if you cannot win against stronger opponents, then it is better to not fight against them: join together with them on the same team.
How Do I Stay Ahead of AI?
This leaves us with the question, “How do I join together with AI?” While AI is being used increasingly to conduct legal research, it cannot replace soft skills. Machines cannot replicate creativity, critical thinking, empathy and connection which are essential components when meeting with a client for the purpose of gathering information. Could we consider using AI in a supporting role helping to supply us with a list of relative questions to ask? After all, a list of questions is just that – a list of questions. It takes strong soft skills to get someone talking. And, from someone who has interviewed 10,000 plus individuals (some of them hostile), the better your soft skills, the better your result. And by result, I mean concluding the interview with robust amounts of information. After all, the more information we have, the better decisions we can make for our clients.
Despite soft skills being something to set you apart from your peers, there is very little training in this area. Most people haven’t even considered they can learn these skills. Most haven’t considered that there are techniques to facilitate this result. But perhaps, the biggest oversight that I see with my clients happens within the first 1-3 minutes of any client meeting. It has to do with the failure to Connect. The failure to connect with the interviewee at the onset of the meeting can put them on edge resulting in your ability to get details from that client “down the drain”. And, even though you’ve spent hours on question/meeting prep, your peers seem to be much more successful in getting more information from those they interview.
What are the phases of any interview?
I consider all client/witness interviews to have three distinct phases:
- Introduction (aka Connection) Phase
- Interview Phase
- Conclusion/Next Steps Phase
The Introduction phase is arguably the most crucial 1-3 minutes you have to make a connection with the person sitting across the table. I compare this phase of the meeting to the instruction manual to assemble a barbeque. It’s not essential that you read it but it can make a drastic difference in your outcome if you do. Because many of your peers will skip this step, this is a HUGE opportunity area for you.
My question to you is simple. Think back to your last client meeting. How much time did you spend with the client on the introduction phase? Was there an introduction phase at all? I have witnessed and/or experienced someone entering a meeting, briefly introducing themselves and then immediately start peppering the interviewee with questions. To be clear, this is not the way to make a connection with the person you are about to interview.
Why is connection so important?
I’ve always been fascinated with the connection process and how it played such a large part in the amount of information I was able to secure from a particular individual in both quantity and quality. It’s always been something I relied on to “get the interviewee talking”. During my career, I knew it was a distinct advantage to interview someone in their home. It’s much easier to connect in their environment because you can quickly get a glimpse into their world. Pet lover, gardener, sports enthusiast – the topics of commonality are endless. And, once a person can connect to you on a personal level, they are much more likely to open-up during the interview phase of your meeting.
Offices, in general, prove to be more challenging because they are on “your turf” which inevitably makes the interviewee more guarded. But, if you are going to get the interviewee to open up – connect you must. That is the goal. You want to have the interviewee so relaxed that they essentially forget you are interviewing them. You want them to feel like they are having a conversation with you versus an interrogation. You want them to be doing most of the talking.
Through trial and error, over my 20 years of securing statements, I determined a few vital things that need to occur during those first 1-3 minutes with the client. Everything stems from those first few moments with an interviewee. The more they connect with you, the more they will share. The more they are willing to share, the more information you can obtain. The more information you obtain, the more value you bring to your business.
The more value you bring to your business, the more invaluable you become as an employee.
How will a new interview strategy give me job security?
I teach lawyers how to master legal interview strategies through a tool called the Cognitive Interview Technique.
When it comes to your interview strategy, this training outlines the Interview Roadmap that you have been desperately looking for.
If you want to learn more about how this one skill transformed my career, learn more about me here.
Never underestimate the value of connection. It’s a soft skill that will transform your career.
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