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The Humintell Blog April 15, 2020

Body Language Decoded

Brought to you by CBC

Take a journey deep inside the intriguing world of non-verbal communication. As human beings, our bodies communicate our inner emotions and feelings in ways that can often be easily seen by others, but at other times, are barely visible.

On every continent and in every ethnicity, expressions of emotions such as happiness, surprise, anger and fear are universally recognized. These expressions are hard-wired into our facial muscles for reasons that have everything to do with human evolution and survival of the species. To the trained observer, the way people move can be more revealing than the things people say.

We all use our intuition when trying understand another person’s intentions or needs. We watch the way they walk, and how they stand. We look for their eye-contact and whether they appear comfortable or anxious. But when intuition is augmented by scientifically based observational techniques, the picture becomes much more clear.

These techniques are increasingly being used in the worlds of law enforcement, surveillance and security, as well as politics and commerce. Understanding the “non-verbals” of the people we encounter gives us an edge that can mean the difference between a sale or a no-sale, between an election victory or defeat, between safety and danger, and even between a successful or doomed relationship.

Body Language Decoded features interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in human communication including Humintell’s own Dr. David Matsumoto.

Filed Under: Emotion, Nonverbal Behavior

The Humintell Blog March 31, 2020

Rapport in Investigative Interviews

Humintell Director Dr. David Matsumoto recently conducted a webinar on “Understanding Rapport and its Possible Components” for the International Association of Interviewers (IAI).

Please enjoy this recording of the recent webinar as well as the outline he wrote that preceded it.

 

Anyone and everyone who expounds an ethical, non-confrontational, empirically-based approach to interviewing acknowledges the importance of rapport. And for good reason: Rapport has been documented in basic social psychological research for decades as a crucial element in any successful human interaction involving coordination and cooperation among interactants. Recent empirical studies have increasingly demonstrated it is also critical to investigative interviewing. Anyone who does investigative interviewing can attest to its importance.

Of course, I am preaching to the choir. As I write this I am reading the IAI February 2020 Featured Blog entitled “Successful interviews: Why rapport is crucial to policing.” It, along with IAI’s recent webinar on rapport, are excellent examples of the importance of rapport in investigative interviewing.

As I have been researching, thinking about, and struggling with this important topic, I have come to realize that we still don’t have good answers to some really fundamental questions about rapport. These include what exactly is rapport? And what is it not? Is it necessary or sufficient for successful investigative interviews? Are there other equally if not more important concepts that are crucial to successful interviews?

Answers to these very basic, but very important, questions are not found in the scientific literature, either.

Still, it seems to me that we should seek answers or clarity to these questions because how we land on them can influence many things, including our understanding about the nature and function of rapport in interviews; how to establish, maintain, and repair it; and whether there are other concepts that we should also keep in mind when conducting interviews.

In this webinar, I will raise these questions, bringing examples from the scientific literature as well as practical applications. I won’t provide a recipe for how to establish and maintain rapport in investigative interviews, because there are so many extremely competent interviewers, especially those certified in the CFI/IAI method! But I would like to raise awareness of some important questions, and possible limitations, of the concept of rapport, and bring to bear whatever scientific evidence there is to address these issues.

The overall goal of the webinar will be to raise awareness about and critical thinking related to this incredibly important concept to investigative interviews.

Filed Under: Nonverbal Behavior, rapport, Science

The Humintell Blog March 25, 2020

An important message from Dr. David Matsumoto

Dear Humintell Family,

As everyone knows, we are all facing an unprecedented challenge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our thoughts are with all our Humintell family members, friends, affiliates, and colleagues during this time of crisis. We hope that you and your loved ones are and remain safe and healthy. We also deeply appreciate the countless healthcare workers, officials, scientists, and law enforcement officials who are on the frontlines to fight this virus.

This is a challenging time for all. Humintell is first and foremost a community, and while we all need to do our individual part to overcome, please don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything in our realm of expertise in which we can be of assistance.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the World Health Organization.

Stay safe,

David Matsumoto, Ph.D.

Filed Under: General

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