Coercive questioning gets compliance but ruins memory, so switch to rapport and evidence

High‑pressure tactics can produce quick admissions, but they also impair recall and increase false details. Research with realistic survival training shows that acute stress and sleep disruption can scramble memory encoding and retrieval. The result is a confident story with unreliable content. That’s the last thing you want when truth matters.

A better approach is rapport‑based interviewing. Start with planning. You define topics in advance and open with broad, non‑leading prompts. You make space for free recall. When people speak without interruption, their memory becomes more complete and less contaminated by your wording. You can always circle back with specifics.

When discrepancies appear, you present them without heat: “You mentioned nine o’clock. The log shows ten. Help me reconcile that.” The room stays cool. The coffee sits on the table, half finished, as both of you review the timeline rather than fight over motives. This keeps the person engaged and reduces the incentive to confabulate.

Frameworks like PEACE (Plan, Engage, Account, Clarify, End) and cognitive interviewing techniques arise from this science. They prioritize accuracy over speed and dignity over dominance. You still get facts. You get better ones.

Before your next important interview, plan open prompts and the order you’ll ask them, then explain the process and build rapport so the person feels safe correcting themselves. Allow an uninterrupted account, pause, and then calmly present any inconsistencies with evidence, asking for explanations instead of forcing admissions. Close by summarizing areas of agreement and next steps, and verify with a transcript or notes. Try this structure once and compare the clarity to your usual approach.