CCIT: Cross Cultural Interview Techniques

by Warren Olson

As the world becomes increasingly multicultural, so too the need increase’s for information and understanding on issues such as Diversity and Cultural awareness.
A negative by-product the spread of ethnicities far and wide along with urbanisation has spawned is a rapid increase in criminal activity. In today’s world of internet and ease of air travel, Transnational Crime is certainly on the rise and international organised crime groups are more than keeping up with opportunities around the globe.

As a result not only those working with multi-national companies but enforcement officers from Agencies/Organisations worldwide are now faced on a daily basis with suspects and/or victims that may well hail from cultures other than their own.

After a decade as a well known Private Investigator in South East Asia, having dodged a few bullets (not only metaphorical ones) for the wellbeing of myself and my young daughter I repatriated to my native New Zealand.

An interest in Trans-national crime saw me take up relevant academic studies, culminating in a Master’s degree and an award winning research paper that had led me to aspects of psychology as it related to Cross Cultural Investigative Interviewing.
It was in the psychology field that I finally came to realise why I had been successful as an Investigator ~ and it wasn’t all just down to dumb luck !
In a word, it could be put down to a term I hadn’t heard of, but one which I soon came to take a great deal of interest in ;
EPISTEMOLOGY – The study of ‘THE WAY WE THINK’.

Rapport, Understanding, Affinity ; are words various programmes or instructors in interview techniques often champion. I have found that in cross-cultural or Diversity challenged interviews, rather more is required to maximise information retrieval.
The object of this book is to arm interviewers with that additional knowledge.
It explains how and why one of the most vital attributes an interviewer can have is ~
An understanding of the epistemology of your subject.

As part of my research I interviewed a number of Asians domiciled in Australasia.
I was able to get them to extend past the “You have a beautiful country” polite answer they believed I wanted and have them to talk to me from the heart.
As Nelson Mandela very aptly quotes ~
"Talk to a man in a language he understands it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart"

The overwhelming response I received from this research was that although we invite Asians to tour our countries, we rarely invite them into our homes.
The majority in fact felt that many Westerners appear arrogant and/or racial to them.
In my view this is not really the case; however I would agree that :–
Many of us don’t take the time or believe we need to understand the beliefs, culture, way of thinking (epistemology) of those people with whom we increasingly find ourselves interacting ; who happen to hail from a different culture to our own.

This book aims to go some way towards righting that anomaly.

ebook

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Warren Olson didn't set out to be an author ; nor for that matter did he envisage he would become one of the most well known and successful Western private investigators to operate in South East Asia. After assisting numerous equine establishments in the region, ( he oversaw the SEA Games equestrian events at the Chiang Mai Sports club ) he spent some time as a marketing manager for Hotels in Koh Samui, Bangkok and eventually on the Thai/Cambodian border at Surin. By now fluent in Thai and Khmer, Olson found his services occasionally required by NGO's and Government agencies. This prompted him to found his private investigation company, THAI PRIVATE EYE ; in the mid 1990s. The success of the business grew steadily, as with his contacts and knowledge of the language and people Olson was able to go places/solve problems that few other Westerners could hope to understand or to ever achieve.
Death Threats, being shot at and forced to spend the odd day or two in Thai jails when he got a little too close to corrupt business's were part and parcel of the job ; but when his daughter Natalie was born in 2002, Olson decided he better make plans for a somewhat safer and more mundane lifestyle. A few years later he repatriated to his native New Zealand, where following an interest in Transnational crime he completed a masters degree in Strategic studies and penned an award winning research paper on cross cultural interviewing.
These days he lectures on that subject, writes the occasional book, still advises on some Thai based investigations, maintains his interest in thoroughbreds and does a lot of voluntary work with junior sports and in particular football.
His pride and joy, daughter Natalie is an National age group rep and an acclaimed student ; fully justifying his option to retire from the often dangerous Investigation business in Thailand and to pick up the pen in rather more sedate New Zealand.

Reviews

[Warren Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rare insight into Diversity or Cross cultural Interviewing techniques from a Western to Asian perspective.
A book every person working or interacting regularly with those from a culture different to their own should read.

http://www.amazon.com/Diversity-Chall...