How to Conduct a Recorded Statement

If you are an insurance adjuster or private detective conducting a recorded interview, you must carefully follow the rules of your state or you will leave yourself open for a number of legal challenges. If you are the head of an insurance company, for instance, your aggrieved customer could file a counterclaim against you and win. Thus several safeguards exist to ensure that a judge will allow your recorded interview as evidence. As National Association of Investigative Specialists founder Ralph Thomas says, if the court finds that you did not follow even one small aspect of the law, you could be in trouble.

• 1

  Test your recording equipment. Talk into the tape recorder; make sure it works. If batteries seem to be low, replace them; if the problem is the unit, acquire another one, with a blank tape. Rewind the cassette. Test it to make sure it's not corrupted.

• 2

  Call the interviewee into the room. Open the session by letting him know that you intend to record. Ask his permission to do so.

• 3

  Identify yourself at the beginning of the tape. Also, state the name of the party you are interviewing. Specify today's date, and the start time. Ask the interviewee if he is aware that this session is being recorded. Ask for his consent.

• 4

  Ask the interviewee to state his name. Request that he spells all parts of his name, first, middle, and last.

• 5

  Ask the interviewee basic biographical questions. Question him about his birth date, marital status, occupation, and job. Inquire about his tenure at his current job.

• 6

  Inquire about the accident or incident that brought about the interview. Ask questions that are concise, focused, and germane to the incident or accident at hand.

• 7

  End the interview by asking a final open ended question. Give the interviewee a chance to clarify or to elaborate, or to provide new information.