How to Conduct Your First Internal Interview: A Step-by-Step Guide

Jul 16

8 min read

Beginner guidance for new interviewers

Someone just handed you an internal interview. A complaint came in, or a manager flagged a problem, and you are the person who has to sit across from an employee and find out what happened. Nobody trained you. That is normal. Most people who run these interviews learned by watching someone else, or by winging it.

New investigator preparing for a first internal interview at the corner of a conference table — New investigators build confidence and better interviews when they plan with Science-Based Interviewing (SBI)

The good news is that your first interview does not need to be clever. It needs to be prepared, patient, and fair. This guide walks you through it in eight steps, from the night before to the notes you write afterward.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Check your own policy or labor contracts, and bring in HR leadership or employment counsel when the stakes are high.

Where interviewer confidence comes from

Most first-timers think confidence is a personality trait. It is not. It is a by-product of preparation. You feel steady when you know what you need to learn, what you will ask, and what you will do if the conversation goes sideways.

Four things build that confidence, roughly in this order:

A plan for the interview. One page, written before you walk in (Step 2).
A questioning plan. The topics you need to cover and your opening prompt, so you are never staring at a blank page (Steps 2 and 5).
Better questions. Open prompts and follow-ups you have practiced, so you are not improvising under pressure (Steps 5 and 6).
An evidence disclosure plan. Deciding what you hold, when you might use it, and how you will word it. This comes last because it builds on the first three. It deserves its own article, which we will cover separately. For now, the rule is simple: hold it (Step 7).

Each layer takes a little weight off you. By the time you reach the room, you are following a plan instead of hoping it goes well.

First, check that you are the right person

An interviewer has to be neutral, and has to look neutral. If you are a witness, a friend of either side, the boss of either side, or you have a stake in the outcome, hand it to someone else. You never want someone to be able to question your integrity or the integrity of the investigation.else or

Also stop and talk to HR leadership or counsel before you start if the matter involves possible criminal conduct, serious harassment or discrimination, a whistleblower report, or a unionized workplace. Those cases come with rules that are not yours to guess at.

Step 1: Decide what you are trying to learn

Finish this sentence in writing: “When this interview ends, I need to understand ______.”

Notice what is not in that sentence. You are not trying to catch someone, prove a theory, or get an admission. These types of goals create unforced investigative errors. Your job is an accurate, complete account. The verdict comes later, after you have compared everything.

Now ask yourself that question over and over. Whatever you put in the blank becomes an objective. For example:

Who else was present?
What was the sequence of events?
What was said?
What actions did this person take?
What time did this occur?

Objectives let you go with the person’s memory, or wherever the witness takes you. That is adaptability, and you do not find it in step-by-step systems, which always break down. When you are being adaptable, your pre-interview objectives make sure you still cover everything that is needed during the interview.

Step 2: Plan on one page

Planning is where most of the quality comes from. Keep it to one page.

Three lists. What you know (documented), what you infer, and what you assume. Assumptions are where investigations go wrong.
Gather records first. Pull emails, messages, badge logs, schedules, or video before you talk to anyone, so you can check accounts instead of leading them.
Your questioning plan: four to six topics, not forty questions. Write your opening prompt word for word, then list the topics you need covered. A long script makes you read instead of listen.
Order of interviews. The person who raised the concern usually goes first, then witnesses, then the person the concern is about, unless evidence could be lost.
A simple evidence plan. For your first interview, keep it basic: decide what you will hold back. A full disclosure plan comes later (see Step 7).

For the full process on formal workplace investigations, see how to conduct a workplace investigation interview.

Step 3: Set up the interview room

Pick a private, quiet, neutral space. Not a room with a blocked door, and not your own desk. Use a sign or scheduling to avoid interruptions.
Sit in comfortable conversational positions.
Put water and tissues within reach. Silence phones and put them away.
Block 90 minutes. Rushing is the enemy of a good account.
Bring a second person to take notes if you can, so you can focus on listening.
Follow your policy and local consent rules on recording, and tell the person if you do record.
Make sure the person knows they can take a break.

Step 4: Run the first five minutes

The opening sets the tone for everything after it. Here are suggestions you can adapt word for word to your introductions and first dialogue.

"Thanks for coming in. I'm [name], and my role is [role]. I'm gathering information about [neutral description, for example, 'some concerns about how a project was handled']. I haven't reached any conclusions, and I'm talking with several people.
Here's how this will go. I wasn't there, so I'll be asking the questions and you'll be doing most of the talking. If I ask you questions in different ways, it's because I'm trying to understand. I'll ask you to tell me what you know in your own words. Please include details even if they seem small. If you don't know or don't remember something, just say so. Please don't guess. And if I get something wrong, correct me.
[Note-taker version: [Name] is here to take notes. The notes are only so we capture what you say accurately.][Solo version: I'll be taking notes while we talk. That's only so I capture what you say accurately. If I'm looking down at the page, I'm still listening.]
I can't promise complete confidentiality. I'll only share information with the people who need it to resolve this. Retaliation against anyone who takes part is against policy. If you experience any, tell me or [contact].
You can take a break whenever you like. Do you have any questions before we start?"

Before you use this script, check with other investigators for instructions that may be relevant to your type of investigation or your organization, and adjust it to match. Do not promise total confidentiality, and do not hint at an outcome. You are a neutral information-gathering party.

Step 5: Ask for the free narrative, then stop talking

Your first real question should be wide open. For example: “Tell me everything you remember about [topic/incident], starting wherever it begins.”

Then be quiet. This uninterrupted account is the most valuable thing you will get, because your assumptions have not touched it yet. In one study of real interview recordings, interviewers talked more than the people they were questioning in about six out of ten interviews, and open-ended questions were under one percent of what they asked (Snook et al., 2012). New interviewers are not alone in this. It takes practice to fight it.

Do not interrupt, correct, or finish their sentences.
Jot a new objective for each thing you want to come back to.
If they pause, silently count to five before you say anything.
If they stop, try “What else?” or “then what happened?”
Nod and use neutral encouragers like “mm-hmm” and “go on.”

Step 6: Go back through it with open-ended questions

Now work through your new objectives one at a time. Use prompts that cannot be answered with yes or no.

“You mentioned the meeting on Tuesday. Tell me more about that.”
“Walk me through that conversation.”
“What happened right before that?”
“How do you know that?” (to separate what they saw from what they heard)
“Tell me about who else was there?”

Avoid leading questions or confirmatory questions (“He yelled at you, didn’t he?”) and stacked or multiple questions (two or more questions in one breath). Once you have the open accounts, you can pin down specifics like dates, places, and names.

If you want to help someone remember more, cognitive interviewing techniques are built for that. A large review of the research found they raised the correct details people recalled by a large margin without making them less accurate (d = 1.20 for correct details, d = 0.24 for incorrect ones; Memon et al., 2010). For more example questions, see our guide to HR investigation interview questions.

Step 7: Hold your evidence

This is the step beginners most often get backwards. Do not open with what you have.

First ask about what your evidence says with related objectives: “Tell me about [your afternoon or who you spoke with or actions]” Let them describe their own record. Reflect on what they said in relation to the evidence. If it corroborates their version, you have an uncontaminated corroborated statement. If they don't, ask further, but you may have someone leaving out details.

If you are unsure, do not show anything in your first interview. You can always come back. You cannot take it back once you have shown it.

A full evidence disclosure plan, meaning what to reveal, in what order, and in what words, is a skill you add once planning and questioning feel solid. We will cover it in its own article. Until then, learn more about Strategic Use of Evidence and why it is more than just late disclosure (many interview and interrogation instructors get this wrong).

Step 8: Close the interview properly

Summarize what you understood in your words.
Ask, “Is there anything I didn’t ask that I should have?”
Ask, "Is there anything else you would like me to understand about this incident?"
Ask who else you should talk to, and whether they want to add or change anything.
Explain what happens next and roughly when, without promising an outcome.
Repeat the no-retaliation point and give them a contact.
Thank them. Do not share your opinion or conclusion.

Afterward: write it up the same day

Record what was said, in their words where you can, with the time, who was there, and any breaks.
Keep your impressions and conclusions out of the notes.
Do not judge credibility by demeanor. Compare what they said to records and to other witnesses. See why lie detection by behavior does not work.
Have a colleague read your notes and ask, “What would prove this wrong?” That is the idea behind red teaming.

Practice interviewing before the real one

Do a 20-minute role-play with a colleague using a made-up scenario. Ask them to be vague. Your goal is simple: ask one open question, then stop talking and stay quiet. If you want practice with feedback, IXI builds scenarios that run on Kaiden’s AI simulation platform. Read how in Beyond the Slide Deck.

Five mistakes to skip on your first one (and always)

Talking more than the person you are interviewing.
Showing your evidlearnence early.
Asking yes-or-no and leading questions.
Reading body language as proof.
Writing conclusions in your notes instead of facts.

For the full list and the research behind each, read Common Interview Mistakes That Damage Your Results.

Build the communication skills with your team

A good internal interview is a learnable skill. IXI teaches upgraded interviewing in workshops and customized online classes built on science-based interviewing. Or see if we’re a fit.

Internal Interview References

Hartwig, M., Granhag, P. A., Strömwall, L. A., & Vrij, A. (2005). Detecting deception via strategic disclosure of evidence. Law and Human Behavior, 29(4), 469–484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-005-5521-x

Memon, A., Meissner, C. A., & Fraser, J. (2010). The Cognitive Interview: A meta-analytic review and study space analysis of the past 25 years. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(4), 340–372. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020518

Snook, B., Luther, K., Quinlan, H., & Milne, R. (2012). Let ‘em talk! A field study of police questioning practices of suspects and accused persons. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39(10), 1328–1339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812449216