How does storytelling benefit the interviewee during an interview?

Storytelling significantly benefits the interviewee by enabling them to share their narrative with more detail and depth. This method encourages the interviewee to articulate their experiences in a structured manner, allowing for a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the situation. When individuals recount their stories, they often provide context, emotional insights, and personal reflections that can enrich the information gathered during the interview process. This depth of narrative can lead to discovery of critical details that may have been overlooked in a more straightforward question-and-answer scenario.

Additionally, storytelling fosters a more relaxed atmosphere, which can help build rapport between the interviewer and interviewee. This rapport is essential for eliciting a full and honest account of events. By sharing their story, the interviewee may feel empowered to open up, leading to a more productive interaction and potentially more accurate information retrieval.

Engaging in storytelling can also help the interviewee articulate complex emotions or reactions that would otherwise be difficult to express, which is vital in forensic interviews where understanding motives and feelings can be as important as the factual details of the events being discussed.