Collecting the Right Facts is a 3 day "learning by doing" professional development program that gives professionals effective interviewing and data collection skills. Delivered to groups of 8 to 12 individuals, the program covers:

1. Basic Interviewing Theory
2. Basic Interviewer Behavior: Establishing and Keeping Rapport
3. Basic Interviewer Talk:
   Probing and Repeat Back
4. Interview Control:
   Using Your Voice and Your Body
5. Interview Depth:
   Using More Complex Probing Skills
6. Special Interview Situations:
   Gathering Data in Small Groups, Planning Data Collection Campaigns ... ...
7. Taking it Back to the Job:
   Planning for Back Home Application.

Participants learn by doing, taking on the role of interviewer and interviewee in exercises and role plays. As well, attendees take on the role of observers and coaches, so that their learning is completed from a variety of stances. Exercises are video-taped and analyzed immediately after completion.

Attendees receive a 200 page plus guide that includes concepts, "doing" checklists and numerous "interview technique" guides.

The program is offered on an "in-house" basis. This allows the course leaders to customize many of the role plays and exercises to the attendees. For example, when the attendees are information systems professionals, all of the role-plays and exercises are set in systems environments.

The program can be delivered as a continuous 3 day session, or as a set of 3 1 day or 6 1/2 day modules spread out over a number of weeks.

In the past, the program has been delivered as part of a large consulting organization's professional development program. It has been incorporated into training programs for information systems business analysts, business processing re-engineering analysts and project managers. We normally build custom roles plays and exercises to set such programs in a working context familiar to the participants.

We will work with clients to deliver sub-sets of this program if that makes most sense in their environment.