RECAP: Elite Training Days (#ETD 2019)

ETD 2019 presented by the International Association of Interviewers (IAI) opened at Chicos in Ft. Myers, FL on Wednesday April 3rd. Over 180 attendees were present for a full day of elite presentations by John Fenzel (The Green Beret Way), John Diederich (Active Shooter – From Training to Survival: A COO’s Story), and Dr. Chris Kelly with Dave Thompson, CFI (CFI vs PhD, Different Letters: Same Goals).

John Fenzel’s presentation dealt with achieving objectives unconditionally – by, with and through. John is a 30 year Special Forces Veteran, Pentagon, and White House Fellow. He had the attendees looking at complex operating environments and how to navigate through them to reach our goals. For both leadership and interviewing; developing rapport, active listening (Levels of Listening) and effective communication are important components discussed by John. His experience in combat settings, high-pressure training and overcoming cultural barriers provided incredible insight to the attendees.

John Diederich oversaw creating and maintaining his hospital’s active shooter protocol. Immediately after dealing with the roll out to his staff, he finds himself on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas at a country concert. John takes us through his experience being in the direct line of fire during the mass shooting, 12 groupings of over 100 shots each time. From being in a fog, freezing to running, being crushed, scared, and his family; John takes you through his thoughts, regrets, training kicking in, and witnessing others reactions to the shooting. A very moving experience and passionate presentation led the attendees down the path of what impact our training has on our employees and what needs to be done differently for these situations.

Wrapping up the day, Dr. Chris Kelly and Dave Thompson, CFI took the stage with a case study presented from two perspectives; the professor and the practitioner. After Thompson showed the group a case example of his, including his perspective as the interviewer, Kelly then analyzed the video from an academic standpoint and critiqued the impact of the non-confrontational method on the subject of the case. Without having prior knowledge of what each other were going to present, this was followed by an excellent debate and discussion on appropriate and effective interviewing techniques. Attendees were highly engaged in this discussion, looking for continued improvement and evolution of their skillsets.

At the end of the day, the 2018 CFI of the Year was awarded to James Dwyer, CFI from the Gap. He was recognized by his peers and the IAI Advisory Board as someone that exemplifies a CFI. Congratulations to James!

On Day 2 Chris Norris, CFI spoke on Finding Common Ground in a Cultural Diverse World. Chris has over 6 million miles hitting 6 continents each year in his travels training for WZ. His unique experiences enabled him to discuss with the group different considerations when traveling or interviewing abroad. Discussing the importance of empathy during interactions and how to develop a rapport with cultures different that your own.

The ETD2019 ended with Dave Thompson, CFI and Wayne Hoover, CFI taking questions from the 180 attendees, working through all the legal and methodology changes that have happened over the last 12 months, and looking at legal updates that affect us in our investigations. The diverse group of Loss Prevention, Human Resources, Banking, Insurance, Federal Agents, Local Police, Solution Providers and Partners, and hospital security all took away the information and changes that apply to them over the next year. ETD 2020 is scheduled for April 1st and 2nd, 2020.