When conducting an interview as a private investigator, keep a bit of an open mind as to who can give you good information and what information they may actually have!

I was interviewing a homeless man once and he was able to give me a very precise time he witnessed the event I was investigating. I can’t remember now the event (I think it was a car accident), but I’ll never forget the lesson I learned about people.

The homeless man was named Dave and, as you might imagine, life was particularly hard for him.

He didn’t have any substance abuse problems, but he struggled mentally with the crippling inability to make a decision. He could (and did!) spend all day trying to decide what pocket to put a tissue in.

I knew Dave in passing. We were on a first name basis and one day (unrelated to our “friendship”), I had to interview him about something he had seen. (If I recall correctly, it might have been a car accident.)

Dave told me he saw it and told me, “It happened at 4:35pm.”

Really? He knew the precise time? Down to the minute? How is that possible for a man who sleeps on the streets and has no watch?

“Simple.” he said. “I looked at the parking meter.”

I looked over and, sure enough, every parking meter displayed the time.

Okay, so that’s a neat “trick”. Knowing this is a clever little thing for you to have tucked away in your brain. But… The REAL lesson here is not to underestimate people!

Living on the street is hard. The men, women and children who do have sophisticated “hacks” too make it possible. Do not underestimate them. Do not underestimate anyone!

Also, let me give you some more free training with my special report If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – If your prayer list is getting too short, please consider adding Dave and all the homeless.