"Eye contact, but not too much don't stare into my soul": understanding interviewee beliefs around rapport experiences and behaviours

Objective: Building and maintaining rapport are important elements of investigative interviewing practice. However, there is little qualitative research about how interviewees contextualise rapport and identify behaviours that might indicate good or bad rapport building within an interaction. Method: Twenty-three participants took part in one of five focus groups which discussed: (i) individuals' perceptions of rapport building in everyday life, (ii) behaviours they felt would aid or hinder rapport building and (iii) what behaviours they would consider effective in rapport building with a police officer during an investigative interview. Results: A thematic analysis identified three main themes: (i) building a relationship with trust and respect, (ii) attentive responsivity towards the witness and (iii) contextual and situational factors. A content analysis of rapport-affecting behaviours identified body posture, relaxing the witness and eye contact as the most frequently mentioned to enhance rapport. Being dismissive, rude and using intense eye contact were most frequently mentioned as hindering rapport. Overall, rapport was described as dependent on situation, person and environment, and enhancing rapport required contextual awareness. This research emphasises that perceptions of rapport building primarily rely on individual experiences and vary due to personal, situational and contextual factors.