Crafting a Winning Declaration: Essential Strategies for Success
Establish a Strong Foundation
Building trust with your client is the cornerstone of an effective declaration. Engage in multiple meetings to foster a sense of security and support. Demonstrate empathy, listen attentively, and discuss topics beyond their case to build rapport.This approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of their story, enabling you to present a more compelling case.
Best Practices
Encourage Client Drafts: Ask your client to write their narrative. This provides insights into their personality and language, allowing you to clarify significant details during the formal declaration process.
Avoid Leading Questions: During interviews, let the client lead the conversation. Refrain from prompting with leading questions, as they can influence responses and omit crucial facts. Focus on open-ended and follow-up questions to gather detailed information.
Emphasize Specific Details: The credibility of the declaration is strengthened by precise descriptions of incidents, including dates and sequences of events. This clarity aids adjudicators in understanding the case chronology.
Collaborative Refinement: While preserving the client’s voice, work collaboratively to extract vital data and exclude unnecessary details, ensuring the declaration is both authentic and concise.
Practices to Avoid
Give your client a short set of questions to start their own draft
Engage in a conversation with your client, encouraging them to write their story. By doing so, you'll gain valuable insights into key aspects such as their personality, language, and significant details that can be later clarified during the formal Declaration process.
This approach not only allows you to establish a deeper connection, but also empowers you to take comprehensive notes, ensuring a better attention to detail.
Do not ask lead questions during the second interview
It is crucial for him to assume the role of the conversation leader throughout the Declaration taking. Urge him to disclose as much detail as possible and DO NOT ASK LEAD QUESTIONS,
Avoid questions like: "You were present at the scene, right?", "Didn't you witness the incident?", "You agree that he was acting aggressively, correct?"
They suggest a particular answer or influence the respondent's response, and may break the course of the conversation and cause the individual to leave out facts. Active listening and note-taking are paramount, as they will enable you to ask insightful questions afterward.
Therefore, it is best to focus on open and follow-up questions.
For example if you client states that they don’t want to go back to the country because they are afraid someone will hurt him/her, your follow up questions should look like these: “who will try to hurt you?” “in what way?” “Why?”
The devil's in the details
Enhance readability by incorporating bold point headers to highlight crucial elements of the declaration.
Remember, the account's credibility is bolstered by providing precise and specific details. To strengthen the claim, it's crucial for the applicant to offer precise descriptions of the incidents relevant to the claim, even though they can provide general statements like “I was attacked by X.”
Additionally, incorporating dates not only simplifies comprehension, but also aids the adjudicator in following the chronological sequence of events.
Your assistance is key
There are a lot of perspectives when it comes to presenting the applicant's declaration, each with their own unique approach.
While some believe in preserving the Declaration exactly as the applicant wrote it, this process is where your expertise takes the center stage, as you will be working hand-in-hand with the client to extract vital data and exclude unnecessary details.
Don’t be overly sympathetic
Most of the clients you will be assisting as asylum seekers have endured immense hardships throughout their lives. It is crucial to bear in mind the impact of trauma when engaging with them, ensuring that both you and your questions are to approached with utmost respect.
Be patient, understanding, and nonjudgmental. It's important to note that this also means refraining from using casual or overly sympathetic language, as you would with a close friend. For instance, avoid phrases like “I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you.”
It is correct incorporate elements that reflect the interview experience when appropriate. You can say things like "How do you feel right now / when you talk about this / think about this?", and/or "Thank you for sharing this with me."
Don’t interrupt your sessions
When conducting the declaration interview, it is critical to provide adequate time to meet with the asylum applicant. Interrupting them abruptly in the midst of sharing their story can not only be distressing, but also disrupt the flow of the conversation.
The primary objective of the interview is to gather as much information about the case as possible, and this goal can be best achieved by allowing the applicant to express themselves without unnecessary interruptions.
Following the interview, it is acceptable to schedule additional meetings or calls, to address specific doubts or implement essential adjustments. It is advisable to keep these post-interview engagements brief, rather than extend the overall duration excessively.
Do not complicate with the language
It is essential to ensure that the language used in the declaration is accessible and understandable to the applicant. The last thing you want is for the adjudicator to question the applicant about a specific phrase or terminology that is clearly beyond their comprehension. So legal conclusions, idiomatic terms, and words not in the applicant's language should be avoided.
If the applicant's English proficiency falls short of perfection, it is crucial to avoid composing the declaration in broken English. Instead, strive to maintain simplicity in the choice of words.
Don’t leave any issues uncleared
If something sounds implausible to you, it will almost certainly sound implausible to the adjudicator. Likewise, if a detail strikes you as inconclusive or lacking in context, that will most likely come up in the review.
Devote meticulous attention to the details and effective communication with your client to resolve any uncertainties. Strive to establish a shared understanding, ensuring that everything is comprehensible with utmost clarity and precision.
BONUS TIP -
BONUS TIP -
If the declaration process becomes challenging or time-consuming, seek assistance promptly. Courtpals offers declaration-taking services designed to help you capture necessary details with accuracy and professionalism, saving valuable time and enhancing the impact of your declarations.
By implementing these strategies, you can craft declarations that effectively support your client’s case and stand up to judicial scrutiny.
Looking to establish a strong and trustworthy connection with your clients but unsure where to start? Finding it challenging to break the ice and create that initial bond? Dont worry, we got you covered on that.