“Think back…take your time…leave nothing out…place yourself there…tell me everything.”
If you’ve ever said those words to a witness or interviewee, then you’ve experienced something extraordinary.
You’ve experienced time travel. Not the flashy, sci-fi kind. Not wormholes or flux capacitors. I’m talking about something much more human. The kind of time travel that happens when someone, sitting three feet from you in a cramped interview room, suddenly goes back.
Back to the moment. Back to the street corner. Back to the smell of gunpowder or the squeal of tires or the way their hands wouldn’t stop shaking. They’re physically still in the chair in front of you. But they’re also there. Reliving that moment in time. Simultaneously in two places at once. And if you’ve built enough trust, they’ll take you back in time, if you let them.
Like The Sands of Time: Good Interviews Happens in Long, Slow Conversations
Let’s be clear: this kind of memory retrieval doesn’t happen because you asked the “perfect” question. It doesn’t happen because you cornered them or caught them in a contradiction. It happens because you slowed down the pace of the interview. It happens because of how you made them feel. Because you gave them your focus, not just your attention. Because you made them feel important. Because they believed you had time for them, and you created the space where they felt heard. And when people believe that, they start to give you their truth. The truth doesn’t show up under pressure. It shows up under safety. It shows up when the interviewer stops trying to extract and starts learning how to invite.
People Remember in Pictures, Sounds, and Feelings
Memory isn’t stored like a video file. It’s more like scattered puzzle pieces: images, sounds, and raw emotion. That’s all we really have access to. And the act of remembering isn’t playback, it’s reconstruction. Which means the questions you ask…and more importantly, how you ask them…will directly affect how those memories are rebuilt. When you say, “Go back to that moment. Take me there. Describe what you see?” You’re not just asking a question. You’re laying tracks for memory to follow. You’re offering someone the chance to relive the moment through context reinstatement. You’re helping them time travel, anchored by memory compatible questions that allow their brain to wander back, not be yanked forward.
The Time Machine
Picture this: You and the interviewee are in a small room together. Physically present. Here. Now. Inside their memory is the potential key to unlocking the mystery you are investigating. And if you’ve built rapport, trust, and safety… You’ll be invited in. They’ll start to describe things no camera caught. They’ll share the slight tremble in a voice, the smell in the hallway, the feeling in their gut. They’ll remember details they didn’t even realize they knew. That’s when you know you’re traveling across time, space and distance to a place only they have been. That’s when you know you’re traveling together.
The Irony of Speed: Slow Down to Get More
Here’s the paradox: The slower you go, the more you get. Our instinct in high-stakes environments is to move fast, cover ground, check boxes. But memory doesn’t respond to speed. It responds to care. It’s ironic, even counterintuitive, but slowing down isn’t lazy. It’s efficient. Because when someone feels heard, they open up. They let down defenses. And they take you places that no interrogation ever could.
Times Up
If you’re a detective, an investigator, a memory researcher, or someone who often interacts with the memories of others, you already understand the power of recall. But here’s the invitation: treat memory like the sacred thing it is. Help people travel back, not with force, but with focus. Create safety, not suspicion. Use silence like a scalpel. And above all…
Slow. Down.
Because time travel is real. And it begins with the words:
“Think back. Take your time. Leave nothing out. Place yourself there. Tell me everything…”
