Observed and Reported Account Check

Keep the source attached to the story.

Fifteen minutes for one practical decisionFree · Two-page fillable PDF

Companion to Hearing the Story Does Not Make You Its Witness.

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See a worked example

Hypothetical example: A child corrects a claim of seeing an item taken: the child saw only the empty shelf and heard the removal account from another person.

01Ask which event the speaker actually witnessed

Identify the event and the speaker’s actual position.

Event being described

Part personally observed

Part learned afterward

02Divide the account into what is actually known

Separate observed, reported and inferred details.

Report distinguished from observation

Inference that remains unverified

Private detail to keep off this sheet

03Use words that keep the source attached

Choose accurate wording and the appropriate audience.

Accurate source wording

Quotation that cannot be confirmed

Appropriate adult or audience

04Let honesty include the limits of your position

Correct a witness implication and route any real concern.

False witness impression to correct

Correction actually received

Further concern for the proper response