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72 Deception at Work

– other evidence he believes might be discovered and not just that which the interviewer has
currently available;

– his perception of the skills of the interviewer;
– his ability to explain and evade questions;
– his ability to succeed with an attack.
• The penalty if earlier lies are revealed.
• Other unrelated problems such as:
– poor mental and physical health;
– tiredness.

The more the liar has to falsify an explanation, the more his anxiety increases. And it is not always
one large problem that causes anxiety, but rather a combination of small issues which cumula-
tively lead the suspect to conclude that he cannot cope. This is an important point to remember.
Although we would always like to have overwhelming evidence, the fact that we have many small
items of incriminating intelligence, or use NLP techniques, can be just as effective in increasing
the suspect’s anxiety and getting him to the pivotal point and then to the deep truth.

Raising the pavement

If most people were asked to walk on a narrow kerbstone at the edge of a pavement, the prob-
ability is that they could do so successfully and without anxiety because they have the balanc-
ing skills to succeed.

However, if the pavement were raised, so that there was a sheer drop of 30 feet over the edge,
the balancing skills needed would be just as before. But anxiety, caused by the consequences
of failure, would increase, in turn leading to a possible loss of balance. A few people might try
to walk along the edge and succeed. Others would try and fail, but the majority would take the
safe course and either refuse the invitation, or accept but leave a wide safety margin so that
they would not fall off the edge. The same principles apply to deception and are manifested,
primarily, in a lack of commitment that results in panic when the penny drops that the person
simply cannot cope. In finding the truth, this is referred to as the pivotal point.

Always raise the pavement to get to the pivotal point

ANGER

Anger is a negative, initially unconscious, emotion directed externally and is consistent with
a person’s decision to fight rather than flee. It may also be a battle against reality. Anger may
spring from frustration, anxiety or fear, or from some totally unrelated reason; in the animal
kingdom, it is used to establish dominance or protect territory. The basis may be genuine, or
contrived, but in most cases anger is intended to cause the adversary to withdraw and run
off.

Some people will take a conscious decision to simulate anger, again to frighten off an op-
ponent, but the difference is obvious (see Table 3.8).

You should remember that an angry person is directly connected to, and thrashing with,
his subconscious and is vulnerable to making mistakes, Freudian slips and blurting out the
truth. If you can talk him out of his anger, you are likely to get to the deep truth (see the meth-
ods of dealing with anger in Chapter 7).