Page 237 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

238 Deception at Work

• Asking an important question where the answer is not already known or provable.

Example : ‘Tom, I am very disappointed that you tried to mislead me over this. I am going to
ask you another very important question and I want you to think carefully before you answer
it.’

• You should be prepared to compliment the suspect on an honest answer or admission along
the lines:

Example : ‘Tom, it took courage to tell me that. Now let’s deal with x.’ (Another important
topic.)

Reward truthful statements

DEALING WITH ANGER

Background

Genuine anger is the embodiment of ‘fight’ in the ‘fight or flight’ decision and may be directed
at you, something you have done, or at a third party, and usually peaks and takes time to sub-
side. Anger is an equal transaction between critical parents and rebellious children, but it is a
very dangerous emotion for the subject for the following reasons:

• It opens a direct circuit to his subconscious (actually his limbic system), thus making it
likely that he will make unplanned admissions or Freudian slips.

• A person who has gone overboard with an expression of anger usually becomes contrite and,
thereafter, is vulnerable.

Thus you should always regard a suspect’s anger – whether genuine or contrived – as a positive
step forward in finding the truth. However, angry people do not make deep confessions, and
so you must move the suspect to a less emotional position.

Angry people are exposed to making mistakes

Method of approach with genuine anger

Remember you have all of the advantages: you are not emotionally involved or at risk, while
the subject is. You must tune the subject off his negative, emotional wavelength:

• Try to understand the cause of his anger and whether it is genuine or contrived. Ask yourself
what the subject is hoping to achieve by his outburst.

• Stay emotionally detached, take nothing the subject says personally and let him know his
anger will not deflect you.