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102 Deception at Work

Detailed symptoms of truth and lies

FROM OBJECTIVES TO DETAILED LEAKAGE

The truth is that we are flooded with symptoms of deceit, so much so that there are far too
many to consciously remember. The good news is that all of the clues are already embedded
in your subconscious and you should always try to elevate – to a conscious level – why you
have the feelings you do. Detecting deception is not difficult but resolving your suspicions is
less easy unless you have a cunning plan. Chapter 1 contains such plans.

Deception is communicated through one or more of five channels (see Chapter 2, page
[xref]), the most important being auditory, in speech and paralinguistics, or visual, in writing
and non-verbal communications. This section summarizes the most important conscious (IN
BLOCK CAPITALS) and unconscious clues under the headings of:

• Attacks.
• What the liar says:

– content,
– syntax,
– paralinguistics.
• Non-verbal communication.
• Attitude.

You will not be able to remember them all, so don’t worry. The important thing is that once you
believe a subject is lying, you must use a cunning plan to clear him from suspicion or nail him.

It is also important to emphasize that where a person consistently responds with answers that
do not fit the profile of deception, the chances are he is innocent. So always keep an open mind.

ATTACKS

Attacks are communicated through verbal, visual and sensory channels but are of such impor-
tance that they warrant being treated as a separate division. The main clues, which mainly result
from the liar’s conscious decisions are listed in Table 4.4, and further illustrated in Mind Map 4.

Table 4.4 Attack

Symptoms of deception Examples and comments Significance
10 = High
CONSCIOUS and unconscious 0 = Low
10
ATTACK ‘You have not been fair in the past and I do not trust
REFUSAL TO PARTICIPATE ON you’ 10
THE GROUNDS OF ALLEGED ‘You cannot be trusted to report the truth’
INJUSTICE ‘The Audit Department is total crap’

CHALLENGING THE ‘You have already made up your mind’
INTERVIEWER’S AUTHORITY, ‘You are not interested in hearing the truth’
MOTIVES, INDEPENDENCE ‘You have been trying to catch me out for years’
ETC. ‘You have never liked me’
‘You have no right to treat me like this’