Page 84 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

Signs of Deception 125

Open questions get people thinking. This can be dangerous
Paralinguistic clues can be summarized as illustrated in Table 4.8 and Mind Map 7.

Paralinguistics are very important

Table 4.8 How answers are expressed

Category of response Examples Significance
10 = High
0 = Low

STALLING Long silences between a question and answer 10
Delayed to give the suspect the Disjointed replies
chance to prepare the reply in Hesitant and cautious delivery
his imagination Extended silences

DELIVERY (partly unconscious)

Changes in the tone pitch of Answers delivered slowly are more likely to be 7
the suspect’s voice and speed untruthful
of delivery (normally 120 to 150 The pitch normally rises with deception and falls
words per minute) at the pivotal point
Tone 8Hz to 12Hz micro-tremors
Low volume: quieter replies may indicate
deception

Stuttering and mumbling 8

Delayed response Micro-delays (from a normal response time of 0.5 8
Delayed to give the suspect the seconds for truthful answers to 1.5 seconds for
time to prepare a lie from his untruthful answers)
imagination Long silences between the question and answer
Disjointed replies
Hesitant and cautious delivery
‘Please give me time to think’
‘I want to be certain, so give me time’
‘You are trying to trap me’

Changes in volume The volume of deceptive answers is usually lower 5
than truthful replies (perhaps indicating a lack of
commitment)

Extended silences 10

Looking away when replying 7

Defers to interruptions 7