Preparing For The Interview
Everyone Wants To Talk
People's Words Will Betray Them
True Stories Come From Memory
The Shortest Answer Is The Best
Everything Has A Meaning
Use The Same Language
People Do Not Want To Lie
The Denial
Starting The Interview
Get Them Talking To You
Obtaining A Statement
Analyzing The Statement
Look At The Language
Specific Words
Unique Words
Unusual Words
Untruthful Words
Test Your Knowledge
Lesson One Test
Send Email
Introduction Page
Lesson One Test
When analyzing a written statement the first thing you should do is make a xerox copy of it. This is because you are going to mark up the statement by underlining, circling and highlighting several things within the statement. Take your time as you read it. You will need to reread the statement several times in order to see everything that it contains.
The first time you read the statement underline the language. This includes specific, unique, unusual and untruthful words. Once you have completed some more lessons there will be other things you will be highlighting within the statement. All of these markings can start to look rather chaotic so it is important to have some organization. This is why I am suggesting that you underline the language. Later on we will be circling, boxing and placing brackets around other words. This format will make it easier to identify what is in the statement.
Below is a statement given by a man who said that his wife died in an automobile accident. You will find a copy of this statement in your workbook. As you read it underline the language to see what he is telling you.
"That on Sunday morning May 16, 2004 at about 7:00 o'clock in the morning I was with my wife Sharon Bell and we were alone and we were going to have breakfast in Jacksonville. I had to go to the bathroom so I pulled off the road into a turnaround on the road that goes into Jacksonville. When I pulled I'm not sure where I stopped the van, but I did come to a complete stop. Sharon made some comment to me about why didn't you go before we left. She also said 'you're like the boys.' I stopped the van and got out of the van. Sharon was in the passenger seat of the van and I assume that she had her seat belt on. The van was still running and I did not put the van shift selector in park or reverse, actually I don't think I touched it at all. I knew the van was going to roll over the edge and I knew gravity would pull it over. I got out of the van and ran away like a coward. I knew if someone went over the cliff in the van they would die. I wanted to make Sharon happy and I think that by letting her die it would make her happy. This is a tragic accident that how or why it happened. I never wanted to let her go and don't how this happened"