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
Analyzing The Statement
Look At The Language Used By The Subject
Unique Words
There are several unique words you should pay attention to in a person's statement. These words may be unique based on their definition or based on studies of deceptive language. Some of these are absolutes while others are only an indication of deception.
"Never"
The word "never" does not mean no. Therefore, you cannot substitute the word "never" for the word no.
Question: "Did you have a gun when you went to his house?"
Answer: "I never had a gun."
The answer sounds good but recognize he did not use the word "no" as in "No, I didn't have a gun." It turned out the subject did possess a gun. We see the same thing with candidate Bill Clinton when he was running for President.
Question: "Have you ever used illegal drugs?"
Answer: "I have never broken the laws of my country."
The President did not say "No, I have never used illegal drugs." Six months later when asked if he ever broke the laws of another country, the President admitted that while in England attending Oxford he did experiment with marijuana.
"Standing" – "Sitting" – "Laying"
These words usually means there is tension and possible deception at this point in the story. The person may be twisting the facts. This is especially true when talking about an inanimate object.
"Bob invited me over to his house. When I went into the house I saw a bag of drugs sitting on the table."
Drugs are not capable of sitting. The shortest answer is the best answer. "I saw a bag of drugs on the table." There is a good chance the writer brought the drugs to the house.
"Three" – "3"
Three is a liars number. When deceptive people have to come up with a number, they will often choose the number three. Therefore, if the number three appears in a subject’s statement, there may be deception in the story.
"There were three men that attacked me." "I left the house at 3:00."
Of course if three men were involved in the attack, then the truthful subject will use the number "three." All I am saying is everytime you hear the number three that light bulb in your head should go off and you should pay close attention to what is being said.
Brian Wells was a pizza delivery man who on August 28, 2003 robbed a bank in Erie, PA. When he was stopped by the police, they discovered Wells had a bomb locked around his neck. Wells told the police that "three black men" placed the bomb around his neck, started the timer and forced him to rob the bank. Before the police could remove the bomb, it detonated killing Wells. The case went unsolved until July 2007 when the U.S. Attorney's Office alleged that Wells was involved in the planning of the botched crime. Two co-conspirators, none of which were black males, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bank robbery.
| Continue Lesson One with "Unusual Words" |