R. Edward Geiselman, a UCLA professor and the guy who wrote the book on cognitive interviewing (employed by trained law officers) suggests these techniques to ferret out liars:
- Make them tell their story backwards, starting at the end and systematically working their way back.
- Tell them to be as comprehensive and detailed as they can. This cognitive interview technique increases the cognitive load to push them over the edge. They're busy making up stuff, masking their lying behaviors, and monitoring you. Even professional liars will break under the cognitive load.
- Ask open-ended questions to get them to provide as much details as possible. For example, ask: Tell me more about...?", "Tell me exactly...?" "Give me the complete details.
- Start with general questions, and then get more specific.
- Don't interrupt, be silent, and let them talk.
For more details on what behaviors are signs of deception, see also the article on Spotting Liars.
Wow, you sure have an interesting name. Could you tell me more about how you came to be named Anorexia Verbosa? I'd love to hear all the details that you can remember about the story. And after that, maybe we could go back over the tale. Backwards.
ReplyDeleteDon't mind me, I'll just sit back and listen, watching your responses.....
1. I was born.
ReplyDelete2. a. Parents called me Anorexia because they couldn't see me when I turned sideways. Also, I refused to drink milk. It turns out I just wanted to be fed caviar. And bacon.
b. My dad's last name is Verbosa.
Detail: Parents call me Rex or Rexy. So do close friends. You, on the other hand, can call me Madam Chairman.
Now backwards.
2. Parents called me Anorexia because they couldn't see me when I turned sideways. Also, I refused to drink milk, because I wanted to be fed right.
1. I was born.