How The CIA Spots A Liar - Part 2

September 13, 2012

Interview with Michael Floyd, author of the book Spy the Lie: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Detect Deception

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Mike Carruthers:
According to the people in the CIA you can’t tell if someone is lying to you by their general behavior.

Michael Floyd:
Just because somebody is nervous is not a valid indicator of deception. Truthful people can be extremely nervous.
 

Former CIA Officer Michael Floyd, co-author of the book Spy the Lie, says instead look for how people respond to your question. For instance…

What we call anchor point movements when asked the question and the person repositions themselves in the chair this is an indicator of anxiety.

Convincing statements can be an excellent indication of deception.

If I asked you, “Did you steal money from the petty cash fund” and you did in fact steal the money simply saying no in your head won’t convince me. So you’ll go beyond the denial and say things like, “Why would I steal the money, I don’t need the money, I would never do anything like that, I wasn’t raised that way.” All of those statements are designed to convince rather than to convey information.

And a big pause after a very simple question can be a big giveaway that someone is lying.

Because they have to go through that thought process before responding. Do I lie or do I tell the truth, what do I say? If you’re truthful there’s nothing to think about.