How to Master Deception Detection.....Begin By Being Observant.

Here is a request from a future participant in an upcomming deception detection presentation. "I would enjoy any background information that you might be willing to share at this point. I am very interested in the topic and want to make sure that this session is as effective and productive as possible for myself.

How wonderful to hear from you before the program. To prepare, may I suggest you pay extra attention to how people respond to simple everyday little questions such as, "How are you?" "How is your day going?" Watch and listen for peoples' very first response, even before they actually get the words out. What are their facial expressions? Do they move toward or away from you? Then, as they finish speaking notice what their face and body does as they are silent at the end of the sentence. And here is a strange suggestion, notice peoples' feet. Specifically, notice the way peoples' feet point when they are engaged in a conversation with you and where your feet point.

I just got an email from a body language/first impression coaching client. Goodness, how wonderful it is to have the opportunity to see a coaching cleints' hard work make them feel more confident.

Hi, Patti
What an incredible coaching session it was! You are truly absolutely amazing! You are the best coach ever! I could feel the boost in my confidence level immediately after your wonderful instruction and I have already gained much more confidence and felt more comfortable in all kinds of social events already. It is really fantastic to have you as a body language/first impression coach. You have truly enlightened me. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful evening and I really look forward to our next coaching session.
Sincerely,
Ning

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://pattiwood.net/. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.

What words do liars use? Governor Sanford's apology

Just like body language cues leak out whether or not someone is lying, Freudian “slips” in language can reveal underlying anxiety, guilt, or arousal. Research from as far back as the Mehrabian (1971) has reported higher numbers of speech errors in deceivers than in non-deceivers. Linguistic style analysis reveals how the deceptive message is conveyed as compared to a truthful message (Pennebaker & King, 1999). Based on earlier work, some of the most reliable markers of linguistic styles are the use of content-free words, such as articles, pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, and emotionally toned words. See my last post for other specific examples.
So Gary Condit when talking about his wife and a stewardess he had an affair with used the pronouns she and her to refer to both woman rather than using their names or stating his personal relationship with them. Recently Governor Sanford used the term "those boys" instead of my sons or using the names or his sons during his apology, though he referred to his staff by name, by using such an impersonal label for his sons he idicated his desire to disconect from his responsiblity as a father. Govenor Sanford also never actually said, "I am sorry." Instead he asked for forgiveness which is something I have noticed politicians and celebrities often choose to do in their interviews with the press. As a body language expert and media coach I coach for my clients to use the words, "I am sorry." "I apologize." "I made a mistake." For the nonverbal read of Governor Sanford's apology, check last Friday's post. And for the slips of the tongue used by Michael Vick in his apology for hosting dog fights go to my website.

Lie to Me

In preparing for my deception detection class tonight I thought I would watch a few minutes of the new television show called, "Lie to Me." The program is based on the research of Paul Ekman the leading authority on facial expression research. I have read all of his books and have been quoting his research since I began teaching body language at Florida State in the 80's. Durring the few minutes I watched the information on the facial expression that comes before someone is about to attack was accurate. I will be writing more about the show.