Tactics For Detecting Deceit and Gathering Information In Casual Conversations

General Conversations

1. Ask-a-Fact

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During the conversation simply ask general, clear questions pertaining to your suspicion. This causes the

person you are questioning to recall information. If he’s lying, he’ll take a while to answer because he first

has to check his response mentally to be sure it makes sense. Made-up stories do not have details because

they never happened!

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Ask questions that will give you an objective, not a subjective response. For instance, if you think an

employee was home when he said he would be away on vacation, don’t ask him how he enjoyed the

weather in Florida, but rather ask “Did you rent a car?” Once he answers yes to any question, ask for more

detail. If he’s lying, he’ll try to keep the facts straight and will take his time answering further questions.

2. Add-a-False Fact

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Add a fact and ask the person to comment on it. This fact is one that you’ve made up, but one that sounds

perfectly reasonable. For example, if you wanted to know if someone really indeed went on a safari to

Africa, you mention that your uncle who works as a customs officer at the Nairobi airport told you that

everyone going to Africa was given special instructions on how to avoid malaria. As soon as he validates

your claim in an attempt to back up his assertion that he has gone to Africa, you know that his story is

untrue. Otherwise he would simply say that he doesn’t know what your uncle is talking about.

Here are the criteria:

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Your statement has to be untrue

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It has to sound reasonable

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Your assertion has to be something that would directly affect the person, so he would have firsthand

knowledge of this “fact.”

3. Support-a-Fact

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In this sequence you take what the person says and request proof, but in a very non-threatening manner.

For example, in the case of the person who claimed he had gone on safari, you might let him know that you

would love to see pictures of the trip. If he offers up a reason why you can’t see the pictures, then this

should arouse some suspicion.

4. Expand-a-Fact

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Use this clue to determine how far someone is willing to go to get what she wants. All you do is expand on

a fact that she has already offered. If she just goes on without correcting you, then you know that she may

be lying about what she’s said so far and/or is willing to lie to get you to see her point. For example, your

secretary asks you for the rest of the day off because she’s not feeling well. You might say, “oh, of course,

if you’ve got a fever and a bad headache, by all means take off.” She never claimed to have these

symptoms. You merely expanded on her statement.