enough, once again, the woman shifted in her seat and momentarily broke
eye contact. As she continued talking about her last job, she started rubbing
her forearm.
Helen continued to probe until she finally uncovered the truth. The
applicant had been fired because of a nasty disagrement with the marketing
director for whom she worked.
Human resources professionals who interview applicants and police
officers who interrogate suspected criminals are trained to detect lies. They
know specifically what signals to look for. The rest of us, although not
knowledgeable about specific clues to deceit, have a sixth sense when
someone is not telling us the truth.
Just recently a colleague of mine was considering hiring an ihouse
booking agent. After interviewing one fellow she said to me, I dont know. I
dont really think he has the success he claims.
You think hes lying to you? I asked.
Absolutely. And the funny thing is I cant tell why. He looked right at
me. He answered all my questions directly. There was just something that
didnt seem right.
Employers often feel this way. They have a gut feeling about someone
but they cant put their finger on it. Because of that, many large companies
turn to the polygraph, or lie detector, a mechanical apparatus designed to
detect if someone is lying.
How to Come Across as 100 Percent Credible to Everyone 33
Banks, drugstores, and grocery stores rely heavily on it for
premployment screening. The FBI, Justice Department, and most police
departments have used the polygraph on suspects. Interesingly, the
polygraph is not a lie detector at all! All the machine can do is detect
fluctuations in our autonomic nervous system changes in breathing patterns,
sweating, flushing, heart rate, blood pressure, and other signs of emotional
arousal.
So is it accurate? Well, yes, often it is. Why? Because when the average
person tells a lie, he or she is emotionally aroused and bodily changes do
take place. When that happens, the individual might fidget. Experienced or
trained liars, however, can fool the polygraph.
Beware of the Appearance of Lying Even When Youre Telling the Truth
Problems arise for us when we are not lying but are feeling emtional or
intimidated by the person with whom we are talking. A young man telling
ooja
(Ooja)
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