32 I Can Read You Like a Book
close to the desk of one of the people who does not raise his or her
hand and stare menacingly at that student. As the class laughs, the
person usually raises his hand. The point is made: We all under-
stand body language on some level; most people simply do not pay
attention to the subtle pieces of daily communication. Many people
can see body language on a subconscious level, but they override
their perceptions. We are taught to “be logical,” as if there were
such a thing as logic when dealing with most humans.
As I mentioned previously, I go from verbal to vocal to non-
verbal communication, with the latter two receiving primary focus,
because reading those is the real meat of the subject, or something
my fellow interrogators often call “voodoo,” that is, reading the
unintentional cues presented by the source. In other words, what is
the other person telling me that he really does not want me to know?
After we move through the body-language curriculum, I give
my students the offensive applications, or how to influence some-
one gently into what you want. A long-time colleague of mine calls
this “interrogator mind tricks,” an obvious reference to George
Lucas’s inflated version of this, the Jedi mind tricks. The connec-
tion is intimate: I teach the ability to tap in on a subconscious level
to a person’s mind and get the response I want or need.
There’s a systematic process behind this. I begin with baselining,
and then move to body parts.Baselining
Baselining is a portable version of the polygraph. You use it to
pick up subtle variables in body language and tone of voice.