The Lie Guy® blog

O J Simspon's "If I Did It" Confession but not really a Confession Book

When it was announced late last year that O J was releasing a book entitled "If I Did It" and was going to appear of a FOX TV interview talking about the book I had several VCR's set up to record O J's Non-Confession Confession.

In my opinion this is a typical ego dominant personality flaunting his actions, telling us exactly what he did and that he would say "Naw!  Just kidding!  That's how I would have done it."

I understand and can appreciate that many folks felt that it would have been "obscene" for such media saturated coverage O J and this case.  I would have liked for it to proceed and hear O J's take on what happened that night.  Knowing ego dominant personalities, I knew we'd hear an almost blow by blow account.  I've have predicted in my classes for many years that there would be an O J moment like this.

Now in today's news we hear that the Browns and Goldmans have gotten the publishing rights and are looking for an agent and publisher.  They are also considering changing the title to something like "Confessions of a Double Murderer." Outstanding!  Let them get some money out of O J for once AND give us the American public an inside peek at the thoughts and feelings of a man whose trial changed the very landscape of criminal trials throughout the US.

Tell us O J.  If you did it, how would you do it?

Stan B. Walters "The Lie Guy®"
www.TheLieGuy.com

Interrogation: A Battle of Persuasion

For most interviewers, their concept of interrogation is that all they
have to do is present the facts and the subject will just collapse
under the weight of proof.  Interrogation is a little more complex
than making a good argument that a person is deceptive.  It is a
back and forth battle of persuasion and decision-making.

The battle of persuasion goes both ways.  On one side, by
deception, your subject is trying to get you to change your point of
view that they may be responsible for some inappropriate act or
behavior. The more persuasive and convincing the better the
chance the subject has at getting away with their deception. On
the other side, you as the interviewer are trying to persuade the
individual that their attempt at deception is not being successful
and therefore they must accept your evidence of proof and change
their position on the issue.

The interviewer needs to remember however, that the main reason
a person chooses to lie is for some perceived personal benefits
or to avoid some type of punishment.  A person will also confess
for the very same reasons - they will confess when they perceive it
will be beneficial to them.  They are not just confessing because
the proof is there although that is part of the equation.  Think about
it. The only time you change your mind about a previous decision
you have made is when someone or something has overwhelming
convinced you or persuaded you to believe that the new position,
point of view or decision is far better than the previous  The better
job you do as an interviewer convincing your subject of the very
distinct differences between those two points  the easier you will
make it for your subject to change rejection to admission or
confession.

Don't totally focus your efforts on just getting a subject to confess.
Persuade them that admitting to the truth is far more acceptable
and advantageous for them than sticking to their deception.

Stan B. Walters "The Lie Guy®"
www.TheLieGuy.com

Lying and Eye Contact Myth

One of the primary reasons I started TruthandDeceptionBlog.com was to deal with myths just like this one.  It's one of those myths that just won't die. 

I was cruising the web doing some research and looking for current published articles on deception, lying, and interview and interrogation.  I found a main web page by an "expert" in Canada who is offering a book on the Internet through their web site.  Right smack in the middle of the "contents" section, the "expert" clearly stated how you can spot deception by watching for poor eye contact.  Also mentioned was armed crossing, leg crossing, fidgeting and similar myths. 

Hey folks!  Do a little research of "scientific journals" and you'll find eye contact is the worst thing to look for as a cue to deception.  Dr. Bella DePaulo reviewed more than 30 different studies that proved that the eye contact of liars is no different than truth tellers. 

No wonder so many people including investigative interviewers miss deception.  Think of all the truthful people erroneously labeled as liars!