Crenshaw's Books & Decks

"There is no such thing as a human lie detector"  (p. 14).

I cannot believe that a book that is so packed with information is also one of the most entertaining books I've read lately.

Three ex-CIA agents, now working privately with information and methods that were unclassified in 1996 (and so they can be taught and shared) spill the beans on the system they apply to detect lies. This method, called L-Square Mode System, works by observing what 'the suspect' says, does and reacts, and by learning to make the right kind of questions to spot deceiving behaviour. It all comes down to body language, congruency in speech and behaviour within the subject's own idiosyncrasy. It also come down to being aware of our self-defeating beliefs and limitations  to spot a lie: the belief that people will not lie to us, and are innocent until proved  guilty, the reliance on behavioural myths, the complexity of communication, our own biases, the 'global' influence, and how smart we think we are.

The system relies on getting clusters of deceiving information, not just individual clues. However, one of the most surprising statements in their method to me is that if we can identify the first deceiving behaviour (verbal or non-verbal) in the first 5 seconds (yes, seconds!) we can reasonable conclude that that behaviour is directly linked with the stimulus. (p. 31). And, of course, the higher the number of deceiving behaviours exhibited by a person, the most likelihood of deception.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when applying this system is that its virtue relies on its simplicity, that deceiving clues do not always equal deceit or a lie, that the system is not bullet-proof, that the more we practise the better we get at it, and part of the success depends on obtaining information in a non-confrontational non-judgemental non-aggressive way. The authors have successfully applied this system for years, and once we go through the book and see some of their examples (especially the long transcript and examination in appendix 2), you will notice that you can, too, start spotting deceiving behaviour.

The book has a glossary with simple explanations of all the specialised terms the authors use throughout this work. I always appreciate the effort when electronic books have the index properly hyperlinked, which is the case here.

The main downside of the book is that is not particularly didactic if you want a step-by+step sort of book. Some of the things that prevent the book from being more user- friendly are:
> I usually love end of chapters' summaries or key points, as they are really useful bits to go back when one wants to re-read a book. Oddly enough, some of those summaries are placed in the middle of a page, interrupting the narration and some of them not directly related to what's immediately said.
> The amount of information and types of questions they offer can be complicated because they are called in a certain way, and because they all involve different and dynamic approaches that vary depending on how the subject of interest reacts. Why not creating a cheat-sheet scheme to have it at hand?
> I would have loved a section with exercises for us to practise, with hidden solutions at the end of the book. Just a suggestion!
> Some of the statements about body language are familiar to me, but it would have been really useful having some figures or photos with some of those mentioned in the book.

Overall this a fascinating book that left me wanting to know more and dig deeper. I find it very useful to unleash your inner Matahari or inner Bond, get a gist of the approach to interrogation that Intelligence and law-enforcement agencies use, and most importantly, provides readers with tools to use it with family, friends and co-workers to obtain true information or spot deceiving behaviour.