On the Job by Anita Bruzzese CIA Officers Share Tips on How to Detect A Lie

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese CIA Officers Share Tips on How to Detect A Lie Theres an episode of the old Gilligans Island television show wherethe castaways eat seeds that make mind reading possible. While it seems fun at first, the Gilligan gang soon finds out that sometimes its best not to know what everyone is thinking all the time. But wouldnt you like to know what your boss is thinking? Wouldnt you like to know whether someone at work is telling you the truth or not? There may be a way to do that without eating some seeds on a fictional island. If you take the advice of some of the bestlie detectorsin the world CIA officers then you may be able to glean when the boss is fibbing about giving you a raise or a co-worker is lying about meeting a deadline. Such information can be helpful in making career decisions and avoiding missteps that can get you off the fast track. In a new book,Spy the Lie,three former CIA officers share decades of experience in recognizing deceptive behavior and how you can apply their methods to everyday work situations. One of the authors, Michael Floyd, has spent 35 years finding the truth for the CIA and the National Security Agency. While he says that you dont want to use these methods to decide who is lying about a romantic weekend liaisonwhile gossiping around the water cooler, it can come in handy in more critical work situations, such as ajob interviewor to discover who may be cheating on an expense report. The authors stress that the average person often doesnt detect untruths because he or she believes that others simply wont lie or they are just uncomfortable judging someone else. In addition, sometimes we rely on beliefs by others that a person is honest, so we dont look deeply enough and take everything at face value, they say. Were not human lie detectors, Floyd says of his fellow authors, Philip Houston and Susan Carnicero. But weve developed a method to help spot deceptions based on our experiences, in real-world situations. One of the indicators that a person may be lying is a cluster of behavior. Exhibiting whats considered one suspicious action isnt enough to show someone is being deceitful, they say, butseveralclues should put up your radar. Listening for lies Some of the verbal cues that someone is not being truthful include: Failing to answer. Dodging a direct answer to your question may indicate the person is trying to come up with a good answer because he or she doesnt want to admit the truth. Denial. If you ask someone, Did you do it? and he or she answers (read the rest here)