This story on NPR about spotting lies reinforces the basic premise of Sepler & Associate’s training on interviewing and assessing credibility; begin each interview with low-value “baselining” questions in order to ascertain the manner and style of the person’s truthful narrative. Elicit details. Be interested and listen closely. Use the observations you have made to determine changes in “baseline” behavior later on. Mix things up. Change the time frame of your questions or probe retrospectively (what happened immediately before that?). Listening for facts will also keep an interviewer from the common error of trying to support their own premature, and perhaps erroneous conclusions.
