How to question a liar
It’s hard to deal with a liar who has total mastery of the art of deception. Here’s a series of questions to help you interrogate a liar, unmask him or her and put him or her up against the wall. Liars are very difficult to catch because they excel in their art of communication. In […]
It’s hard to deal with a liar who has total mastery of the art of deception. Here’s a series of questions to help you interrogate a liar, unmask him or her and put him or her up against the wall.
Liars are very difficult to catch because they excel in their art of communication. In the world of work, however, there are techniques for unmasking them. It’s useful in everyday life, whether you’re face-to-face with a colleague or in a win-lose negotiation.
It’s said that everyone lies to a greater or lesser extent at work: to protect themselves, to show off, to defend a colleague.
While there are small or “pious” lies, some employees are inveterate liars who should be distrusted. They can be very damaging to both you and your company. Liars are not only to be found in the workplace, but also in everyday life.
Here are a few techniques used by lawyers, police officers or skilled negotiators to interrogate a liar.
– First of all, prepare your interview carefully. The best preparation leads to the best improvisation. You need to know as many tangible facts as possible before the meeting. Prepare numbers, dates and your questions in a logical order. Prepare a few “trick” questions to which you already know that the person you’re talking to will answer with a lie, but to which you already have the answer. Ideally, you’ll only ask questions to which you already have the answers.
Jean-Pierre Mercier