Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy - Eamon Javers [84]
And it doesn’t take long to put all this together. Houston tells colleagues that the crucial instant comes within the first five seconds after a question is asked. That’s when a person can’t keep himself or herself from exhibiting the signs of a lie. BIA training, in fact, teaches agents to ignore any events that come more than ten seconds after a question. It’s in the first moment that a liar reveals everything to a trained observer.
Once they spot a lie, agents shift into what they call “elicitation” mode, which is the art of getting someone to confess something even if it is against his own best interest. Mike Floyd, a veteran of the CIA and a colleague of Phil Houston, was known for his extensive preparation before conducting an interview with a suspect. Typically, he’d bring in another expert to help with the interview, so one person could ask the questions and keep the conversation flowing while the other just focused on the suspect, watching for indicators of dishonesty.
They’d ask “bait” questions, such as, “Is there any reason why we might find your fingerprints at the scene of the crime?” They’d phrase the touchiest questions in a neutral way. So they wouldn’t ask, “Did you embezzle the money?” Instead they’d say something like, “Tell me what happened to the money.” They’d ask “presumptive questions” in which they showed the suspect they already knew something about what happened. So they wouldn’t say, “You’re guilty, aren’t you?” They’d ask something like, “Weren’t you worried that the SEC might be able to trace the funds?” That question assumes that both the interviewer and the suspect know the suspect is the perpetrator, and this conversation is simply clearing up some small details.
That kind of questioning is based on the assumption that people want to confess their crimes. Somewhere deep in their souls, they can’t stand holding on to a secret. And if they’re questioned in a careful, nonconfrontational way, they’ll spill everything.
BIA’s training begins with an introduction to Phil Houston’s techniques, followed by a series of videos of executives being interviewed on CNBC. The goal is to learn how to separate the truth tellers from the liars. Then come so-called red-letter drills, in which staff volunteers are organized into a team. One of the volunteers is told to steal a pre-placed red letter from an office. The “thief” and a group of innocent volunteers are brought into the conference room, where the trainees put their new skills into practice. They grill the volunteers to find which one is lying about the theft and is therefore guilty.
Trainees are taught how to position themselves in a room during an interview. Don’t sit across a table from the subject; sit on the same side of the conference table. If you’re sitting at a corner, push your chair back from the table until you can spot movements of the subject’s legs.
One person familiar with the sessions says many of the students can spot the liar after just a day or two of training. But often, it is the students in the back of the room who identify the liar first, not the student designated to ask the questions. For a beginner in these techniques, it can be tough to both quiz a suspect and watch for clusters of indicators.
At many of their stops, BIA trainers distribute laminated cards with deception-detection tips for trainees to remember after the session. The cards, headed “Tactical Behavior Assessment and Strategic Interviewing Pocket Guide,” urge students to “Be in L2 Mode—Look and Listen.” Over time, BIA’s clients have included several hedge funds and investment banks.
PHIL HOUSTON WAS convinced that there was nothing anyone could do to defeat his system. That is, even if an agent was trained in the TBA method, and knew what another trained observer would be looking for, he still couldn’t lie without getting caught. Houston and his colleagues from the CIA had