Spies and hippies: secrets to lie detection, observation, mindfulness and attentiveness

by | Jun 4, 2013 | Deception

There are a few techniques around for deception detection that require you, the observer, to be more aware of what is going on. They’ll also make you feel good. So wake up! You’ve got to be in the moment and paying attention. It’s no good having micro-expression skills like Cal Lightman or the trickster skills of a fictional mentalist like Patrick Jane if your mind’s not on the job. Paul Ekman does it, the CIA does it, and Yogis like to do it too. There are several methods but all of them do one thing: They switch your brain off auto-pilot.  

THE BASICS

Mindfulness meditation (an off-putting phrase that simply means sitting still for a few moments!):
  • Set a timer for 1, 5 or 10 minutes.
  • Sit down.
  • Focus your gaze on a point ahead of you (but don’t stare).
  • Pay attention to your breathing. Breathe into your belly rather than your chest.
  • Now let your inner-watcher take over. Your thoughts will come thick and fast, your feet will itch, a breeze will ruffle your hair. All of them shout “Look at me!”. Just let them come. Ignore them, but casually. Whenever your inner-watcher notices you paying attention to your thoughts and not your breathing simply redirect your thoughts back to your breathing. That’s it. You’ll be amazed at how much information your brain and body throws at you all clamoring for immediate attention. The more you refocus on your breathing the less these unbidden impulses will drive you and distract you [For a video introduction go here].
That is mindfulness. Sort of. It’ll teach you about yourself and show you how easily you can be distracted by nothing at all. For deception detection the Ekman group like you to practice on objects as per Jon Kabat Zinn’s methods. To do this after you have been meditating a while turn your focus to an object. It could be a door-knob while you’re sitting on the train in everyday life but for our practice do this: have something to hand like a raisin, a blueberry, a pencil, an eraser, anything in fact that’s small and easy to handle.
Hold it in your hand and take a minute for each of the senses:
  • Touch it, how does it feel? 
  • Smell it. Distinguish between the inside and outside, the pith and the skin of the blueberry, the lead and the wood of the pencil.
  • Look at it – pick out the different shades, colors, patterns, reflections.
  • Listen to it. Yes, really, give it a listen. What can you hear? Does the object block sound, reflect sound. Does it make any noise?
  • Taste it.
This will teach you how to focus your attention minus the chatter of your brain and senses. A very useful skill for all walks of life but especially for detecting unusual behaviors in others. The Ekman group focus on multiple channels and often assign different channels for different observers to monitor. The CIA technique refers to “L-Squared mode” where you focus on the audio and visual channels at the same time:

You ask your question, and you go immediately into L-squared mode, looking and listening for a cluster of two or more deceptive behaviors. Remember, the first deceptive behavior has to appear within five seconds of the stimulus. The cluster is comprised of that first behavior, be it verbal or nonverbal, and all verbal and nonverbal behaviors that follow it until the stream is broken by another stimulus or identifiable interruption. How long can the stream continue?

Houston, Philip (2012-07-19). Spy the Lie: How to spot deception the CIA way (Kindle Locations 555-558). Icon Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

These guys have noticed that it is hard to maintain a constant state of vigilance and always be fully switched on. The mindfulness techniques above should help you do that. Although I have observed the mindfulness-only types can get stuck in the buzz of being ‘switched on’ rather than actually paying attention. 

ADVANCED (but simple) TECHNIQUES

The Spy Technique

If I had to send you into the next room with absolutely zero training at all I would use an observation technique I found in an old WWII spy manual. It’s for improving your observation skills in an instant. As with anything the more you practice the better you’ll become:

Acquired Powers of Observation

Powers of observation are lying dormant in everyone of us and can be revived by practice.

There are various methods of improving one’s power of observation according to the type of memory which one may possess.
E.g. some people have a photographic memory; other people can remember better by sound and others by numbers. The following method is recommended as being suited to all types of memories.

 

4. Our method.

a) Things.

  1. Take the things that please you – your eyes, touch, smell and hearing. Try and express in words why they please you. Such an effort will cause you to observe the object more closely.
  2. Take the things that you dislike and repeat the process.
  3. Take the things that are neutral to you and repeat the process asking yourself why you have no particular feeling towards them.

b) Human beings.

  1. Apply the same three processes to the general appearance and voice of the person observed.
  2. Study the person’s actions, asking yourself the reason for such actions.
  3. You will have observed by now a lot about a person. Try and judge his character.

 

5. Conclusion.

This method requires a conscious effort to begin with and systematic practice. It is, however, interesting and has the following results:

  • You will obtain a greater knowledge of the people in your area.
  • You will have obtained a greater knowledge of objects round about you.
  • You will be able to notice the presence of strangers, the absence of people you know, and anything unusual which might previously have escaped you.

I’m all about the science of shortcuts you see (more on this in the future) and for observation skills to be useful they have to be trained and accessible regardless of whether you take a counter-culture or Bourne Identity type approach. You could also try the positive observation technique.

The Gratitude Attitude

This comes from cognitive therapy and is designed to make you feel more positive about the world. Each day take five different things and say thank you for them. It really does work by making you look at under-appreciated things in new ways. For our observation practice you can apply it to people, things or verbalizations for example.

Here’s another technique from my acting classes.

The Improv Technique
  • First, spend three minutes going round the room pointing and listing items that you see. Simple right?
  • Now do the same but say out loud the previous item that you pointed at. So: item 1: visual = chair, verbal = “…”. Item 2: visual = door, verbal = “Chair!” and so on. This really makes your brain work and is very effective.
The Writer Technique

You can even invent your own techniques for switching your attention. As a writer I have to put myself in characters heads and imagine what they might be thinking and feeling. Sit down somewhere and imagine you are in fact an astronaut in deep sleep, you’ve just realized that the fantasy you’re living in is an entertainment construct. Try and see the reality behind and how that makes the astronaut feel.

Invent or re-use any scenario that works for you. Neo in the Matrix perhaps? Alice in Wonderland?

CONCLUSION

Remember all these techniques are about switching your attention off auto-pilot. Try all of them and see what works for you, then focus on one technique for three weeks for a few minutes each day. Share your results in the comments below.

 

 

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