Statement Analysis
by Mark McClish

Look At The Language Used


Was it an accidental shooting?

Here is a statement taken from a man who said that he accidentally shot his neighbor.

"I was outside playing basketball since I was waiting for my girlfriend to show up when I saw a snake. So I went upstairs and got the Smith and wesson .380 cal and fired three shots. I saw one round hit by where the snake was at and the other two bullets I don't have a clue where they went."

The Analysis

"I was outside playing basketball since I was waiting for my girlfriend to show up..."

When a subject uses words such as "since" or "because", he is explaining why something happened. In an open statement, the subject should only report what happened. Giving a reason why something happened is considered out-of-bounds.

"So I went upstairs and got the Smith and wesson .380 cal..."

The subject distances from the gun by using the article "the" and not the pronoun "my." If the gun did not belong to the person, most people would use the indefinite article "a." "So I went upstairs and got a Smith and wesson .380 cal." The definite article "the" does show some possession but he stops short of claiming personal possession.

"...and fired three shots."

Three is a liars number. When deceptive people have to come up with a number, they will often choose the number three.

"I saw one round hit by where the snake was at..."

This is an unusual way of saying it. Most people would state "I saw one round hit by the snake." The words "was at" tells us the snake wasn't there when he fired the gun. He shot where the snake use to be (was at).

"I saw one round hit by where the snake was at and the other two bullets..."

Everyone has their own personal dictionary. Certain words mean certain things to people and every word has a different meaning. There are no synonyms in Statement Analysis. In a truthful statement, a person's personal dictionary will remain constant. For example, a person may call it a gun and never call it a pistol. When a person makes up a story their language will sometimes change with no justification for the change. Using two words to describe the same thing (round and bullets) is an indication of deception.

"I don't have a clue where they went."

"I don't have a clue" is different than saying "I don't know." Even if they do not know, most people will have a clue.


In this relatively short statement, we have several signs of deception. It turned out that the subject did not shoot at a snake. He had seen a snake in his yard the previous day. That is what gave him the idea to mention the snake and that is why he stated where the snake "was at." On this day, he intentionally shot at his neighbor and fired a total of six rounds.


Astrology

I recently saw an info-commercial on televison for an astrological reading. You call their 900 number and for a fee they will tell you what the future holds for you based on the stars and planets. There are many people who believe in astrology. There are also many people, myself included, who think it a bunch of bull. This particular program concluded with an enticing invitation: "See how accurate reading the stars can be."

This invite probably generates a lot of telephone calls. However, look at what they are actually telling us. They didn't say that reading the stars is accurate. They didn't say, "See how accurate reading the stars will be." What they said was "See how accurate reading the stars can be." It may not be accurate when you call. But I am sure they get lucky in their predictions every once in a while.


Was it a violent beating?

I read in the newspaper where a father had confessed to beating his young son to death. In his confession, the father described the beating by saying, "To me, it wasn't that violent." The father was trying to downplay the severity of the beating he administered. He was trying to tell us that it wasn't that bad. However, he actually tells us that this was a very violent beating. The first thing we notice is that he says, "To me it wasn't that violent." What he is saying is that to you and to the police and to the coroner this may appear to be a violent beating. It just didn't seem that violent to him.

The second thing to consider is he tells us "it wasn't that violent." In other words, he is telling us it was a violent beating. It just wasn't "that" violent.

When you first glance at his statement, it appears he is telling us this beating wasn't violent. However, if you listen to what he is saying he tells us this was a very brutal beating.



Pronouns

Missing Pronouns

Remember to look for pronouns in a statement. Pronouns such as we, us, our, indicate that more than one person was involved. Pronouns also give us responsibility. Sometimes people don't want to take responsibility for their actions. We often see this when people make statements using the pronouns you or we instead of I. "There are real definite lines that you do not cross." "You try to avoid these things." "We will make sure that doesn't happen again."

Another thing to look for in a statement is missing pronouns. In this type of statement, the subject will tell you what happened and what he did without directly referring to himself. Instead of spreading the blame by using plural pronouns he will not use any pronouns. For example, a subject was asked what he did on a particular day. He respond by saying,

"Woke up around 8:00 in the morning. Fixed breakfast and watched a little tv. At 10:00, called Tony Johnson to see what he was doing. Met Tony at the bowling alley at 11:00. Bowled until about 2:00. Returned home, stayed in the house and watched the baseball game."

Looking at this statement we find there is only one pronoun, he. What is missing is the pronoun I. The subject could have said, "I woke up around 8:00 in the morning. I fixed breakfast and watched a little tv. At 10:00, I called Tony Johnson to see what he doing." However, the subject chose not to mention himself. Some might say that the subject I in this sentence is understood. In statement analysis, nothing is understood. We only consider what the person tells us or doesn't tell us. By not using the pronoun I, this may mean the subject didn't do what he wants us to think he did. It can also mean the subject isn't telling us everything that happened.

The missing I can also be a sign that the subject is reluctant to talk about what happened. The subject may be placed in a situation where he has to talk. So, he tells us what he did but he leaves out the I to distance himself from his actions. Former President Clinton did this a few years ago when scratches appeared on his face. The press hounded him as to what had happened, but the President wouldn't comment. Speculation was that the First Lady had scratched him with her nails or had thrown something at him. Finally, President Clinton came out with the following statement:

"I got this playing with my daughter I'm ashamed to say. Rolling around acting like a child again. I reaffirmed that I'm not a kid anymore."

There are three sentences in his statement. The first and last sentences begin with the pronoun I. However, in the second sentence the I is missing. The President could have said, "I was rolling around acting like a child again," but he chose not to use the pronoun I. Why is the I missing? We find the answer in the first sentence. "I got this playing with my daughter I'm ashamed to say." The President was embarrassed by what had happened. Therefore, when it came time to actually describe the incident, he left himself out.


Using The Wrong Pronouns

In the middle 1970s, mysterious crop circles began to appear in southern England. These were designs usually in a circular formation impressed upon fields of wheat, oats or barley. The phenomenon progressed year by year moving across the ocean to the United States. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, country sides were adorned with geometrical figures imprinted on fields of grain. Many people believed that these formations were created by flying saucers which had landed in the fields. The idea that this was a hoax seemed impossible. There were hundreds of crop circles. They seemed to appear rather quickly and on such a large scale. There were no footprints leading to or going from the formations. Many people concluded that they must be of an extraterrestrial origin.

In 1991, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley from Southhampton, England, admitted that they had been making the crop figures for 15 years. It was something they had dreamed up one night over a few drinks. They even demonstrated to the press how they performed their nocturnal artwork. The circles which appeared in other countries were apparently copycat hoaxers. It turns out though that we didn't have to wait 15 years to see that this was a hoax. On one of their night time operations, Doug and Dave decided to leave a message. In one of their circles they left the letters WEARENOTALONE. A quick examination of the letters reveals the sentence "We are not alone." Some people thought this was a sign of intelligent life. However, the only sign this statement was giving is that this indeed was a hoax. If aliens had landed on our planet and were going to leave us a message, it wouldn't say, "We are not alone." It would say, " You are not alone." The pronouns give it away.


Congratulations! You are a winner.

We all get those sweepstakes notifications in the mail telling us that we have won a large sum of money. Most people are skeptical that good fortune is coming their way. So, to check it out they read the small print. However, you can tell what is going on by reading the large print. The last winner's notification I received started out by saying,

"I am pleased to inform you that you are to receive a cash amount. We are currently holding a corporate check in the amount of $5,000 and await the filing of your Winnings Claim form."

Pronouns show possession. The first sentence clearly states that I (you) will receive a cash amount. Great. I can always use a few extra bucks. So, how much money am I going to win? The second sentence mentions $5,000, but look at the pronouns in this sentence. "We are holding a corporate check in the amount $5,000...." (I believe they have a check in amount of $5,000.) "....and await the filing of your Winning Claims form." (I believe they are waiting for me to return my Winning Claims form.) No where does it state that this $5,000 is mine. What is missing is the pronoun you. They didn't say, "We are currently holding your check" or "We are currently holding a corporate check in the amount of $5,000 for you." By stating in the first sentence that I have won some money, they are hoping I will believe that the $5,000 mentioned in the second sentence is mine. Out of curiosity I read the small print. Odds are I am going to win $1.00!