Do you have to establish a baseline in order to use the Statement Analysis^® techniques?
No. When reading someone's body language, you must establish a baseline. You want to determine the person's normal mannerisms. You then look for any abnormal gestures.

When using the Statement Analysis^® techniques, we are analyzing the person's words. Since people mean what they say, there is no need to establish a baseline for most of the techniques. There are only a couple of things in which we may have to establish a baseline. For example, when a person says "you know," it is an indication the person wants us to take for granted what they are saying is true. The problem is we don't know if the person is being truthful. We take nothing for granted. On the other hand, some people have a habit of using the phrase "you know." It will show up repeatedly throughout their statement. In this case, it is probably more of an idiosyncrasy they have than an attempt at being deceptive.

Isn't Statement Analysis^® a pseudoscience?
No. This is probably the biggest misconception about Statement Analysis^®. People want to know what the science is behind the techniques. There is no science because most of the techniques are are based the English language such as word definitions and the rules of grammar. These are things which have already been established which is what makes the Statement Analysis^® techniques very accurate. You don't need a scientific study to determine that President Bill Clinton was being deceptive when he said, "I was bound to be truthful and I tried to be." There are only a few techniques which are based solely on observations; things that many interviewers have seen over the years. I teach that these few techniques are only an indication of deception.

I have seen where other people teach linguistic analysis sometimes with a similar name such as "Forensic Statement Analysis" or "Linguistic Statement Analysis." Are your techniques the same as theirs?
Yes and no. Anyone who teaches some form of linguistic analysis to detect deception will teach some of the same techniques. For example, everyone will tell you should look at the pronouns and verb tenses used by the subject.

Most people who teach detecting deception by examining a person's words are teaching you techniques they were taught. I would estimate that fifty percent of the techniques that I teach are based on my research and not based on what someone else taught me. Not only does this allow me to teach new techniques but I also can give more insight into the techniques. Once my techniques are published, primarily through the classes I teach, some people will adopt my techniques and add them to their program. I don't have a problem with that because most of the techniques are based on the English language. They have always been there just not in plain sight.

While we share similarities, you will find some differences between the various ways of analyzing a statement. Since the name "Statement Analysis" is a registered trademark of my company, others have changed the name slightly to avoid copyright infringement.

Don't you have to take into consideration a person's education level when examining a statement?
Knowing if the subject has a command of the English language is helpful when analyzing a statement. If a person possesses poor grammar skills or if English is not their first language, that may explain why they used the wrong verb tense or the wrong pronoun. There are some things we can look for to determine if the person's language indicates deception or if they possess poor grammar skills. Most of the Statement Analysis^® techniques are not affected by a person's education level.

You claim the Statement Analysis^® techniques are the most accurate way of detecting deception. Is it more accurate than a polygraph?
Yes. The polygraph is limited to examining "Yes" and "No" type questions. Unlike the Statement Analysis^® techniques, the polygraph cannot analyze a statement, verbal or written. Also, the polygraph cannot be used in a telephone conversation and it cannot reveal additional information within the statement. The results of a polygraph are open to interpretation by the examiner. With Statement Analysis^®, there is no interpreting.

Will the techniques work on someone who is a very good liar?
Yes, because there is no such thing as a good liar. There are only bad listeners! There are some people who are better at lying than other people. They may not display as many deceptive indicators. However, if you listen closely to what they are saying, you start to see the deception. People's words will betray them.

Can the Statement Analysis^® techniques be used when analyzing a statement that is not in English?
Some of the techniques could be used when analyzing a statement that is not in English. However, the Statement Analysis^® techniques are based on the English language as spoken in the United States.

What about analyzing a statement that is in English from a county other than the United States?
The Statement Analysis^® techniques will still work. However, we do have to take into consideration cultural differences and phrases unique to other countries.

Will the Statement Analysis^® techniques work when analyzing a statement given by a pathological liar?
Yes. Most people lie to avoid the consequences of telling the truth. A pathological liars have a habit of lying. They will often lie for no reason. Even though they may believe their lies, they will still slip up in how they phrase their statement. The Statement Analysis^® techniques will then show their deception. Because their lies are often extraordinary, they are sometimes easy to spot.

You claim that people mean exactly what they say. Isn't it possible for a person to misspeak?
We know in life that nothing is 100% except for death and taxes. So yes, it is possible for a person to simply misspeak. However, you will find that to be very rare in the realm of analyzing a statement for deception. Misspeaking is usually not saying something that is incorrect but saying something incorrectly. Mispronouncing a name or a word would be an example of misspeaking. A person might say, "I didn't mean to say that." That is probably a truthful statement. They didn't mean for those words to come out of their mouth but they did mean what they said.