Don't Lie To Me

About The Instructor

Mat provides information about his professional background as a special investigator with the Sandy Police Department, as well as his family life, married to an attorney and the father of four children.

Your Background Affects Your Thinking

Mat discusses how our thoughts are shaped by our personal and family histories, education, career, experiences, and other aspects of our lives.

Different Scenarios And Assumptions

Mat takes the class through a few scenarios to illustrate the wide array of assumptions people make about others when provided with only very limited information.

Civilian Life Vs Law Enforcement

Mat describes his experience in transitioning from the person who may be calling for help to the person who provides the help.

Why Do We Or Don't We Believe People?

Mat explains how our backgrounds form our opinions about people based upon their professions, from car salesmen and attorneys to priests and police officers.

Build Your Skills

Mat shares a few key stories from early in his law enforcement career that helped him realize that he needed to be better at understanding why people lie and how they do it.

Changing Perspective

Using specific examples, Mat explains how his additional training provided the skills needed to get the confessions necessary to close serious criminal cases.

Matching Their Position And Attitude

Mat explains how he varies his posture, position, body language, and tone of voice to match the situation and achieve better results.

Interview VS Interrogation

Mat points out critical differences in the purpose, location, and nature of two questioning techniques.

Audience Job Interview Experiences

Audience members share their personal experiences in different types of interviews along with how the situations made them feel.

Good Questions VS Bad Questions

Mat describes the difference between open-ended and closed-ended questions and points out exactly what makes a question good.

Exercise - Basic Questioning

Mat questions a student from the live audience to illustrate the difference in responses to open-ended versus closed-ended questions.

What Is Truth And What Is A Lie?

Mat defines the terms and describes reasons why people lie and the emotions that go along with honesty and deception.

Detecting Deception

Mat explains how what people say, how they say it, and their body language correlates with how much they have to lose if their deception fails.

Three Main Points Of Detecting Deception

Mat highlights the three keys that every student should take away from the course.

Three Channels Of Communication

Mat describes the characteristics of both deceptive and truthful behavior and provides examples to highlight the differences between the two.

Video Example- Deceptive Verbal Behavior

Mat shares a video clip from an interview with a Major League Baseball player, then students in the live audience share the signs of deception they noticed.

Three Channels Of Communication Continued

Mat provides several more examples of deceptive verbal behavior with phrases commonly used to manipulate the interviewer.

How Are We Listening

Mat addresses the topic of miscommunications and situations when what is heard and what is said are not the same.

Scenario - Verbal Communication

With help from students in the live class, Mat examines the language used in interview responses to spot signs of deception.

Paralinguistic Communication

Mat provides several reasons for why it takes longer to respond when a person is being deceptive.

Video Example - Chris Watt Interview Language Analysis

With students in the live class, Mat analyzes the language used by Chris Watt as he responds to an interviewer’s question about his missing wife and children.

Susan And David Smith Statement Analysis

Along with students in the live class, Mat analyzes statements made by Susan and David Smith after Susan reported that their family vehicle was carjacked.

Exercise - One-On-One Interview

Mat introduces an activity for students to practice using open-ended questions and analyzing their responses to spot signs of deception.

One-On-One Interview Audience Experiences

Students in the live audience share their experiences and Mat explains how open-ended questions can be advantageous for both employers and employees.

Non-Verbal Communication

Students in the live audience share their experiences and Mat explains how open-ended questions can be advantageous for both employers and employees.

Exercise - Two Truths And A Lie

Mat invites students to hone their skills by participating in Two Truths and a Lie, a popular ice breaker game.

Which One Is A Lie Analysis

Mat and the students analyze their responses and discuss ways to spot written lies.

Body Positioning

Mat demonstrates a number of body positions as he explains how the way a person sits and their associated actions can indicate a stress response.

Body Positioning, Continued

Mat continues exploring body positioning and shares the story of one person’s confession to demonstrate just how subtle the signs of deception can be.

Reading Body Language - Seinfeld Clips

Mat shows a few clips from “Seinfeld” to demonstrate more red flags, both verbal and non-verbal.

Body Movements And Gestures

Mat explains the concept of deceptive clusters and provides examples of the uncontrolled movements and gestures made by a person who is being deceptive.

Eye Contact

Mat shares the three most important red flags to notice in the eyes in order to spot deception.

Video Example - Russell Wilson Interview Analysis

Mat analyzes the signs of deception in an interview with a professional football player and notes how the interviewer reacts in order to get a better answer.

Putting It All Together - Roleplay Scenarios

Students in the live audience interview Mat in a couple of role play scenarios and point out red flags in his responses.

Scenario Breakdown

Mat reviews the three main points after continuing to break down the verbal and non-verbal cues spotted during the role plays by students in the live audience.

Post-Assessment