Want to detect lies with surgical precision?
Maybe learn to recognize the state of truth before!
The flawed OBSESSION with lies
Everyone wants to learn how to detect deception. But most people are obsessed with spotting the lie before they’ve ever learned to recognize the truth.
That’s a fatal mistake.
In the world of HUMINT (Human Intelligence), we don’t look for lies first.
We build the baseline.
Because without a baseline... every judgment is noise.
Let me take you inside the mind of an intelligence operative, and teach you a method that could save your business, your reputation (sometimes even your life, who knows?)
What is the baseline, and why it's the key to EVERYTHING
In intelligence work, the baseline is the normal, unstressed behavior of a subject.
It's their "truth pattern" basically. How they breathe, speak, gesture, when they're not hiding anything.
Think of it like this:
You can’t detect the tremor if you don"t know how still the hand usually is.
Baseline is:
- Tone of voice at rest
- Natural speech flow
- Eye movement patterns when relaxed
- Typical posture, breathing, blink rate
- Vocabulary in non-stress situations
Without this reference, you are hunting in the dark.
So before you ask questions and start spotting for signs of lies... just observe how they behave in their normal state, on a regular topic on which they feel very comfortable.
Why most people miss the truth (and therefore miss the lie)
Social media and pop psychology have trained people to look for signs of deception: crossed arms, microexpressions, looking away…
But here's the hard truth:
Those signals mean nothing without the baseline.
You don't need tricks. You don't need hacks. You need precision. You need a good brain.
Spies don't react to isolated signs.
We compare. We detect shifts. We identify patterns.
Yes it's less sexy than you imagined... I know. That's the job.
We track what deviates from the known norm.
In HUMINT, we call this: pattern deviation analysis.
Now... How to build a baseline like a spy
Here’s a simplified version of the process we use in intelligence:
Step 1: Observe in neutral contexts
Ask questions that don't trigger any stakes.
Listen. Watch. Note down:
- How fast they speak
- What kind of words they use
- Where their eyes go when recalling a memory
- What their "default body" looks like
Step 2: Establish your markers
Each person has unique markers. Forget generalizations.
Your job is to map the individual, not stereotypes !
Step 3: Induce micro-stress
Introduce small risks into the conversation: a challenge, a contradiction, a subtle question.
Oh really? I thought you told me something else last time we met! Are you sure?
Then watch:
- What changes?
- What stays the same?
- Where do cracks appear?
This is where the real work begins.
Strategic applications in business and life
Knowing the baseline is useful in EVERYTHING. It's game-changing in:
- Hiring (Is this candidate lying about their experience?)
- Negotiations (When does their confidence crack?)
- Dating (Is their story consistent?)
- Leadership (Can you tell when your team is not okay?)
You don’t need to be paranoid.
You need to be observant.
That's what I help my private clients with.
I also teach all of my techniques here.
Before you hunt the lie, study the truth.
Don't rush to decode deception. Start by mastering the neutral zone.
The rest becomes obvious.
The lie is just an anomaly... The truth is the frame.
If you want to go deeper into HUMINT, strategic influence, and advanced psychological techniques, join my private membership for leaders and intelligence professionals.
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