Quote: Then she took off the cuff off and shot a perky smile and "So, how was it?" like we just finished a dental check-up or something. Creepy.
Sounds like a carefully refined interrogation tactic at work there. Such a statement (i.e. “was it”—as in past tense) was likely an attempt at reinforcing in your mind that the “test” was over (when it really wasn’t), as anything you say from the moment you walk in to the time you leave the building can (and will) be reported as derogatory info.
I would be willing to be that the friendly, non-confrontational females like this get a substantial amount more damaging admissions than threatening, abusive male interrogators.
I can’t imagine than even a substantial portion of sophisticated people
uninformed about polygraphy fall for the in-your-face, finger pointing, shouting, cursing tough guy interrogation techniques used by the more obnoxious examiners. To me, this type of thing is
readily transparent. If I were subjected to something like this, it would immediately put me into a very defensive position about volunteering of any info.
On the other hand, the approach where the examiner portrays him/herself as the applicant’s ally against the administration is a lot harder to pick up on. I’d be willing to be that some examiners with super refined skills here manage to best a few people with complete knowledge of the entire polygraph process. We cannot underscore enough that to make the mistake of believing that YOUR examiner is somehow different—no matter how nice he or she is—will likely have fatal results for your career path.
As George and I note in the book, smart polygraphers realize that you can catch far more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.