First off, I would like to say Thank you to the people who run this site and an incredible amount of gratitude to Mr. Maschke and Mr. Scalabrini for "The Lie Behind the Lie Detector". Without combing through the forums and reading the book multiple times, I do not think I would've had the confidence I had today when taking the polygraph. So let's start from the beginning...... I show up to the location and have to ring a doorbell to enter. A male opens the door and greets me with a handshake and a smile and I appropriately respond the same. He has me sit down and fill out a packet with a bunch questions that seems to be the same as if filling out the personal history statement. I keep everything accurate. Everything that was in the PHS was put down in the poly packet with no further admissions. He has me sit for about 20 minutes and then he calls to the back. We have small talk about the weather and the plans we have for the rest of the day after this. I don't talk much but when I do, I do with enthusiasm and professionalism. No sir, Yes sir, all the way through. Firm eye contact and not much movement on my part. We then go over my PHS and the poly packet. Still, no further admissions. He says he'll be showing me charts, the machine, etc. At this moment, I'm like, this is EXACTLY what the book states what would happen. I actually am smiling inside as he's explaining that the machine could detect if I was lying or not. Knowing that I was in control helped me tremendously with the nerves. We go over the test questions pretty quickly. I'm actually uncertain on which is the control question out of the group but I decide that I will use counter measures on the 9th question. He asks if I'm ready and we begin. As soon as he puts the tubes around my body, I immediately begin focusing on breathing. As the book states, I'm taking 2-4 second breathes and keeping it that way the entire time. As I'm finally hooked up to everything, I can hear my heartbeat. And the questions begin. The first set of questions, I completely forget to use counter measures haha. We finish the first set and he loosens the arm cuff but keeps the tubes on so I continue to focus on my breathing. Second set, he tightens up the arm cuff again. This time, I use counter measures on two questions. To be honest, even though my poly happened about an hour ago, I can't remember the questions haha. But I use counter measures on the 9th for sure that I was positive was a control question. Second set done, he loosens the arm cuff again but keeps the tubes on. I continue to maintain the breathing pattern. Third set, I use counter measures only on the 9th question. Third set done and he loosens the arm cuff. He says, "Well that is it, the test is done." The tubes are still on me tho so I continue the same breathing pattern. I can hear him get up from his chair and make his way around the desk so I still maintain the same breathing pattern. He then starts to take all the accessories off of me. At this point, I'm wondering if I'm going to be subject to a Post-Interview. He then says he has a long day and that he'll be doing his report on his findings and turning it to the agency. He says he needs to do it soon because they are pushing backgrounds quickly. He then opens the door and we proceed towards the exit. We then make small talk again about him going to a birthday party and we both laugh and smile. I'm at the door, I turn around and shake his hand and there I go. I'm heading towards my vehicle with a grin on my face. Based on the reading of TLBTLD, it would appear that I "passed". Furthermore, he had said he would be showing me charts of the results but he never does making me think he has nothing to show since I was not "deceitful". I have a friend who took a poly with the same individual. My friend failed because he had a reaction on one question. Same friend has now failed twice from the same administrator and he was given a Post-Test both times. Not having to go through a Post-Test, I feel relieved and confident I have "passed". Again, I'd like to Thank everyone on the forum. Poly examiners and anti-poly persons, thank you. As soon as I hear from somebody about my poly results, I'll come back and post on whether I failed or "passed".
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