Myths vs. Realities

Myth 1: “You can spot liars by watching body language.”

Reality: The belief that liars avoid eye contact, fidget, or shift posture is widespread, but decades of research show these behaviors are not reliable indicators of deception. Most people, including professionals, perform only slightly better than chance when trying to detect lies based on body language alone.

A comprehensive meta-analysis by Bond and DePaulo (2006) examined over 200 studies and found the average accuracy rate for lie detection was just 54%, no better than flipping a coin.
Dr. Aldert Vrij, a leading expert in deception research, concluded that there are no nonverbal behaviors that uniquely signal lying (Vrij, 2008).
People tend to mistake signs of nervousness or anxiety, which are common in many high-stakes conversations, for deception. This misjudgment can lead to false conclusions and investigative errors.

Teach To Talk™ Insight

Nonverbal communication is important, but not in the way most people think it is. We train interviewers to observe changes in baseline behavior, not isolated gestures, as potential indicators of stress or internal conflict. Effective interviewers use these observations to adjust their approach, ask more effective questions, and maintain a productive conversation. Body language must always be interpreted in context, never as a stand-alone indicator of truth or deception.

Myth 2: “Effective interviewing requires you to follow a script.”

Reality: While some structure is helpful, rigid scripts are a poor substitute for real conversational skill. They limit flexibility, prevent rapport, and often fail when interviewees go off track, which they always do. Research confirms that adaptive, strategy-based interviewing leads to more accurate, detailed, and ethical outcomes.

The Cognitive Interview (CI), developed by Fisher & Geiselman, is a flexible, non-scripted approach that enhances memory recall by up to 50% compared to standard questioning (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992).
Meissner et al. (2014) found that training interviewers in open-ended, rapport-focused approaches improves both the quality and quantity of information obtained.
Over-reliance on scripted questions can also trigger confirmation bias, where the interviewer unknowingly leads or narrows the conversation to fit their assumptions (Vrij et al., 2017).

Teach To Talk™ Insight:

Teach To Talk™ is not a checklist; it’s a philosophy built on thinking, adaptability, and strategic communication. At the heart of that philosophy is our Adaptive Strategies Compass™, a framework built around six core strategies designed to guide interviewers through even the most complex conversations. Like a real compass, it doesn’t give you a script. It gives you direction.

When an interview drifts off course, when rapport fades, or when you’re unsure of what to ask next, the Adaptive Strategies Compass™ brings clarity, focus, and purpose back to the process, it reflects our core belief: that communication should be strategic, adaptable, and always driven by intent, not rigid questioning. Scripts are for actors. Interviewers need tools that work when the conversation becomes unpredictable.

Myth 3: “If someone confesses, it must be true.”

Reality: Confessions are persuasive, but they are not always accurate. Believing that every admission of guilt must be truthful ignores extensive research showing that false confessions do occur, often under conditions of stress, fatigue, or coercion.

Kassin et al. (2009) found that jurors tend to overvalue confessions, even when they are obtained through coercion or contradicted by other evidence. Their research highlights the psychological pressure many subjects face during interviews.
Drizin and Leo (2004) documented 125 proven false confessions, many involving minors, people with cognitive impairments, or those subjected to lengthy, high-pressure interrogations.
Meissner and Redlich (2012) emphasize that non-accusatory, rapport-based interviewing significantly reduces the likelihood of eliciting false admissions.

Teach To Talk™ Insight

Teach To Talk™ promotes ethical, strategic interviewing that prioritizes clarity and credibility over pressure. Through our Adaptive Strategies Compass™, we train interviewers to use a route map to help prevent false confessions. This includes:

Starting with non-threatening questions to establish baseline behavior.
Gradually introducing topics indirectly related to the incident to monitor stress and build comfort.
Using motive mapping, a purposeful monologue that presents potential motives in a non-judgmental tone to see which explanations resonate with the subject.
Integrating the strategic use of evidence at key moments to clarify inconsistencies and reinforce truthful dialogue.
Ending with a direct but well-timed question about the subject’s involvement.

Motive mapping enables the interviewer to explore themes such as rationalizing the behavior, projecting blame, minimizing the seriousness, socializing the situation, and emphasizing the value of truth, all in a manner that encourages honesty without crossing ethical boundaries. This approach not only protects the integrity of the interview but ensures that any admissions obtained are grounded in strategy, not coercion.

Myth 4: “Witnesses and victims will just tell the truth; they don't need a strategy.”

Reality: Many professionals assume that because witnesses and victims are cooperative, interviewing them is a straightforward process. But trauma, fear, loyalty, shame, confusion, and memory fragmentation can all interfere with how information is processed and shared, often leading to incomplete, distorted, or delayed disclosures.

Research by Goodman & Melinder (2007) and Klemfuss, Quas, & Lyon (2014) found that trauma-exposed individuals, including children and adults, may struggle with recall or present inconsistently, especially when faced with authority figures or emotionally charged environments.
The NICHD protocol and related studies emphasize the need for careful pacing, open-ended prompts, and trauma-informed rapport-building to increase both the quantity and quality of information gathered (Lamb et al., 2007).
Misinterpreting hesitation or gaps in a victim’s account as deception or unreliability can lead to critical missteps and even secondary victimization.

Teach To Talk™ Insight

The Teach To Talk™ philosophy is designed to work across the full spectrum of interviews, whether you’re speaking with victims, witnesses, or suspects. Our Adaptive Strategies Compass™ equips interviewers to navigate the unique challenges of each type of interview by providing a strategic framework that emphasizes adaptability, clarity, and purpose.

By following the compass, interviewers can manage emotional dynamics, build trust, and maintain control of the conversation, regardless of who is sitting across from them. This strategic consistency makes the Teach To Talk™ approach more effective and more ethical than rigid, role-specific models.

For interviews involving trauma-exposed individuals, we also offer a dedicated trauma-informed interviewing course that expands on these principles, giving professionals the tools to conduct compassionate, strategic, and legally sound interviews when the stakes are highest.

Myth 5: “Open-ended questions are too slow and inefficient.”

Reality: This myth is rooted in the misconception that open-ended questions waste time or lead to irrelevant tangents. In reality, they are one of the most effective tools for obtaining accurate, detailed, and uncontaminated information, especially when compared to leading or closed questions.

Research by Oxburgh, Myklebust, and Grant (2010) found that open-ended questions elicit longer, more informative, and more reliable responses while minimizing the risk of interviewer bias.
Lamb et al. (2011) concluded that open-ended questioning in investigative interviews leads to higher rates of accurate detail and fewer errors, critical when dealing with vulnerable populations or complex events.
While it may seem faster to use closed questions, this often results in fragmented information that requires more clarification later and increases the risk of missing important facts.

Teach To Talk™ Insight
Teach To Talk™ emphasizes strategic use of open-ended questions as a core interviewing skill. Through our Adaptive Strategies Compass, we train interviewers to guide conversations with intent, using open-ended prompts to explore themes, assess credibility, and uncover meaningful details. This isn’t about letting the subject ramble; it’s about knowing how to ask, when to pause, and how to extract relevant information with clarity and control.

Myth 6: “Interview training is only for law enforcement.”

Reality: While investigative interviewing is essential in policing, the same communication principles apply across education, human resources, legal compliance, corporate investigations, and professional sports. In every setting, people are tasked with gathering reliable information, assessing credibility, and making decisions that can affect careers, reputations, or even lives.

Research from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) highlights the inconsistencies and legal risks that arise when HR professionals conduct interviews without training in structured, ethical, and non-leading techniques.
In education, Title IX and DASA investigations require neutral, trauma-informed questioning—a skill that many administrators and school officials are never formally trained in.
In corporate compliance and internal investigations, poorly conducted interviews can damage workplace trust, derail due process, and lead to avoidable litigation.

Teach To Talk™ Insight
The Teach To Talk™ philosophy was designed from the ground up to serve both public and private sectors. Whether you’re a detective, principal, HR director, compliance officer, or a scout evaluating talent, the skills we teach, such as building rapport, managing resistance, assessing credibility, and guiding productive dialogue, apply across various industries. The Adaptive Strategies Compass™ provides every interviewer with a map they can use, regardless of their role or environment, to gather the truth with professionalism and purpose.

Myth 7: “The best way to get the truth is to confront inconsistencies immediately.”

Reality: Many believe that challenging a discrepancy as soon as it appears is the fastest way to uncover the truth. But research shows that premature confrontation often shuts down disclosure, increases resistance, and reduces cooperation.

Hartwig, Granhag, and Vrij (2005) demonstrated that strategic disclosure of evidence, saving confrontational elements until later in the interview, improves information yield and prevents suspects from adjusting their stories to fit known facts.

The PEACE Model and similar approaches emphasize rapport-building, open-ended exploration, and gradual introduction of inconsistencies rather than immediate confrontation (College of Policing, 2013).

Teach To Talk™ Insight

The Adaptive Strategies Compass™ teaches interviewers to pace evidence disclosure intentionally. When you start with open exploration, you learn what the interviewee will say unprompted. This provides critical insight into credibility and motive. Only after building rapport and gathering a baseline do you strategically present contradictions, maximizing their impact while protecting the fairness of the process.

Myth 8: “Long interviews always produce better results.”

Reality: Time investment matters, but more time doesn’t automatically mean better outcomes. Fatigue, cognitive overload, and stress can impair memory, distort perceptions, and increase the risk of false or incomplete statements.

Research by Kassin and Gudjonsson (2004) shows that prolonged interviews, especially those lacking breaks or conducted late at night, are correlated with higher rates of false confessions and unreliable information.

Short, well-structured interviews that build rapport and use strategic questioning often produce more reliable and accurate accounts (Meissner et al., 2014).

Teach To Talk™ Insight

Teach To Talk™ emphasizes quality over duration. Our Adaptive Strategies Compass™ helps interviewers maintain focus, recognize signs of fatigue, and build breaks into the process. Interviews that respect cognitive and emotional limits are not only more ethical but also yield better evidence.

Myth 9: “You can't prepare for an interview because every conversation is unpredictable.”

Reality: While it’s true that no two interviews are identical, preparation remains one of the strongest predictors of success. Planning topics, understanding case facts, identifying potential barriers, and anticipating emotional reactions give interviewers the flexibility and confidence to adapt in real time.

Clarke and Milne (2001) found that structured preparation, including pre-interview planning and scenario mapping, significantly improves interview outcomes in investigative settings.

Even in fast-paced environments, preparation ensures you’re not relying solely on instinct or improvisation, both of which are prone to bias and error.

Teach To Talk™ Insight

Preparation doesn’t mean scripting every question; it means equipping yourself with context and strategy. Teach To Talk™ training shows you how to prepare effectively without becoming rigid, blending a clear plan with the agility to respond to the unpredictable.

Myth 10: “Good interviewers are born, not made.”

Reality: This myth undermines professional development and overlooks decades of research showing that interviewing is a learned skill set. While some individuals have a natural inclination toward empathy or communication, effective interviewing combines structured techniques, self-awareness, and practice.

Research by Baldwin (1992) and the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG) consistently shows that training improves interviewer confidence, ethical standards, and information quality.

Organizations that invest in systematic training, rather than relying on “natural talent,” see fewer legal challenges and more reliable outcomes.

Teach To Talk™ Insight

Teach To Talk™ was created to help professionals of all backgrounds develop the mindset and skills of effective interviewers. Whether you’re an experienced investigator or just starting, our Adaptive Strategies Compass™ ensures that success is not left to chance; it’s built on preparation, practice, and purpose.