bitten_notshy: (Default)
Jack Priest ([personal profile] bitten_notshy) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2013-08-02 10:31 am
Entry tags:

Detecting 101, Friday, Period 2

"I apologize for the unusual class last week," Jack said from the front of the standard classroom detecting was meeting in this week. "I wasn't quite myself. Though of course I hope you can use the information."

"This week, we're going to discuss interrogation -- though of course, if you're acting unofficially and trying to be subtle, you can't go for the classic good cop/bad cop, and you certainly can't torture information out of anyone. But what you can do is steer the conversation toward discussing what you want to find out.

"You want to start by managing the small talk. Your main goal here is to get the other person to trust you, while slowly working the conversation around to your topic of choice. The best tactic to gain trust is showing you're similar to the other person. For example, if the other person tells you they just got back from a trip to the beach, you mention you've done the same, and possibly tie it to the thing you're hoping to find out about and see if they bite. If they don't, wait for another chance. Don't press the issue right then. You also want to reveal things about yourself quite slowly, which can keep you from talking yourself into a hole. And remember, it's not necessary to be completely truthful as long as you aren't likely to get caught."

"You also should remember to control your answers to questions. If someone asks you something you don't feel they need to know, it's totally acceptable to laugh it off; answer the question with another question; ask for clarification, with a goal of distracting them; or find a way to talk about the thing you wanted to talk about that sounds like you're answering the question."

"Your class assignment is to pair off and interrogate each other on topics I'll assign. I know it's a bit tricky when you both know what the other is doing, so just ... pretend."