Spy the Lie

Excellent, with one disappointment

Where does Spy the Lie rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Having listened to Joe Navarro's "What EveryBODY Is Saying", I felt this audiobook provided similar content, but with excellent suggestions for honing questions that an interviewer might ask of a potential hire, or an employer of an employee in an otherwise uncomfortable situation. My only misgiving is when the reading refers to "Figure 1" or "Figure 2", etc., and there was no companion download to include what might be important images. I'll never know how important they were to include unless they are available or unless I get the hard copy somewhere... please Audible, let the reader decide on their importance rather than make the decision on our behalf.

179 of 187 people found this review helpful

Helpful, well written, and smart

Spy the Lie starts out a bit slow, with quite a bit of background and sports analogies. After Chapter Two, once you fully believe the authors are bright and well meaning, the fun begins. Listening to such a book made me want to take notes, so that I could better retain the information. Spy the Lie is basically a how-to on "The Method" for detecting deception. It won't make you a human lie detector, but it certainly can help you get to the truth. Plus, the analysis of OJ Simpson, Jerry Sandusky, and Christine O'Donnell are fascinating. The appendix includes sample questions for your child if you suspect he/she is doing drugs, and another sample list in case you think your significant other is cheating. I used "The Method" to uncover why a family member was behaving so strangely and it worked unbelievably well. Both party left the conversation feeling good because the truth had come out.

54 of 58 people found this review helpful

Highly credible and interesting

All this makes tremendous sense and most likely works really well when used by an experienced practitioner. Well worth a look for anyone who is interested in behavior, psychology, or just managing in the world.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Lot's of promise, but a disappointment

What disappointed you about Spy the Lie?

Just seemed to repeat and repeat the same thing throughout the reading. Dull, uninteresting and lacking in the things I wanted to hear. The book cited several examples of successful use of the author's techniques which I found completely unbelievable and contrived. Sure, a spy is going to give up his previous life of spying for another governent with a mere question.... uh, huh. Yup. Not in my lifetime!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spy the Lie?

Actual examples of alledged incidents could have held promise

What didn’t you like about Fred Berman’s performance?

He did fine, but the material was repetitious

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Interesting premise which could have been provided within an hour!!

Any additional comments?

I don't recommend this one to my friends and family!!

20 of 25 people found this review helpful

How To Blow My Own Horn

This audio book fell far below my expectations. I felt like there could've been far more substance to the methodology which they teach and subscribe too. Many case studies were used to substantiate their claims but after an hour, it's like they're using this medium to boast about their accomplishments. This causes one to loose sight of the methodology and get swamped by story after story.

It's also very difficult to believe in some of the case studies. One that jumps to mind - The CIA informant - 20 years in the field - who goes to a standard, run-of-the-mill interview. In the space of 5 minutes, the interviewer is able to crack the informant. He goes from admitting to being a double agent for 20 years to falling just short of confessing about the time where he picked up a penny and didn't hand it in to the police.

I suggest this book to people who are able to filter a Google search. There are some lessons but first you've got to sort through the 'ad-infested-green-card-lotto-winning sites'.

21 of 27 people found this review helpful

On my second listen

If you could sum up Spy the Lie in three words, what would they be?

How to ask the right questions.

What other book might you compare Spy the Lie to and why?

I'm not sure that I can compare this book to others in this genre, but I can say that having read What Every Body is Saying that it is an excellent, and natural further study on the subject of detecting deception.

Any additional comments?

I definately need another listen or two, but I will have far more confidence in asking direct questions after reading this book. Usually I'm the one who feels uncomfortable when I feel someone is being dishonest - hopefully now I can handle a situation with more confidence and ask the right questions, in the right way and watch and listen for the reactions. All in all a good listen.

21 of 27 people found this review helpful

Very interesting but would have liked more data

Very interesting book with multiple good examples, but they felt anecdotal without as much of a quantitative backing as I was expecting. I understand that deception detection and deceptive strategy management are both tremendously complicated topics and at some point you have to go with a qualitative explanation for the sake of brevity so I still give it 4 stars.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

You've got more work to do

What did you learn from Spy the Lie that you would use in your daily life?

A great reference on reading people and their comfort level. They don't tell you who's not telling the truth, but they'll teach you when a response is inconsistent with your expectations, indicating you should do a little more work (ask more questions) in that area.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Excellent Listen

Would you listen to Spy the Lie again? Why?

I would listen to it again because there is so much helpful information contained in the book. As the author says, the only way to hone the ability to spot lies is to practice. To do that, you need to review. A very interesting book.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

His voice was exactly what you would expect for this kind of CIA/investigation narration. Almost amusing, but at the end of the day a smooth voice to listen to and appropriate to the material.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Amazing, and very useful/

Books about human behavior are my favorite. But this one in particular is a must have. There is so much useful information condensed in this book that I wished it was twice as long.

If you read and liked What every body is saying you certainly like this book as well. But keep in mind these 2 books have different focus. Spy the lie focus on how to detect a lie based on the excuses people make up when confronted with direct questions, while what every body is saying is more focused on body language,

I didn't rate this book 5 stars because sometimes it seems that the authors are holding back more information, because they work for the CIA I guess. But If they ever manage to publish a second book I'll definitely buy it.

9 of 12 people found this review helpful