Use what I'm going to teach you in this video at your own risk! Because you'll learn a technique the FBI uses to get anyone to reveal exactly what you want to know without them realizing they're being questioned. And this technique has a name: Elicitation.
The principle is universal, because when we ask a direct question, a person's brain automatically activates its shield to defend itself from danger. Why do you want to know this? Should I really answer?
What information can I give? But when we make a statement, even if it's wrong, the brain reacts completely differently. Everyone has a neurological compulsion to correct misinformation.
It's instinctive and virtually uncontrollable. And that's precisely where the secret lies. The FBI's official definition of Elicitation is obtaining information without making the person feel interrogated.
The key is not to ask a question, but to make a statement. For example, if you want to find out how much money a client has to invest in a project, instead of asking what the budget is, you can say roughly. I imagine you're thinking about investing around R$50,000 in this project.
If you're right, he'll confirm it because he was surprised. Like, how do you know that? Is that right?
Is that right? But if you're wrong, he'll correct you with the actual amount he has available. And that's it.
You've figured out how much he has to spend without asking anything. And you can use elicitation in any situation, even in normal everyday conversations, when you're trying to get to know someone better or trying to figure out if they're lying to you. And the interesting thing is that this same technique that can be used in communication is also quite useful in other areas.
In software engineering, for example, there's requirements elicitation. It helps programmers discover what the client really wants using assertions and assumptions, because technical questions confuse much more than they help. It's very common for people to need to solve a problem, but not know what the problem is.
So, it's quite useful for that too. Now, let me teach you five specific techniques the FBI has documented in manuals for their investigators. The first, I just mentioned, is the False Statement.
You'll say something wrong on purpose just to let someone else correct you. But there are others that are even more subtle. One that works really well is what they call Competence Provocation.
It's like when you need help, but you don't want to lose it. So, you just say, for example, that you think the person wouldn't be able to help you. Then the person will immediately feel the need to prove that they do have the ability and will even give you the information you need, just to show you they know the subject.
There's also the Confidential Bait technique. You approach the person and tell them a secret. For example, "Look, between you and me, I think the company is going to lay off someone this month.
" The person will feel special because you shared confidential information with them, and they'll automatically reciprocate with information they have on the same subject. Directed Compliments are another technique that works wonders. Suppose you want to know if your colleague is having problems at work, instead of coming up and asking them outright if they're having a problem, you say something more subtle, like, "Oh, you seem like one of those people who can stay calm even when things get tough at work, right?
" Then the person will want to acknowledge your compliment, thank you, and most likely start venting to you. Then you'll discover what they're dealing with in this difficult situation. Why is this happening?
And the fifth technique is Contextual Assumption, which is when you want to find out something about the person's current situation as well. For example, you suspect a company is in financial trouble, so you mention to an employee that it must be difficult to work there with all the budget cuts going on. If the company really is struggling, the person will confirm it, saying that, I don't know, they even cut the coffee at the Copacabana.
But if you're wrong, they'll correct you , and either way, you'll know the company's true situation. It might seem like communicative trickery . But it works because it's pure behavioral science.
Psychologist Robert B. Cialdini mapped out the basic principles of how human influence works, and elicitation uses at least four of these principles simultaneously. There's reciprocity.
When I share information with you, your brain feels an obligation to reciprocate with information of the same level as I gave you. It's an evolutionary mechanism of social cooperation that's been programmed within us for thousands of years. The second principle of influence is social proof.
When I mention that other people do something, you feel the need to take a stand. So it ends up confirming whether you do it too or explaining why you're different. It doesn't.
Third, authority. When I cite reputable sources, like the FBI uses it, as I did in this video, it increases the likelihood of your interest, because our brain associates authority with credibility. And fourth, consistency.
Once you start talking about a particular topic, there's a very strong psychological pressure to maintain coherence and keep giving information about it. It's as if your brain can't stop mid-stream. These are literally automatic triggers of the human brain, and that's when they stand out.
It does nothing more than activate all of this strategically and intentionally. Now that you know how it works, you obviously also need to know how to protect yourself when someone tries to use this on you, because, let's face it, you don't want to be caught off guard. The first thing to do is learn to identify the signs I just explained here.
Keep an eye out when someone starts making a lot of claims about your personal or professional life, especially things they shouldn't know or that seem a bit outlandish. Another sign is when someone offers up confidential information you didn't ask for. This is usually bait to get you to reciprocate with your own knowledge.
And of course, be wary when someone flatters you out of the blue and then makes assumptions about you. When you identify that someone is trying to use elicitation on you, the FBI teaches some very simple countermeasures. You can simply mirror the situation by asking why the person needs to know this.
Or ask where they got this information from. But sometimes, the best defense is to simply admit ignorance. Say you have no idea what the person is talking about.
Or you can do what I find more elegant, which is to simply ignore the statement completely and change the subject as if you hadn't heard what they said. But the most important question you should always ask yourself is: What is this person's real interest in this information? If you can't identify a good justification, keep your mouth shut.
That's why elicitation must be used responsibly, because it can be used both for good and by the smartass. You can use it without fear to improve communication at work, to meet people , and even to facilitate conversations that have become stuck halfway through. But don't use it to extract confidential information without authorization to manipulate people or gain unfair advantage in any negotiation.
I taught you all this to help you improve your communication , not to abuse human vulnerabilities. Now click here to watch this video and understand. Why some conversations turn into fights and what you can do to avoid them.
See you later!
