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Steven Van Aperen uses audience interaction, humour and well-known stories to demonstrate verbal and non-verbal cues of behaviour, 'The Truth About Lies'. When it comes to lying, often what people don't say is as important as what they do say.
Highly engaging, Steven uses non-confronting and entertaining audience interaction to demonstrate how we use body language to deceive others.
Steven provides tips and information on how to detect deception in the real world.
Important skills for anyone involved in managing people, recruitment, government authorities, financial reporting services at all levels, workplace relations, legal firms, banks, auditors, risk management, organisations large and small.
Steven Van Aperen is the co-author of the new book 'The Truth About Lies - Uncovering the Fact from Fiction', released February 2006 by ABC Books.
'THE HUMAN LIE DETECTOR'
Steven Van Aperen in known throughout Australia as an expert in the field of interviewing and detecting deception. Steven has received extensive training from the world's leading international investigative authorities in how and why people deceive. Steven is often consulted by the media and has been affectionately named the 'Human Lie Detector'. Steven demonstrates how to detect liars by observing verbal and non-verbal clues of behaviour.
In 1996, Steven was the first Victorian Police officer to graduate from Western Oregon University USA as a certified polygraph examiner. After graduating Steven trained with and examined polygraph testing formats and behavioural interview techniques utilised by the Las Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Polygraph Unit, US Secret Service, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Steven is now the Director of Australian Polygraph Services and SVA Training who consult their services to government and corporate organisations worldwide.
Throughout his career Steven has conducted thousands of interviews ranging from interviewing homicide suspects to pre-employment screening. This distinctive level of knowledge provides Steven with the expertise to conduct entertaining and informative presentations.
Steven exhibits the methods in which people seceive using real life examples; such as when Bill Clinton was asked if he had ever used an illegal drug he answered: "I've never violated a law of my country." Whilst the response appears to be a denial he did not answer the question. Later Clinton admitted that he smoked marijuana whilst at Oxford University in the United Kingdom but didn't inhale. People often lie by omission rather than commission. What people don't say is often more important then what they do say!
Steven demonstrates how we use language, paralinguistic styles, past tenses and body language to deceive others and how to recognise when people are engaging in such behaviours.
Steven has assisted in a number of high profile cases including:
- The behavioural analysis of interviews conducted by 60 Minutes with Schapelle Corby
- The young Australian woman charged with importing 4 kilograms of cannabis into Indonesia inside a bodyboard bag.
- The behavioural analysis of the interview conducted by 60 minutes with former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib denying links with al-Qaeda or terrorism.
- The McDonalds McScratch & win competition.
- The polygraph test conducted on the leader of Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett.
- The polygraph test and interview of Frank Cole regarding his stated involvement in the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain from Ayers Rock in 1981.
- The polygraph test and interview of Mike Scrafton, a senior government advisor, regarding a telephone conversation he had with the Prime Minister Mr. John Howard during the 'Children Overboard' issue.
Steven also consults his services to various police departments and has conducted polygraph testing for high profile homicide cases including one serial killer investigation.
Steven has conducted presentations and training for personnel from: Commonwealth Bank, Coles Myer, Victoria Police Homicide Squad, Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs Service, Corporate Crime Liaison Group, Victoria Police Major Fraud Group, Department of Immigration, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ANZ, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, AMP, Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA), Woolworths Ltd. Department of Defence (Defence Security Authority), Portfolio Partners, Mortgage Choice, Arthur Andersen's, KPMG, Spectrum Personnel, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Macquarie Bank, Investec, PMA Investment Advisors (Macau), The Chief Executive Officer's Institute, amongst many others...
Steven has been involved with such media programs as: 3AW, 2UE, ABC, 3LO, 5DN, ABC Radio, Today Tonight, 60 Minutes, A Current Affair, Today Extra, Good Morning Australia, The Footy Show, National Nine News, Fox FM, Souhtern FM, Sex Lies & Politicians, Hey Hey Its Saturday, Channel Ten News, Triple M, Triple J, The Panel and many more...
Steven has been the subject of feature articles in many publications including: The Herald Sun, Security Australia, The West Australian, The Telegraph, Queensland Courier Mail, The Investigator, Australian Style, The Age, Security Oz Magazine, The Financial Review and many more...
Steven is highly experienced as a Keynote Speaker and Trainer, and is able to provide dynamic and effective workshops that are applicable in any workplace.
TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS
Steven Van Aperen has conducted training courses throughout Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, USA, London, Singapore, Malaysia and Taipei delivering innovative and informative courses in behavioural interviewing and detecting deception.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding the process of communication and how people use the communication process to deceive interviews.
- Critically analyse statements for deception made during an interview.
- Understand the importance of effective listening.
- Using different methods to build rapport.
- Identifying verbal and non-verbal cues of deception.
- Applying varying question techniques during an interview.
BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEWING COURSES
Steven's Behavioural Interviewing courses are designed to provide attendees with dynamic and effective interviewing skills that get results. Conducting critical interviews is a crucial process in weeding out those people that may have fabricated, embellished, or omitted information. Whether an interview is a fact finding mission, a search for the truth, a sexual harassment interview, a pre-employment interview, a management interview, an investigative interview or any other type of interview our courses assist interviewers who are required to conduct probing and detailed interviews.The Two Day Course in Behavioural Interviewing
Areas covered include:
- Listening for content: Passive versus Active
- Understanding the methods of communication: Verbal, Non Verbal and Paralinguistic
- What makes a successful interviewer
- Interview preparation
- Rapport Building
- Creating an environment that elicits the truth
- Benchmarking behaviours
- Recognising and analysing Verbal and Non- verbal cues of deception: distress signals, gestures, Mirroring, reflecting and leading
- Neuro Linguistic Programming: How we process information and how it helps interviewers
- Identifying typical truthful & deceptive behaviours
- Identifying response latency, omissions and qualifying denials
- Effective question formulation
The Three Day Course in Behavioural Interviewing
Areas covered include:
- Utilising behavioural questions for investigative interviewing eg. Sexual Harassment, investigative, pre-employment and fact-finding interviews.
- Creating and developing interviewing themes designed to elicit information.
- Examining various questioning types including; direct, probing, assumptive, opinion, open, closed, multiple issue, leading and closing questions.
- Practical interviews and role-play.
