

I was feeling pretty nervous since I found out that I would have to take another polygraph test. Finally the day I have been dreading had arrived, but I preparedby reading up on it on



The previous time I failed the polygraph test I was full of anxiety and fear going in there. I was intimidated by the process and felt like if I wasn't 1000% squeaky clean with the purity of Christ that the machine would be able to detect my sins. When he asked me if I had had any contact with minors, I knew that I had not done anything wrong, but it was in the back of my mind that I had chatted with a few minors here and there, at church, at stores. Even though I knew that I hadn't done anything even remotely wrong, I second guessed myself and worried that I wouldn't pass the question (and I didn't).



This time I followed the advice from the book and showed up early, well groomed and well rested, with something to read so I wouldn't appear fidgety. I shook the polygrapher's hand and acted friendly, polite and respectful. I didn't give one hint of the disdain I felt for him and his bullshit profession. Anti-polygraph.org compares polygraphers to "witch doctors," and that is a great comparison, because they only have power if you believe they have power. On the outside I was respectful, but on the inside I was scoffing at his self importance and wasted life of bullshitting people all day.



The test went exactly like the book described it. The polygrapher started off by giving me this threatening speech about how he is very good at his job and the machine is very accurate in detecting the physiological responses that liars naturally give off. The speech is designed to make liars feel tension and fear, but I knew from my preparation that the polygraph is unreliable and highly subject to interpretation by the polygrapher. He assured me that he was not a mind reader and it was all up to the machine, but I knew that I already had half the battle won by being neat, calm and willing to cooperate. I did not make any of the mistakes that many nervous people do, like saying I didn't sleep well last night or saying I am usually an anxious person. I just told him that as long as the questions are clear, I should have no problem answering them.



When he hooked me up to the machine I knew that none of it made any difference at all, except for the breathing detector he strapped across my chest. From the moment that the breathing detector straps were attached to the moment he unhooked me I monitored my breathing. My breathing was a slow waltz. In two three, out two three, in two three, out two three...



When he asked me if I was in a chair I answered and kept on breathing the waltz



When he asked me if it was February I answered and kept on breathing the waltz



When he asked me if I had ever in my life lied to get out of trouble (besides the few things I we had discussed) I recognized a "control" question. He knew that everyone has lied some time in his life and I couldn't be 100% sure of my answer. I answered "no" then bit my tongue and imagined someone getting their guts stabbed open in a vicious attack. I stopped breathing for 4 seconds before quietly returning to the waltz. My mind spun, was I doing the augmentation right? Had I bit my tongue enough? Did he notice my mouth move?



When he asked me if I have been unsupervised around minors I said no and went back to breathing the waltz while thinking of petting my dog.



When he asked me if I have ever yelled at someone in anger (besides the few things we had discussed) I recognized another "control" question and again augmented my response. This time I remembered to think the violent thoughts faster, but forgot to bite my tongue for a second. I did remember to not breathe in for four seconds again. I had the same worries that I had not augmented enough or correctly.



When he asked me if I have been looking a pornography or sexy pictures I said no and again waltzed and mentally rubbed my dog's tummy.



And so on for three cycles of questions. Whenever he asked an irrelevant question I just answered and stared at the wall. Whenever he asked a control question I answered as honestly as I could, but those questions are made to make you feel nervous, because you know there are a few examples of yelling at people or lying that I didn't cover in the pre-test interview. Answering the control questions was hard for that reason, plus I had to remember to think scary thoughts, bite my tongue, screw up my breathing. After all that, the relevant questions were easy to answer, almost relaxing. I answered and then immediately forgot what the question was as I imagined my dog frisking towards me across the field. Breathing the waltz is so easy after a bit of practice.



As you probably know, the polygrapher compares the control questions to the relevant questions and as long as the control questions are more squiggly than the relevant questions you are telling the truth. I'm sure that my control questions had way more squiggles than the relevant questions.



At the end when he asked me if there were any questions that I was worried about, I mentioned that the question about yelling in anger might have thrown me off, because I was thinking of my pal Gregory taking my car without permission. I had yelled at him, because friends don't steal from friends. If he had just asked me I would have given him a ride. I told him I was worried that my anger might have effected the results. I knew better than to theorize why I might have some wiggles on the relevant questions. He dropped it after that - apparently there were no suspicious wiggles.



The polygrapher asked me how I thought I did over all and I told him that I felt really confident this time. I told him that I have really done some thinking since my last polygraph exam and I feel quite confident that I passed. He said I passed with flying colors.

I was feeling pretty nervous since I found out that I would have to take another polygraph test. Finally the day I have been dreading had arrived, but I preparedby reading up on it on www.antipolygraph.org . I HIGHLY recommend that website, especially the included PDF book, "The lie behind the lie detector." That book explained to me exactly what the different questions were for and how to answer them in a way that would ensure that I did not appear deceptive to the guy giving me the test.The previous time I failed the polygraph test I was full of anxiety and fear going in there. I was intimidated by the process and felt like if I wasn't 1000% squeaky clean with the purity of Christ that the machine would be able to detect my sins. When he asked me if I had had any contact with minors, I knew that I had not done anything wrong, but it was in the back of my mind that I had chatted with a few minors here and there, at church, at stores. Even though I knew that I hadn't done anything even remotely wrong, I second guessed myself and worried that I wouldn't pass the question (and I didn't).This time I followed the advice from the book and showed up early, well groomed and well rested, with something to read so I wouldn't appear fidgety. I shook the polygrapher's hand and acted friendly, polite and respectful. I didn't give one hint of the disdain I felt for him and his bullshit profession. Anti-polygraph.org compares polygraphers to "witch doctors," and that is a great comparison, because they only have power if you believe they have power. On the outside I was respectful, but on the inside I was scoffing at his self importance and wasted life of bullshitting people all day.The test went exactly like the book described it. The polygrapher started off by giving me this threatening speech about how he is very good at his job and the machine is very accurate in detecting the physiological responses that liars naturally give off. The speech is designed to make liars feel tension and fear, but I knew from my preparation that the polygraph is unreliable and highly subject to interpretation by the polygrapher. He assured me that he was not a mind reader and it was all up to the machine, but I knew that I already had half the battle won by being neat, calm and willing to cooperate. I did not make any of the mistakes that many nervous people do, like saying I didn't sleep well last night or saying I am usually an anxious person. I just told him that as long as the questions are clear, I should have no problem answering them.When he hooked me up to the machine I knew that none of it made any difference at all, except for the breathing detector he strapped across my chest. From the moment that the breathing detector straps were attached to the moment he unhooked me I monitored my breathing. My breathing was a slow waltz. In two three, out two three, in two three, out two three...When he asked me if I was in a chair I answered and kept on breathing the waltzWhen he asked me if it was February I answered and kept on breathing the waltzWhen he asked me if I had ever in my life lied to get out of trouble (besides the few things I we had discussed) I recognized a "control" question. He knew that everyone has lied some time in his life and I couldn't be 100% sure of my answer. I answered "no" then bit my tongue and imagined someone getting their guts stabbed open in a vicious attack. I stopped breathing for 4 seconds before quietly returning to the waltz. My mind spun, was I doing the augmentation right? Had I bit my tongue enough? Did he notice my mouth move?When he asked me if I have been unsupervised around minors I said no and went back to breathing the waltz while thinking of petting my dog.When he asked me if I have ever yelled at someone in anger (besides the few things we had discussed) I recognized another "control" question and again augmented my response. This time I remembered to think the violent thoughts faster, but forgot to bite my tongue for a second. I did remember to not breathe in for four seconds again. I had the same worries that I had not augmented enough or correctly.When he asked me if I have been looking a pornography or sexy pictures I said no and again waltzed and mentally rubbed my dog's tummy.And so on for three cycles of questions. Whenever he asked an irrelevant question I just answered and stared at the wall. Whenever he asked a control question I answered as honestly as I could, but those questions are made to make you feel nervous, because you know there are a few examples of yelling at people or lying that I didn't cover in the pre-test interview. Answering the control questions was hard for that reason, plus I had to remember to think scary thoughts, bite my tongue, screw up my breathing. After all that, the relevant questions were easy to answer, almost relaxing. I answered and then immediately forgot what the question was as I imagined my dog frisking towards me across the field. Breathing the waltz is so easy after a bit of practice.As you probably know, the polygrapher compares the control questions to the relevant questions and as long as the control questions are more squiggly than the relevant questions you are telling the truth. I'm sure that my control questions had way more squiggles than the relevant questions.At the end when he asked me if there were any questions that I was worried about, I mentioned that the question about yelling in anger might have thrown me off, because I was thinking of my pal Gregory taking my car without permission. I had yelled at him, because friends don't steal from friends. If he had just asked me I would have given him a ride. I told him I was worried that my anger might have effected the results. I knew better than to theorize why I might have some wiggles on the relevant questions. He dropped it after that - apparently there were no suspicious wiggles.The polygrapher asked me how I thought I did over all and I told him that I felt really confident this time. I told him that I have really done some thinking since my last polygraph exam and I feel quite confident that I passed. He said I passed with flying colors.