Rough guide, too lazy to find the book, no quoting me on this: Mirroring is where you deliberately copy the actions of a person that you're interviewing/interrogating - or being interviewed, in a job-placement setting - or are attempting to get undercover with, in that sorta setting. If the person leans forward, you lean forward. Lean back, run hand through hair, slouch a little in the chair, just generally relax; small gestures to larger ones (don't be obvious though), but mostly to do with general posture and breathing-control - which is not to say hyperventilate, but does mean speeding up slightly if needed to match.
The overall effect of mirroring is to make the person on the receiving end subconsciously trust you - you just fit with things. The really cool thing is to start 'leading' the person - as with the breathing thing, if you match and then slow your breathing, then the other person should slow his or her breathing too, resulting in a calmer person and a better interviewee. I think this is best demonstrated by a yawn-cycle.
The sergeant mentioned that the new applicant was mirroring him when he leant back and she copied, and asked if she was aware she'd done it, or was entirely subconscious after the amount of time she'd been undercover.
Mirroring is where you deliberately copy the actions of a person that you're interviewing/interrogating - or being interviewed, in a job-placement setting - or are attempting to get undercover with, in that sorta setting. If the person leans forward, you lean forward. Lean back, run hand through hair, slouch a little in the chair, just generally relax; small gestures to larger ones (don't be obvious though), but mostly to do with general posture and breathing-control - which is not to say hyperventilate, but does mean speeding up slightly if needed to match.
The overall effect of mirroring is to make the person on the receiving end subconsciously trust you - you just fit with things. The really cool thing is to start 'leading' the person - as with the breathing thing, if you match and then slow your breathing, then the other person should slow his or her breathing too, resulting in a calmer person and a better interviewee. I think this is best demonstrated by a yawn-cycle.
The sergeant mentioned that the new applicant was mirroring him when he leant back and she copied, and asked if she was aware she'd done it, or was entirely subconscious after the amount of time she'd been undercover.
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