going to pieces,” and “I can’t come to grips with what’s happening.” The detective responds to the witness’ account by matching her words. When she speaks of the “tremendous pressure,” he explains ways to relieve the “pressure.” He continues to use kinesthetic phrases, such as “take this load off your shoulders,” to communicate in her preferred representational system.
     Because individuals process information in different ways, through distinct representational systems, the investigator often acquires valuable insight into the interviewee’s personal preference by paying close attention to the interviewee’s eye movements. According to NLP, eye movements, referred to as “eye-accessing cues,”¹⁴ reflect the manner in which an individual processes data. Therefore, the eyes move in specified directions, depending upon the person’s preferred mode of thinking. The founders of NLP concluded that eye movements reflect whether the person has a visual preference (thinks in terms of pictures), an auditory preference (“hears” sounds), or a kinesthetic preference (feels or experiences emotion) to process information.¹⁵
     Typically, individuals move their eyes up at an angle as they remember a picture. Some people look directly to the side, which indicates that they are using the auditory mode to recall something that they probably heard before. Finally, individuals who look down at an angle appeal to kinesthetic sensations as they recollect what they felt or experienced.¹⁶
     If an investigator observes that a witness consistently looks up at an angle, particularly when responding to questions that require recall, the interviewer can conclude, with a measurable degree of confidence, that the person is “seeing” a picture while remembering information. In NLP terms, this individual’s preferred representational system is visual. The investigator can facilitate the witness’ recollection of events

by encouraging this visual recall through such phrases as “how did it look to you?” or “show me what you mean.” If the witness looks to the side when asked a question concerning what the person saw, the investigator can encourage the witness to remember by using questions designed to stimulate auditory recall, such as “tell me what you heard” or “how did it sound to you?” Finally, if the witness looks down at an angle when asked a question by the investigator, this could indicate that the person has a kinesthetic preference. Therefore, the investigator can choose phrases that underscore the witness’ feelings or emotions, such as “how did all of this feel to you?” or “can you get a handle on what took place?” By closely monitoring the movements of a person’s eyes and aligning questions in accordance with the interviewee’s observed preferences, investigators can build rapport, thereby enhancing communication between themselves and the people they interview. While NLP practitioners cite a direct neurological connection between eye movements and representational systems,¹⁷ other researchers recognize the need for additional empirical studies.¹⁸ Currently, investigators use interviewees’ eye movements as another possible indicator of their preferred manner of communicating.

Building Rapport by Matching Paralanguage
     Matching another person’s speech patterns, or paralanguage, constitutes the final, and perhaps most effective, way to establish rapport. Paralanguage involves how a person says something or the rate, volume, and pitch of a person’s speech. One researcher goes so far as to say that matching the other person’s voice tone or tempo is the best way to establish rapport in the business world.¹⁹ What may hold true in the business realm applies in the interview setting as well. Individuals can speak fast or slow, with or without pauses. They can talk in a loud or soft volume and in a high or low pitch. However, most people are unaware of their own speech rate or vocal tones. In fact, investigators do not have to match a person’s voice exactly, just close