The Super Power of “Because”:
Small Word. BIG Results.

by Stan B. Walters – The Lie Guy®
ORCID 0009-0002-1063-0519

Interviewers ask people to do things constantly. Tell me what happened. Start at the beginning. Explain that again. Help me understand what you saw. Yet we rarely stop to consider how the wording of those requests may affect the response that follows. A request can sound like an instruction, particularly when the person being interviewed does not understand why the interviewer needs the information. Three factors deserve attention: people respond differently when they understand the reason behind a request, the explanation does not always need to be elaborate to influence cooperation, and interviewers can use that principle to encourage information without becoming manipulative. Sometimes a very small change in language can make a surprisingly large difference.

Reasons Change the Nature of a Request

There is an important difference between telling someone what you want and helping that person understand why you want it. Psychologist Ellen Langer and her colleagues demonstrated this in their well-known research involving people waiting to use a copying machine. Requests accompanied by a reason produced greater compliance under certain conditions than a request made without one. For interviewers, the practical lesson is larger than the word itself. Consider the difference between, “Tell me everything you remember about the room,” and, “Tell me everything you remember about the room because even something that seems insignificant to you may help us understand what happened.” The objective has not changed, but the second request gives the person a reason to invest additional cognitive effort. Instead of simply complying with an instruction, the interviewee understands the purpose behind it.

The Reason May Matter Less Than We Think

Langer’s research became particularly interesting because compliance was not always driven by the quality of the reason provided. Under some circumstances, simply providing a reason appeared to influence the response. That should get an interviewer’s attention. People naturally look for explanations that help make sense of what they are being asked to do. Without that explanation, an interviewee may interpret repeated questions as skepticism, pressure, or even accusation: Why does this investigator keep asking me that? Doesn’t he believe me? Did I say something wrong? Those interpretations can create resistance that has nothing to do with deception. A brief explanation—“I’m asking you to go through that again because I want to make sure I understood the sequence correctly”—can remove some of that uncertainty while keeping the interview focused on obtaining information.

Influence Without Manipulation

The principle becomes especially useful when it is treated as a tool for orientation rather than compliance for compliance’s sake. An interviewer might say, “Take your time and describe it in your own words because I don’t want my questions to influence what you remember.” Or, “Tell me about the things you’re uncertain about too because knowing what you don’t remember can be just as important as knowing what you do.” Those statements do more than request behavior. They establish expectations about how the interview will work and why. That distinction matters. Ethical influence should help create conditions in which a person is willing and able to provide better information. Manipulation attempts to produce an outcome favorable to the interviewer. The goal is not to manufacture agreement. The goal is to improve cooperation while protecting the reliability of the information being collected.

Small Words Can Produce Big Changes

Good interviewing is often improved not by adding another complicated technique, but by becoming more deliberate about the language already being used. The word “because” is a useful reminder that people want to understand the purpose behind what they are being asked to do. Giving that purpose can reduce uncertainty, encourage cooperation, and help orient an interviewee toward providing a more complete narrative. None of that requires coercion, deception, or psychological gamesmanship. It requires an interviewer to think carefully about both the question and the reason for asking it. Before making the next request in an interview, consider adding one more piece: Tell them why—because sometimes the smallest words can produce the biggest results.

“Choices made in the interview room eventually play out in a courtroom.”™

© Copyright 2026 by Stan B. Walters All Rights Reserved
Brief excerpts may be quoted with attribution and a link to the original article. Reproduction, redistribution, or use in training materials requires written permission.

Related Video:
Inside the Interview Room (ITIR) #49 – The Super Power of “Because” — Small Word. BIG Results!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_Sc0I4DDwy4