Since we hear as many as 200 lies a day, we live with a hidden problem most of us are unaware of. With training in the fundamentals of deception detection, we can significantly improve our lie spotting skills.
1. Lip-smacking, lip-biting, slumped posture and many grooming gestures - such as dusting lint off your shirt - can suggest deception as they are signs of stress or cognitive load. Lying is hard work!
2. We think smiles convey sincerity, but trained deception detectors can spot a fake smile a mile away. You can fake the contraction of your cheek muscles, but the ones that create crow’s feet cannot be consciously contracted.
3. Liars love euphemisms: Instead of saying “I didn’t steal the purse” they may say “I didn’t take the purse.” If you ask someone a direct question about their involvement in an incident and they change your words to something softer, raise your deception antennae.
4. Liars give very specific denials. While truth-tellers have no problem issuing categorical denials - I never cheated anyone in my whole life - the liar will choose his words ever so carefully.
5. Liars use long introductions but skip over main events. Deceptive individuals will add more detail around the prologue of a story to build credibility, but gloss over the main event where the deception comes into play.
6. Our legs are harder to consciously control than other body hotspots. A colleague who takes an unusually wide stance may be attempting to assert dominance when really she feels weak.
7. “To tell you the truth…” “Honestly…” “I swear to you…” Oh, if only it were so! When people use these bolstering statements to emphasize their honesty, there’s a good chance they are hiding something.
8. Liars will repeat a question verbatim - a common stalling tactic used to prepare a deceptive reply. In natural conversation, people will sometimes repeat part of a question, but restating the entire question is highly awkward and unnecessary.
9. When we’re hiding something, we often try to maximize our "safety zone": sitting in a farther-away chair or setting up physical barriers, such as a purse or a water glass. If you suspect deception, remove all blocking objects so there’s nothing to hide behind.
10. Genuine shrugs that indicate “not knowing” should be complete and symmetrical. Contrast that with a lopsided or partial shrug, which is probably feigned and rarely matches what someone is saying or thinking. Liars often flash a tentative “half shrug” unconsciously when being interviewed.
11. The most enduring myth about deception- that liars don’t like to make eye contact - is false. Truth-tellers are just as likely to break eye contact as someone who is lying. In fact, liars tend to exhibit more eye contact, and for longer stretches, because they believe this will help to “sell” their story.
1. Lip-smacking, lip-biting, slumped posture and many grooming gestures - such as dusting lint off your shirt - can suggest deception as they are signs of stress or cognitive load. Lying is hard work!
2. We think smiles convey sincerity, but trained deception detectors can spot a fake smile a mile away. You can fake the contraction of your cheek muscles, but the ones that create crow’s feet cannot be consciously contracted.
3. Liars love euphemisms: Instead of saying “I didn’t steal the purse” they may say “I didn’t take the purse.” If you ask someone a direct question about their involvement in an incident and they change your words to something softer, raise your deception antennae.
4. Liars give very specific denials. While truth-tellers have no problem issuing categorical denials - I never cheated anyone in my whole life - the liar will choose his words ever so carefully.
5. Liars use long introductions but skip over main events. Deceptive individuals will add more detail around the prologue of a story to build credibility, but gloss over the main event where the deception comes into play.
6. Our legs are harder to consciously control than other body hotspots. A colleague who takes an unusually wide stance may be attempting to assert dominance when really she feels weak.
7. “To tell you the truth…” “Honestly…” “I swear to you…” Oh, if only it were so! When people use these bolstering statements to emphasize their honesty, there’s a good chance they are hiding something.
8. Liars will repeat a question verbatim - a common stalling tactic used to prepare a deceptive reply. In natural conversation, people will sometimes repeat part of a question, but restating the entire question is highly awkward and unnecessary.
9. When we’re hiding something, we often try to maximize our "safety zone": sitting in a farther-away chair or setting up physical barriers, such as a purse or a water glass. If you suspect deception, remove all blocking objects so there’s nothing to hide behind.
10. Genuine shrugs that indicate “not knowing” should be complete and symmetrical. Contrast that with a lopsided or partial shrug, which is probably feigned and rarely matches what someone is saying or thinking. Liars often flash a tentative “half shrug” unconsciously when being interviewed.
11. The most enduring myth about deception- that liars don’t like to make eye contact - is false. Truth-tellers are just as likely to break eye contact as someone who is lying. In fact, liars tend to exhibit more eye contact, and for longer stretches, because they believe this will help to “sell” their story.
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