When it comes to lying or, as some might put it, pulling a political spin, we can all agree to Dr. House’s famous “everybody lies.” Surprising statistics reveal that more than 82% of all lies go without getting caught, which is quite a number considering that we are told roughly around 200 lies per day (I do hope it’s on the worst of days).
Ever watched ‘Lie to me’ and felt like at that very moment you could go outside and call on people’s lies exactly like Dr. Lightman? Even though not exactly as portrayed in the series, detecting lies can become just as available to anyone willing to invest some interest in this.
Therefore, I went ahead and researched a thing or two about lies.
Pack of lies?No problem
According to an article in Science of People, the process is a 3-step one (I suppose this method applies to people who already have a background). Baselining, which is “how someone acts when they are under normal, non-threatening conditions [...] and relates to how someone looks when they are telling the truth,” Then they note a so-called “hot spot area” which is when you notice a change in the other person’s normal behavior. The last step is called “clusters”, which is when further along in the conversation, you return to the boiling point that triggered the first two steps and circle it. Eventually, they’ll crack.
I have also stumbled upon some great insights from former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, who also has a 3-step process, but bear with me on this. He says that first of all, you should pay close attention to the difference between what a person is saying and how they say it. Body language is key, and it’s more revealing than one might think, Some good examples to remember when trying to spot a dirty little lie: the person avoids making eye contact, their hands often touch their mouth, face, throat or hair, expressions are limited to the mouth (unlike normally involving other facial features), a liar might also unconsciously place objects between you two.
Second of all, use the so-called “Rule of Three”, which he explains. "The Rule of Three is simply getting the other personto agree to the same thing three times in the same conversation as it's hard to lie repeatedly or fake conviction.” The last step, he advises, is to look out for the flow of words and third-person pronouns.
Liars tend to get knotted at one point or another.
Other feux artifice for uncovering lies
But this is just the frosting of what there is to know about this if I may call it - art. I also went on Quora, to see what knowledge people are sharing regarding this matter. I have selected two answers that caught my attention the most and thought might be good to know.
Maria Hartwig, Ph.D. (associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City) invokes the "unanticipated question approach" which is a method based on the idea that liars take the time to carefully plan their stories beforehand. The next time you feel like someone is trying to cover up something, just go for a question you wouldn’t normally ask - go creative and catch them off guard.Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D.
warns that most liars blame it on a “bad memory” when they can’t recall specifics. They make spontaneous corrections but talk unusually slow at the same time.
Polygraph tests, magic truth potions or pills, not even alcohol, can guarantee a 100% lie Detection. Sometimes, it’s right in your guts, and you know it, but science can’t yet explain that. Still, if you have to ask yourself if they’re lying, there’s a bigger issue there.
