How to Detect Lies: Speech
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Would you know if someone was lying to you? Most of us like to think we would but every once in awhile we have to admit to ourselves that someone has pulled the wool over our eyes.
Psychological research suggests that liars no matter how good they are always give off subtle clues that they are not being truthful if you know what to look for. The list below will help you go some way to ‘spotting a liar’ in speech.
Can’t remember exactly what she just said
If a lier is not prepared beforehand, she might make up a story on the spot. You can notice this — a person uses the present tense (she is thinking about it now). It’s important to record all logical chain of events which was said by the person and get her to tell the story in reverse order. The greater brain effort required from liars — as they struggle to get their story straight backwards. The method, called ‘cognitive workload’ — makes the brain work harder and liars are more likely to give themselves away. You’ll see the person hesitates as they think about what to say and pause to try and remember.
Prepared beforehand
A person quickly jumps in with answers to more obvious questions (rather than pausing to remember) and gives fuller answers than were asked for. Also the person volunteers information and excuses before she is challenged.
Voice change
When someone is lying to you, they may begin to breathe heavily. The liers are out of breath because their heart rate and blood flow change. The body experiences these types of changes when a person is nervous. As a result they might speak in a higher pitched voice (as vocal cords tighten) and often clear their throat (as saliva dries up).
Repeating of a words or phrases
A lier is trying to convince you, and themselves, of something, she says. It’s an attempt to validate the lie in her mind. She may say: “I didn’t…I didn’t…” over and over again. The repetition is also a way to buy a time as they attempt to gather their thoughts. She might starts with ‘well’, ‘actually’ and other words that delay. And she thinks hard about negation during the conversation. So she says more negative words like ‘no’, ‘never’, ‘none’. Usually she uses disclaimers (‘you may not believe this, but…’) and more excluding words such as ‘but’ or ‘without’.
Providing too much information
When someone goes provides an information that is not requested and especially an excess of details — there is a very high probability that he or she is not telling you the truth. This is because liar is worried about what you might ask, so she speaks quickly to block interruptions. She tries to fill up the time available: changes the subject, try to talk about other things she believes will interest you, gives longer answers, talks for a long time without gaps where you could interrupt.
Anxiety in speaking and trying to control language
This occurs because the nervous system decreases salivary flow during times of stress, which dries out the membranes of the mouth. Other signs could be — sudden lip biting or pursed lips. But sometimes this happen because liers are worried about what they might say.
So they use language carefully:
- Pause to think before answering.
- Give short answers.
- Use a monotonous tone.
- Avoid pronouns (such as ‘I’).
- Generalize and exaggerate (‘always’, ‘nobody’, etc.).
- Do not use contractions (saying ‘do not’, vs. ‘don’t’).
- Elaborate answers (‘I never would…’ rather than ‘no’).
- Parrot back narrow negations (‘Did you rob the bank?’ — ‘No, I did not rob the bank.’)
Trying to distance themselves from events
A person uses less ‘I’ statements and less personal possessives (e. g. ‘the car’ rather than ‘my car’). Sometimes she uses distancing language, such as euphemisms, jargon and indirect statements. This is because she is trying hard to exclude herself when drawing the scene.
Trying to avoid answering key questions
If a person is digress and wander away from the real subject, trying to distract you with other points of ‘interest’ and tells irrelevant truths — there is a very high probability that he or she is go along easily if you change the subject.
Pointing a lot and pretending to be honest
The liar will get defensive because he is angry that you’ve discovered his lies, which may result in a lot of pointing. She tries to appear honest, so she uses words like ‘honestly’ and ‘truthfully’ and offer information that is true (and avoid that which is not). Usually she admits to minor offenses (so proving their ‘honesty’) and denying major offenses. Common actions are rejecting an entire statements where there is only one thing wrong and avoiding a direct lies (such as ‘I was elsewhere’). Sometimes the lier gets ‘emotional’ to try and put you off.
