Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! How to Detect Lies
Ok… Everyone lies. In a dynamic social situation, it can be unbearable. But lying on something as serious as a legal matter, no matter what practice of law the legal matter is about is unforgivable because attorneys have their license to protect. Not to mention their money. When a client lies about the facts of a case, it cannot only derail the entire case but also jeopardize the attorney’s license and the entire practice and most attorneys are not that bright. They almost always fall for those sob stories and believe the clients, and then when shit hits the fan, they blame it on the whole Eggshell theory. Therefore, it is important for an attorney or a case manager (anyone that is in the same position as myself) to know how to tell someone is lying. I am a master at it. I got it down to a science. In fact, I think my innate lying detection skills are CIA-worthy. Knowing when a client is lying can save you a lot of time, money, and headaches, and I will teach you guys how to detect a lie.
The Mirvis Guide to Detecting Lies:
On average, a person will tell a lie ten times a day; that seems shocking, doesn’t it? Most lies people tell are not meant to be malicious, and they are called white lies. For the most part, white lies are meant to spare someone’s feelings or avoid a conversation they do not want to have. How many times has someone asked you how you are, and you reply, “I’m fine, ” when in fact, you are not fine, but you do not want to talk about it or burden the other person with your woes. More sophisticated liars can even flip the tables. How many times has someone tried telling you about their problems and you know that it will be a long story and you really don’t want nor care to hear it, so you lie to that person and say, “Bruh… I know; you told me like ten times, ” even though it is not true.
There are experts who have been studying lying for years or working with people trying to get the truth out of people, and in the process, have learned some tell-tale signs of deception. Look at how investigators, Law Enforcement, and the CIA operate. Being able to tell whether someone is lying or not can be crucial. Every day people should be aware of signs of deception. Whether it comes to your kids and what they are up to, your partner and what they are up to. Maybe you own a business and need to hire a new employee or have come across some theft in your business and want to get to the bottom of who did it. In my case, or for any legal professional, lying could be the difference between a solid execution of a case or a nightmare defense scenario because the client lied through their teeth.
Example: I once had a client who insisted that he had no prior accidents. After the insurance company performed an ISO Search, the client’s records showed that he had six prior accidents with the same injuries. Naturally, the client was in shock and started blaming.
When questioning someone trying to uncover the truth, something to keep in mind is that even though someone may be acting nervous or angry, that does not necessarily mean they are lying. Some people are just naturally anxious, and being questioned about something may add to that nervousness. Anxiety disorder is also a huge issue to deal with because anxiety disorder is a difficult psychological layer that you need to be aware of before you even begin questioning your subject. For the most part, a good 40% of the USA Population has some kind of psychological disorder. Whether they want to admit it or not. This is why it’s important to keep certain factors in mind before proceeding.
Factors or psychological layers to consider:
(Please do your own research on these disorders to understand them better so that you are more educated and prepared.)
- 40 million adults over 18 are suffering from various levels of anxiety disorder.
- 1 out of 100 children or adults may experience an episode of psychosis (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling something that is not real).
- 0.2% of the US population is suffering from delusion disorder
- 2.3 million Americans (children and adults) are suffering from bipolar disorder
- Serious anger disorders that can turn into a rage: ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), oppositional defiant disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder.
- 9.2 million Americans are suffering from a paranoid personality disorder
Fun Challenge: Try telling someone that they have any of those psychological disorders and see their reaction. Let me know if you get punched in the face. People are generally defensive and in denial.
All these factors can create various forms of static or white noise in witness statements. To filter out the static, one must peel the psychological layers one by one. Generally, that is done with the process of elimination. If you have some basic situational awareness or empathetic abilities, you should come to some kind of basic conclusion on whether the witness or the subject is suffering from any of the psychological disorders. If the answer is yes and you can almost pinpoint which disorder the witness may be suffering from, you create what is called a “baseline” in the interrogation world.
Establishing a good baseline is a progressive line of questioning that starts off as a simple question or statement that you can reasonably assume the witness may lie about. Preferably, creating a baseline that is completely irrelevant to the fact at hand to avoid any alerts of the witness at conscious and subconscious levels of thought that you are probing information. Getting angry with the witness and creating any friction in the client’s mind builds up any reservation of the subject in divulging any useful information, and this is where the half-lies come in.
Some people cannot control themselves with their lies, and there are some people who half-lie in a deliberate attempt to either string you along or create a diversion. A perfect example is the Special Operations SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) school. I know a few SOF guys, who are Special Operations Forces troops such as Green Berets and Navy SEALs, who went through these schools and are explicitly trained not to lie but provide useless half-truth information in the event that they are captured. This is all public knowledge, but SERE school is one of the most secretive schools in the military. There is only one true way to filter out half-lies, and that is with evidence. But I also use half-lies as a tool against them. Most people have a tendency of having a Freudian slip. Their half-truths may lead to an actual fact without them even realizing it.
For example, I had a case where the defense attorney claimed that the correction officers did not report any prior issues with an inmate who assaulted our client. However, after I kept digging into his brain, I got him to commit a Freudian slip, and he admitted that the defendant had a known mental illness, thus should not have been around the general population.
The list below will help give you an idea of what to look for when someone is being deceptive. Another thing to keep in mind is that if someone does only one of the following, it does not mean that person is guilty of being dishonest. Look for several signs or a cluster of signs after you have established a good baseline; if they show multiple signs of lying to you, that is a huge red flag and should be taken seriously. But before I get into the red flags to look out for, I would like to introduce a new way to filter out the white noise as well as any psychological factors such as anxiety, delusion, as well as other psychological disorders you may come across in a subject or a witness.
Analyze vs. Speculate
This one can be tricky; it is hard, if not near impossible, to tell if someone is lying to you just by looking at them. Drawing conclusions from looking at someone is speculation. For example, someone who has their arms crossed is generally seen as closed off and defensive; this is where analyzing comes in. Maybe that is how the person stands, maybe they are cold, or they could very well be defensive or upset, but there is no way to know from just looking at them.
These are called “global behaviors, ” and people put too much value on these behaviors to mean something. It would be best if you forget that; it is speculation.
Focusing on the behavior that follows in the first 5 seconds after asking any question as you establish a good baseline is what you need to home in on. If they show deceptive behavior in that first 5 seconds, then that is a red flag that you are being lied to. Paying attention to a cluster of behaviors is vital too. The first behavior may occur before you even finish your question, but within the first 5 seconds following the question. If two or more deceptive behaviors are displayed, and the first is within 5 seconds following the question, this signifies a lie. The most common deceptive behaviors are:
Evasiveness
It is only natural that you try and see the good in people, and most people are good. However, when trying to tell if someone is lying, you need to ignore the good, truthful behavior. When people are being deceptive, they will give answers that seem truthful and go into great detail and give you more information than asked for in an attempt to seem like an honest person. Make it a habit when trying to detect a liar to ignore whatever seems like truthful behavior and recognize evasiveness.
Things to look for when trying to detect evasive behavior is:
Not providing the information you asked for—is the person saying a lot of words and having a long-drawn-out answer but hasn’t actually answered the question asked?
Failure to deny - a truthful person is eager to answer your question and deny they did something wrong. If denial is being evaded, that is a red flag.
Using exclusionary qualifiers- if someone is using the terms “for the most part, ” “not really, ” or “fundamentally, ” you need some follow-up questions to find out what information is being left out.
Aggression:
If someone becomes aggressive when asked a question, that is a big red flag that they are lying. If this person goes on the defense and starts attacking the question, you, or anything involved with the question, that holds a lot of weight in whether they are lying or not. This one is straightforward and easy to spot; it is hard to miss aggressive behavior. Especially when the subject begins to swear.
Convey vs. Convince
It is essential to know the difference between a convincing answer or simply conveying information. If you ask someone a question and suspect they are lying and that person launches into a speech trying to convince you they are telling the truth, this is a red flag that they are lying. An honest person does not need to have a back story or a long-drawn-out reason for anything. They will answer with a simple yes, no, or a short and sweet explanation. When someone is trying to convince you to believe something, they are most likely lying, and by giving a long-drawn-out answer, they think that it will convince you of their lie.
Small details are important, and what words people choose to use are essential. Phrases and words such as “honestly, ” “quite frankly, ” “to tell you the truth” are known as perception qualifiers and, when combined with other deceptive behaviors, indicate that someone is lying.
Non-verbal cues:
Paying attention to non-verbal cues is also essential when trying to spot a lie. There are some critical non-verbal indicators to watch for, such as:
Verbal-non-verbal disconnect - If someone is saying something, but their body is saying something else, like saying no but nodding their head yes, or vice versa, that is considered deceptive behavior.
Grooming gestures - If someone is fiddling a lot with their clothing or hair, this is a sign of them being anxious and possibly lying. If a person swallows or clears their throat before answering your questions, this could also indicate you’re being told a lie.
Behavioral pause - Keep in mind the nature of the question when it comes to people pausing after being asked. If you ask a vague question, they may need time to think before answering, which is reasonable. However, if you ask someone a straightforward question and they pause before giving an answer, that is a sign of deception.
Hand-to-face movements - Putting their hands to their mouth, licking their lips, pulling on their ears, itching their face, or just touching the face or head, in general, is a sign of deceptive behavior.
Eye Contact - Most psychologists believe that “lying eyes” are a myth because failure to have good eye contact could be a result of anxiety, attention deficit disorder, and so forth. So, I will not comment on this factor.
Being able to spot a lie is not always easy but being able to tell if someone is being truthful with you is a great skill to have. Following the guidelines laid out above is a great start and could save you heartache, money, and getting ripped off in the future.