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Saturday, December 29, 2012

15 Easy Ways To Spot A Liar

Here are 15 tell tale signs that someone is lying to you. If the person exhibits two or more of these signs, then there's a good chance they're lying.

1. Convincing Statements  are statements that don't answer a question directly. An example  would be if
you asked an employee about an overinflated expense report and they respond, "I'm an honest person" or "I would never do something like that".  

2 Unusually Long  Pauses   Since it takes more time to think up a lie than to tell the truth, then consider a long pause to be a sign of deception considering the nature of the question. 

3 Relying On God When a person uses ,God to establish their honesty, it sometimes means they're lying. Example: "As God as my witness" or "I swear on a stack of bibles".

4 Nondenial Denials When people say " I would never do such a thing" and fail to deny the specific allegation, watch out. Also look for long winded explanations when a simple yes or no would suffice.

5 Repeating The Question  Liars sometimes do this to stall for time while they think up an excuse. They usually say" I'm glad you asked me that."

6. Attack Mode Another tell tale sign of lying might be when the liar questions your competence  or fairness by saying, "Who are you to question me?"

7. Inconsistent Statements Liars who have trouble keeping up with their fibs might provide contradictory answers.

8. Unnecessary Detailed Answers An example would be when a sales manager is asked about quarterly sales and he states, "west coast figures are higher than expected."

9. Sudden Politeness Note when the level of politeness increases. If someone answers various questions without saying "sir" and then responds with "no sir" then that may be another indicator of lying. Example:
"Did you take the money out of the safe?" "No, sir."

10.Complaining About The Interview Liars might say, "How long is this going to take?"

11. Appearing To Not Understand A Simple Question People do this intentionally because they don't want to answer the question.

12. Referring Back To A Previous Response Liars might say, "I already told you that yesterday."

13. Adding Qualifiers When people say "frankly" or "truthfully" or "basically" may suggest the person  might not be 100% truthful.

14. Nonverbal Signs People's faces and bodies can also provide hints their lying. Look for hand to face activity, nervous movements, clearing the throat or swallowing or grooming. Look for repeated rubbing or scratching of the face, licking of  lips or pulling on the ears. Also, watch for movements of the hands, feet or legs in reaction to a question. Liars also sometimes dissipate anxiety by adjusting a tie, smoothing a skirt or aligning pens on a desk.

15. Ask Presumptive , Bait And What Else Questions If you want to know whether someone really went to the office party don't ask "were you there?" but instead ask, "What happened at the party last night?" A bait question might be used if  items have gone missing from the office supply closet. Rather than ask each employee if they did it, just ask "Is there any reason why someone may have seen you going into the supply closet this morning?" Also, if money is missing from your wallet, say" I realize the mistake may have been mine. I never explained that you should ask first before you borrow money from me." Also, when someone admits to a misdeed or lie, keep asking "What else?" until no more details are being withheld.  \

Make sue you watch and listen for the signs of deception listed above within the first five seconds of asking a question. If two or more appear, then continue monitoring for more signs to detect less than thruthful answers.