How to tell if someone

is Lying

Abhishek Jaguessar
 The Plan
 Non-verbal or visual clues to lying
 Verbal clues to lying
 Answer questions
 Our job is to help you understand the process
and issues. Be careful in applying.
 Lying…Common Beliefs
 Most people are pretty good at detecting lies
 Liars tend to be more nervous
 Liars tend to hesitate more in speech
 Liars will blush
 Liars more often fail to make eye contact
 Liars tend to look up and to the left when they
are concocting a lie
 Relying on your gut or instinct is the best way
 PARADOX OF DECEPTION

Perception Reality

Most people think Most people are

they are good lie detectors poor lie detectors
but poor liars but highly skilled liars
 “Looking at his face I got the impression that
here was a man who could be relied upon when
he had given his word.”

 British P.M. Neville Chamberlain following a

1938 meeting in Munich with Adolph Hitler,
who swore he would not invade Czechoslovakia.
 “I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be
very straightforward and trustworthy. I was able
to get a sense of his soul.”
 George Bush commenting on a meeting with
Vladimir Putin in June 2001.
 The Scientific Fact
Lies are present in:
37% of phone conversations
27% of face-to-face conversations
14% of emails (Hancock,
( 2005).
Without training, lies are not easily
detectable.
Behavior can be misleading in credibility
assessment
 Attempts to detect lies
 Lie detector
 based on theory liars are nervous
 pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration, and palm sweat.
 Detects people who are nervous when they lie
 Detects people who are nervous that you aren't going to
believe them
 Works about 70 percent of the time
 MRI brain scan
 Lie is a cognitive activity, not a memory activity
 Visual Clues
 Numerous studies have been done with subject
telling known lies and telling the truth. Their
behavior was recorded and correlated. The
results show some behaviors is correlated with
lying:
 Pupil dilation – Much more pronounced in liars
 Vocal tension – More pronounced in liars
 Vocal pitch - More pronounced in liars
 Visual clues
 Fidgeting – No difference
 Blinking – No difference
 Cooperative – More pronounced in non-liars
 Smiling – No difference
 Lip pulls – No difference
 Pleasantness – Barely more pronounced in NL
 Visual clues
 Are liars less forthcoming:
 Longer responses – More pronounced in non-liars
 Rich details in story – More pronounced in non-liars

 Rate of speech – No difference

 Time before starting – No difference

 Visual clues
 Are stories of liars more compelling?
 Stories have discrepancies/ambivalent – Slightly
more pronounced in liars
 Stories less logical - Slightly more pronounced in
liars
 Stories impersonal/distant – Definitely more
pronounced in liars
 Uncertainty – Slightly more pronounced in liars

 Word repetition - Slightly more pronounced in liars

 Visual Clues
 Foot/leg movements – No difference
 Posture shifts – No difference
 Head/Hand movements – No difference
 Visual clues
 Admitted lack of memory – More pronounced
in non-liars
 Spontaneous corrections – More pronounced in
non-liars
 Unusual details – No difference
Micro expressions
 Micro Expressions
 People demonstrate their emotions
unconsciously in their actions
 Sometimes happens for less than a second
 Can read the expression if you are trained to
read them.
 Every expression is built through a combination
of muscles movements
Micro Expressions

Surprise:
1. Raised brows – high and
arching
2. Skin below brow is stretched

3. Eyelids open – white shows

above and below iris
4. Jaw drops – lips and teeth
parted but with no tension
Micro expressions
 Fear
Micro Expressions

Disgust
Micro Expressions
Examples in use
 Verbal clues
 What you see below is copied from a report form but it
is exactly what was written by a man who was reporting
his car stolen. However, the nature of his handwriting
is not an issue so it is reproduced in typescript. The
report form had on it his name and address, his car
number and other similar facts that had been written in
the spaces provided for them. In what you read below,
is there anything that would help you to decide whether
it is truthful or deceptive? If so, what?
Fri 14 oct
PARKED IN HUDSON’S PARKING
LOT
Section C

Went Shopping for 1/2 HR.

Came out It was gone

Description of Car
1975 Bricklin, White, Gull wing
Doors
Goodyear Eagle ST. tires
1. “On 22nd February 2003, a bundle of 10’s totalling $5,000 was found in locker
2. 3, where my cash drawer is kept. The date stamped on the straps of the
3. bundle is that of 31st January 2003, on this day, as on most Tuesday I am
4. responsible for balancing the vault. At approximately 2.00 pm, I balanced
5. the vault. The currency is then placed in vault locker 5. If 5 is locked then
6. the currency is placed in any open locker and locked, if I am doing the vault
7. then I will put it in locker 3. I did not have a chance to find someone to tell
8. them before they went to the vault. If I placed the bundle in locker 3 then it
9. was there from 31st January until it was discovered on 22nd February. I had
10. no knowledge of the missing money. I’ve been with this bank for more
11. than two years and if in that time you are unaware of my trustworthiness
12. then I suggest we need to come to some sort of agreement so this does not
13. happen again.”