I’m often asked about the body
language tells that signal deception, and my answer often disappoints. The
problem is there’s no one thing done that gives a liar away, much of the
things we think we know are wrong, and we are much better liars (and much worse
at detecting a lie) than we think. This article will focus on how the words we use
(and avoid), and how we say them, may indicate deception.
Before turning specifically to
the verbal sounds of lying, I must note that body language is also important to
consider, especially as liars are more likely to rehearse their words than
their gestures, but I’ll save the tells for another day. Most
people may be better off listening to liars and not looking at them if they
want to detect deception, as what comes out of a liar’s mouth is often more
important than their body language.
When questioning a liar, it’s
useful to first get a vocal baseline, asking safe questions and attending to
responses. When hearing those responses, here are the points to consider:
Liars use fewer contractions.
In meeting an accusation with denial, people lengthen their statement, removing
ambiguity. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” is said,
instead of “I didn’t…” Statements
that use contraction are therefore more likely to be truthful.
Liars repeat the question. In
repeating a question, the liar is buying time, so the repearting of a question (often verbatim) may suggest decpetion; this stalling tactic often following a tricky
or unexpected accusation. In a similar vein,
liars use interviewer’s words to answer their question. When asked, “Did you go
back into the building?”, they reply, “No, I did not go back into the
building.” Liars also reverse the question. When asked an accusatory
question, liars may respond by attacking the interviewer by implication,
twisting the question back at them: “Why are you so interested in her?”
Liars like chronology. Fictional
stories are told chronologically. It’s much easier to recall and retell stories
this way. When telling a true, unrehearsed story from memory, people edit,
often starting with the headlines.
Liars embellish. Whilst liars
are ambiguous and vague when it comes to the key moments/facts, they offer
extra detail when describing non-incriminating occurrences. Often when talking
about the prologue, their stories will carry the most detail.
Liars like a euphemism. Replacing
events, words and phrases with softer, harmless versions allow the liar to distance
themselves psychologically. It’s not only less stressful for a liar to say
‘borrow’ instead of ‘steal’, or ‘pat’ instead of ‘punch’, it’s also an
opportunity to edit/change the words used by the accuser. The mafia boss who
“takes someone out” doesn’t sound as bad as one who ‘kills’.
Liars offer qualifiers. If
being interviewed they might tell you how honest they are and what a fine,
upstanding character others consider them to be. These qualifiers aren't always
about honesty, statements like “I volunteer for my local church group” can also
be made to influence how they are being seen. Liars give emphasis when arguing
their case, especially where ‘honesty’ is concerned: “I swear on my kids’
lives”, “To tell you the truth”, “Honestly”.
Liars avoid or confuse
pronouns. Liars tend to leave out pronouns or shift them, removing
themselves from their statements. ‘I’ and ‘me’ are removed, and pronouns are
mixed: ‘he’ might become ‘we’ later in a later statement. When truthful,
pronouns are emphasized, but when cognitive load becomes an issue, references
to ‘self’ decease. Skipping pronouns are also common. In place of “I headed
into…” they say “Headed into…”. Whilst pronouns are twisted: Q: “Did you sell
them drugs at his party?” A: “You don’t sell drugs at his party.”
Liars use fillers. There
are two types of fillers, sounds such as ‘erm’, ‘um’ and ‘uh’ and words/phrases
‘like’, ‘right?’, ‘you know?’ and ‘you get me?’ Fillers indicate increased cognitive
load but a baseline should first be established to account for habitual
fillers. It’s also true that fillers are used by truthtellers, and that the
practiced lie/story could be so polished that the need for fillers is reduced
or removed. The ‘sounds’ or ‘erm’, ‘um’ etc allow for thinking time and avoid
silence. The words ‘you know’ and ‘right’ are confirmation seekers, attempts to
prompt agreement. The word ‘like’ could indicate that what’s being said is not
exactly the same as the truth, it’s only ‘like’ it. However, ‘like’ has entered
common usage amongst many young people who, like, use it all the time.
Liars have a love/hate relationship
with silence. When attempting deception, people tend to speak more than usual,
filling silences and adding details, or they ‘no comment’ freeze. Liars, like
people feeling anxious, either over-talk or clam up. Vocal pauses can occur
when lies are being planned, the hesitation a sign that the person is running their
answer through their mind’s filter before speaking it. Listen for changes or
deviation from the baseline.
Liars prefer to tell the
truth. When they can, liars give specific denials, choosing their words
with care; whilst statements like “to the best of my
knowledge" cover them as the deceiver avoids lying by not making direct statements. These nonanswers are common, “I
guess”.
Liars omit information. When
truth telling, emotions and feelings are often expressed, spatial details relayed
and different channels (sounds, smells etc) touched on. These are often overlooked
when a story is being made up.
Liars adopt a monotonous tone.
To avoid imparting emphasis on certain words or allowing themselves to become
emotional, liars may adopt a soft, monotonous tone. Perhaps even garbling or
mumbling, hoping that what they are saying is missed or unheard. It’s a lack of
conviction in the lie that is being spun.
Liars overact and underact.
Ask yourself, is this person acting suitably for the context (and compared to
their baseline) or not? Liars may overact, trying too hard to convince, such as
laughing loudly, or freeze, curtailing their gestures and expressions.
Liars speak in a higher pitch.
Stress can result in a higher pitched voice. Of course, stress doesn’t mean lying,
but it’s a consideration. When someone attempts to deceive - and they are fearful
of being caught – their voice may rise. The muscles of the throat tighten causing this change.
Liars speak more slowly or
quickly. Watch for a change in vocal speed. When anxious, people might
speak quickly and liars do this when they are off-topic. If a liar can talk
about something non-incriminating, a truth or small talk, they tend to chatter
away letting lots of useless information obfuscate the facts. It can also help
the feeling of getting it over with (reducing stress), talking quickly to get
the difficult interview over and get away. And yet, when speaking more slowly
than the baseline rate, it may signal a reliance upon memory. Increases in
cognitive activity occur when people are trying to prevent leakage or giving
themselves away. Liars are generally cautious, and the cautious speak more
slowly.
Liars over-apologise. It
feels good to apologise when you’re engaged in lying. But rather than apologise
for lying or doing the crime they may be being accused of, the deceiver apologises
for something else, a minor misdemeanour or non-event. “I’m sorry I can’t be of
more help officer”. Mini-confessions can encourage trust, it's as if one admits to
something minor, it shows them as the kind of person to admit err and take
responsibility.
Liars are polite or not. Politeness
changes. Watch for shifts, the sudden appearance of “Sir/Mam” or a less respectful
tone emerging.
When attempting to detect a truth
or lie, record what is being said. There is too much to analyse in real time. It
also helps to consider vocal communication alongside body language. Gestures
and words interact in interesting ways where deception is concerned with
asynchrony being a cue. For example, gestures and words normally occur
together, but when lying, it may be that key words (lies) precede a key
gesture. If they do occur at the same time, it may be that there is ambiguity,
the gestures and words mismatched. In this case, the physical may be more
reliable than the vocal: “Let’s get lunch” carries less weight than the
accompanying ‘unconscious’ head shake.