Lie Detection

I’ve spent that last 16 years of my life interacting with people from all walks of life. What I find consistent amongst all groups of people is how they lie. People will lie to get faster service, get a discount or maybe they want you to like them. For whatever reason: lying is about someone trying to get what they want. My exposure to people lying to me has taught me two things:
1. How to detect a lie

2. To try my best not to lie.

If I were to draw you a red octagon atop a stick and ask you to guess what my picture is you’d most likely guess it’s a stop sign (humor me) but, what if it were a red octagon lollipop? Without observing all the details you won’t have a gauge of the full picture. LOL Get it?!? Full picture?!?! Pun intended. When people lie they have a tendency to focus on the more obvious things and the reason being is that it’s easier to keep track of the obvious things not to mention people tend to focus on the those things because well…they are the most obvious. As such, to catch someone lying you need to do the reverse and focus on details, and the consistency of those details. Keep hounding them for details to trip them up. By nature I am extremely inquisitive, have a keen eye for detail and have trouble remember important things like equations but, have no trouble remembering that one time you placed a napkin for me under my plate and am super appreciative for it. For me when a detail is inconsistent it’s quite glaring but when faced with a skilled liar it’s extremely difficult. In which case the second best lie detection technique is time but, it’s less practical. Lies reveal themselves over time because most actors can’t stay in character, and if they do long enough they become the lie so, it’s not really a lie anymore? Lying maybe the easier solution but, RARELY the best. When I ask people why can’t they just be honest? They usually don’t give a good answer. Does trying to be honest leave me at a disadvantage?

Remember lying is usually done with words. Focus less on what people are saying to you and more on what they are doing. Actions speak louder than words.