The purpose of this post is to give you guys enough information to start detecting lies right away. There are two types of deception; we will focus on Verbal and Non-Verbal.

Verbal deception cues. The more of these things you see listed below in your interview, the more likely it is that the interviewee is lying to you. I would say if you see around 3 of these in a given response you should be concerned. The key thing to remember when interrogating someone is to gather general information with open-ended questions then move to very specific questions. You eventually want to ask concise, specific questions that give the liar as little wiggle room as possible. Always ask yourself, did this person directly answer my question? Never ask conjunctive questions.

  1. Failure to answer the question/ Refusal to answer the question Notes/ Explanation: This is the simplest thing to look for, but is absolutely crucial. If someone fails to directly answer your question and goes off on a tangent they’re probably lying. Additionally, the interviewee should not show excessive reticence and discomfort towards normal questions.

  2. Referral statements. a. Explanation: I’m sure you have heard about how things seem more believable when they are repeated a number of times. The liar refers to times where he or she has answered your question before. b. Example: “As I’ve said before, if you will look at my previous statement, I already told you a thousand times, I’ve already addressed this.”

  3. Inappropriate level of politeness a. Explanation: If the person you’re talking to has been generally rude or somewhat hostile to your question you should find sudden politeness inappropriate. b. Example: Interviewee suddenly starts using Sir, or Mamn, friend or starts acting really friendly and reasonable out of nowhere. If the interviewee is close they might say honey, babe, lover, etc out of nowhere.

  4. Exclusion qualifiers a. Explanation: Person is trying to give you a response, which allows them to share only a limited amount of information. b. Examples: Using the words basically, for the most part, all I can tell you, fundamentally, for the most part, most often.

  5. Attacking behavior a. Explanation: This behavior is used to attack you or anyone else so as to discourage further investigation. b. Examples: “What gives you the right to ask this question?” “How long have you even been doing this job.” “My opposition is just trying to make me look bad.” “You’re only asking me if do drugs because Josh’s parents caught him with weed.” “Why can’t you just trust me for once.” “Oh you’re one to talk.”

  6. Convincing statements/ questions. a. Objective evidence is never on the liar’s side, so they feel that they have to convince you. b. Example: “I’m about to retire in a couple of days, why would i risk all that by stealing from the company on the last day.” Why would I risk everything we have to sleep with your best friend.” “I would never cheat on you, come on you know me.” “I just think that people who lie are terrible.” “Do I seem like the kind of person to do x y and z… im a priest, nun, mother, Muslim, feminist, etc.

  7. Perception qualifiers: Used to make a person look more credible. Example: Uses words like Frankly, to be perfectly honest, I’m not going to lie but, truthfully, in all honesty.

  8. Repeating the question or asking for clarification. a. Explanation: If you are asking a simple question, then it can be assumed that this person is trying to buy themselves a little more time to come up with a better response. They may also be trying to get you to ask a more narrow question because they feel trapped.

  9. General denial a. Explanation: The individual does not want to directly lie about something so they answer in a more general way, which makes them feel more comfortable. b. Example: I didn’t do anything WRONG. I would never do something like that.

  10. Unintended message a. Explanation: The liar does not realize that his truthful statement is actually betraying him. b. Example: One person posted on Reddit that his girlfriend was kissed at a bar by a European dude while on vacation. She called him saying, “You’re going to kill me but this guy totally just kissed me without my permission.” You’re going to kill me… now ask yourself what did she just imply by saying this. I did in fact do something wrong and you’re going to be angry.

Practice: Read through these sources and try to identify which deceptive strategies the subject is employing in each case. 1. http://www.statementanalysis.com/jackson/ 2. http://www.qverity.com/blog/2011/11/17/sandusky-exhibits-rampant-deceptive-behavior-in-costas-inter.html 3. http://www.qverity.com/blog/ this blog looks at deception in a number of High-profile cases. Excellent resource for practice.

Non-Verbal (Look for 2 or more of these).

Ever wonder how polygraph machines allow one to know whether another individual is lying or not? Polygraph machines catch lies indirectly via measuring changes in arousal of the autonomic nervous system. The interviewer asks specific questions (stimuli) to evoke a response (Increased heartbeat, sweating, etc.).

The general thinking is that the more distressed a person is about a specific question the more likely it is the person is lying. A spiked reading does not 100% indicate that the subject is lying but it does indicate that the question you just asked bothers them.

By looking at someone’s non-verbal behavior you are essentially looking for indications of arousal change much like a polygraph. The general procedure is this: I ask a specific question (stimulus) and look for a response within 5 seconds of the question (showing stress or arousal change). People will typically touch themselves after an unsettling question or engage in any of the behaviors listed below as simple signals, so at to release endorphins and make themselves feel better. Here is a list of things to look out for.

Simple signals: 1. Licking of lips.
2. Blowing out air (sigh) 3. Sudden folding of arms 4. Folding of hands 5. Grooming hair 6. Rubbing of the nose 7. Touching the lips 8. Putting hand over mouth (Very strong indicator) 9. Putting hand on chest (Strong indication of discomfort) 10. Shaking (Make sure the person has not been doing this the whole time). 11. Sudden folding of the legs (Hasn’t been doing this the whole time). 12. Change in proximity (Moving away from the interviewer can indicate stress) 13. Kicking of the feet 14. Rubbing any portion of the body 15. Compression of lips. (type in compression of lips non verbal in google).

Complicated signals: Some of these signals might be very quick and subtle (Micro expressions) or they may be more relative to the situation. These signals may be more difficult to read, but I find them very useful.

  1. Half smile- one corner of the mouth is lifted. This signal indicates contempt for something you just said or did. It does not necessarily indicate that someone is lying, but it can in certain situations. Example: Let’s say you found some evidence your wife is banging Chad. You present your case and then she offers her bullshit and you eat it up. If you indicate that you believe her and she flashes you a contempt signal it most likely means that she thinks you are a dumbass for believing her.

  2. Lip Twitching- The mouth is twitching and the person is trying to suppress a smile. Ask yourself why the individual is trying to suppress their excitement.

  3. Sneer- use google images. This signal indicates anger. Ask yourself is a display of anger appropriate in the context of your situation.

  4. Squinting: This signal can indicate seriousness or a dislike for something you just said.

Practice: http://jeremykesby.com/textbook-liar-anthony-weiner-denial-analysis-body-language-verbal-clues/ Look through the videos on this page.

Final thoughts: Do not tell anyone that you know how to detect deception. Women will often purposely engross themselves in a task to help obfuscate your analysis of their behavior. You want to make sure they are giving your full attention when you go to question them and its best to make sure that they are initially comfortable to establish baseline behavior. If she starts getting defensive just say, “It’s important that we get your side of the story on this issue or I wouldn’t even be in the same room as you right now if I actually thought you were cheating on me but it’s important that we go over what actually happened.” This is a little riskier, but you can make it seem like what they did wasn’t all that bad so they disclose the information you need, “I can understand why you (insert fucked up behavior here); I mean if I was (hamster excuses here) I would totally (insert fucked up behavior here again).”

Recommended reading 1. What everybody is saying- Joe Navarro. 2. Spy the lie- Philip Houston. 3. Body Language- Allan Pease (Free pdf online). 4. Telling lies Paul Ekman. 5. http://www.paulekman.com/micro-expressions/ Useful programs for learning how to catch micro expressions. I think it’s overpriced, but it has helped me.