HOW TO SPOT A LIAR

HOW TO SPOT A LIAR

At some point in life, everyone is a victim of a lie. It may include romantic relationships, business transactions, political behavior and/or criminal misrepresentation.

I would like to share my 35 years of experience in recognizing deceptive behavior, first as a Detective and Chief Polygraph Examiner for the Queens District Attorney’s Office, and then as the CEO of CPI Investigations where I conduct Investigations and polygraph for the New York Department of Probation, Legal Aid Department, armored car companies, corporations and prominent private defense attorneys. In this article, I will discuss certain techniques that will enable you to spot a liar from a mile away.

There are two main techniques in detecting deception without the use of a polygraph instrument.  They are observing body language and asking open-ended questions, in order to evaluate the answers. 

1.   OBSERVATION OF BODY LANGUAGE

A Polygraph Examiner uses his instrument to determine changes in breathing, perspiration and heart rate.  When a person is lying, his/her body goes into a fight or flight response which results in changes in the above three indices. Certain changes in a person’s baseline can be detected without the use of a polygraph.

BLOOD FLOW TO NOSE AND FACE

You will notice this by a person touching or scratching his or her nose. The most famous example of this is when former President, Bill Clinton touched his nose when he denied his affair with Monica Lewinsky in his Grand Jury Testimony.

INCREASED PERSPIRATION

When individuals lie, they tend to perspire more. This could be detected by sweaty palms or increased perspiration on face or body.

CHANGE IN SPEED OF SPEECH OR RATE OF BREATHING

When people lie, often their speech rate increases or decreases. There is also a change in their breathing rate.

HEARTBEAT QUICKENS

This is harder to detect, however, it can be done.  For example, when I was in the police academy, one of our instructors said that when he would approach a person in a suspicious situation, he would say “take it easy” while he lightly placed his hand over the suspect’s heart to see if it was beating fast.  This was a very creative way to determine an increase in someone’s heart rate.

LOOK FOR MICRO-EXPRESSIONS

Micro expressions are expressions on a subject’s face that reveal the person’s true emotions.  When a person lies, his or her observable micro expression will be one of emotional distress.

AVOIDING EYE CONTACT

People will avert their gaze, when they are lying.  It is important to realize that none of these techniques are 100 percent accurate in detecting lies.  For instance, you need to keep sociological studies in mind.  In japan, a person looking you in the eyes is a sign of disrespect, especially if the person is woman.

2.    OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONING INTERVIEWING AND EVALUATION

“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar” –

Abraham Lincoln

A savvy person or interviewer can reveal holes in anybody’s story. 

ASK OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS

“Close-ended questions are those which can be answered by a simple “yes” or “no,” while open-ended questions are those which require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer.”  Asking open-ended questions force a liar to expand their story and keep talking until they entrap themselves.

SURPRISE THEM

A deceptive person will try to anticipate your questioning, so ask them surprise questions to throw them off guard.

A DECREASE IN THE USE OF THE WORDS I, ME, MINE

George Harrison once wrote a Beatles song called I, Me, Mine. These words are important in detecting lies because a liar will try to distance themselves from the lie by not saying the words, I, Me, Mine, so much.

ASK THE PERSON TO TELL THEIR STORY BACKWARDS

It is difficult for a liar to remember the details of their story.  When you ask them to recite it in reverse you will note discrepancies.  

PAUSE OR DELAY AFTER ASKING QUESTIONS

When you ask a question, a liar may need time to process the information to formulate an appropriate lie.  This may cause hesitation in the person’s answer.

 THE WORD NO

You must pay attention to the way a person says no.  As person trying to deceive you will answer no and close their eyes or answer no and look in a different direction.

ASK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS

If you have ever seen an episode of Columbo, you’ll notice that Columbo will always have a follow up question.  As he leaves the premise he will always say "just one more thing that bothers me."  If you are unclear of a person’s answer, ask a follow up question.

Remember, try to be empathetic and develop a rapport with the person you suspect may be lying. It’s not so important to be a good listener.  You have to be adept at observing and spotting the signs of non-verbal behavior and the inconsistencies in a person’s story. You must use both techniques because making a determination on just one will allow too many false positives.

Hopefully these human lie detector skills will help you in life by giving you the ability to spot lies.

About the Author:

Judd Bank is the CEO of CPI Investigations. 
He’s been a prominent polygraph examiner,

and investigator for the past 35 years.  He was 
the former Chief Polygraph Examiner for

the Queens District Attorney’s office.