9 Tips to become a better liar

1. Keep your head up:

“In all shows, there is always that moment when the magician risks being discovered,” explains Jacques H. Paget*, illusionist and negotiations expert. For example, when he makes a ball “disappear” as it remains hidden in his other hand, he may tend to tilt his head to the side, a movement which, however small, may be unconsciously perceived by the viewer as an indicator of cheating. “This is an instinctive gesture that we all do when we are afraid of being caught, to apologise to our conversation partner. Conclusion: During a job interview, if you are tempted to embellish your work experience, keep your head straight up. This will prevent the other person from getting suspicious.

* Author of The Power of illusion, the keys to your success (Plon).

2. Use the phone:

Sometimes lying is much simpler over the phone. “Don’t expect me to have lunch with your mother, I’m still at the dentist”, “I’m going through a tunnel, I have no signal…” It is normal, you can conjure up stories without even having to control your attitude, reflexes or responses to inquisitive looks. The only downside: “we must be able to control our voices,” warns Claudine Biland*. The delights of deception makes our voices drop a pitch, in order to sound more stable and assured, but lying also exposes us to three negative emotions – fear of getting caught, shame and guilt – and these may just manifest in our voices. “In fact, recently, a British telephone insurance company monitored fraud insurance claims through a voice analyser. An investigation is launched when the device detects suspicious modulations…

*Author of Psychology of Lying (Odile Jacob).

3. Repeat the scenario:

If you are telling a story, you first need to integrate it as a complete theatre role. “Being an actress does not mean just to learn words. It is also necessary to be at one with your thoughts and emotions. These are the things that will generally reflect your words,” said Rosine Margat*, Director of the Cours Simon in Paris. And some techniques can better reflect what it feels like:

– Begin and end sentences clearly.

– Take note of punctuation marks, especially full-stops.

– Sustain consonants that make words ring.

– Speak clearly.

– Work on your expressive diction.

Playing your role with sincerity, believing what you say and putting yourself in the shoes of your heroine is the best way to give more credibility to your character.

*Author of I’m an actor! (Editions de La Martinière).

 4. Control your actions:

“Our body speaks its own language and never lies,” says Dr. David J. Lieberman*, hypnotherapist and a doctor in psychology. If you’re not careful, some little gestures will only end up betraying you.

Embarrassed by your hands, you slip them into your pockets or you lay them on your hips.

You sputter, your smile trembles and cracks as you declare how much you love the gift you just received.

You touch your face, you scratch your ear, place a finger on your lips, you rub your eyes or nose to justify your delay in response.

Your face, your hands, your arms punctuate your words belatedly, and in a somewhat mechanical way.

You display a grimace instead of a grin while expressing your joy of learning promoting a colleague.

You pull a folder, a book and computer against your abdomen, as if it were a shield. Without understanding why your partner says there was something wrong with your story…

5. Do not say too much:

You call a friend to postpone a lunch for the third time. Listening to you presenting your perfectly oiled explanations, she begins to find this suspicious, there is just too much justification. To avoid getting caught, you think, better increase the size of your tale: the bigger it gets, the more credible it will seem. Because of its magnitude, it cannot possibly be invented. Your neighbour has just appeared at your doorstep in tears with the mangled body of his little cat, dead in his arms… how could that possibly be fake?

6. Put on your sincere face:

Instead of looking your interviewer in the eye, aim for the tip of his nose. It is less destabilizing and you do not have the look diagonally, distant and elusive, whilst you spin your yarn. “Establishing good communication requires eye contact for 60-70% of the time of the dialogue,” says psychoanalyst Joseph Messinger*. Also be wary of your eyebrows wrinkling, your eyes crinkling and your eyelids blinking – they raise doubt.

*Author of The Acts of the lie (First).

7. Deviate from the truth:

A good lie always contains an element of truth. “In this case, the truth functions as a decoy,” says psychoanalyst Claudine Biland. For example: “I have an appointment with the dermatologist…” is a good primer. Then the embroidery comes in: “… to check my moles,” but you casually omit “…and to complete my Botox sessions.” It’s just a shot you have to take.

8. Do not say I: 

You dare not say to a friend, who asks you to hire his son, that your company does not employ idlers. Instead, you entrench yourself behind objective, impersonal, irrefutable facts,” suggests Jacques H. Paget. Respond, instead, with “My company recruits only its sales executives with a certain diploma”…that your friend’s son happens not to possess, of course.

9. Clean the floor:

Sharpen a pencil. Hang a picture. Drink coffee… “Practicing an activity to pass the time is unquestionably the best camouflage for a lie,” advises Jean-Claude Martin*, expert in non-verbal communication. The ideal situation, according to this specialist? Lying whilst you are behind some sort of wall or partition, in order to neutralize body language, which is less controllable than words. It is essentially a way of saying that those with mowing the lawn or trimming hedges are at an advantage for if they want to lie.

*Author of The Bible of non-verbal communication (Leduc.s Editions).

Laurence Cochet