View/Open - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

Ekman (1999) does not consider a broken promise a lie, or failure to remember,
although the latter may be used as an excuse for the lies told. Allowance must be made
for the fact that actions that we regret are sometimes forgotten, and if they are truly
forgotten then that is not a lie. But it must be determined whether forgetting did
actually take place.
In many cases we cannot detect lies because we cannot concentrate on words
and facial expressions, which liars can easily control to mislead people. Thompson
(1998:189) says lies can be more reliably detected from body movements e.g. when a
person increases the emblems he uses i.e. the hand sign for OK and shrugging to
indicate indifference or nodding the head to mean "yes". Sometimes a liar can use less
illustrators e.g. "placing emphasis on words or phrases, drawing a picture in space with
one's hands, brow and eyelid movements or talking with one's hands." Illustrators are
also used to punctuate speech or when words are lacking to explain something. LeDoux
(1996) mentions that according to Ekman (1999) there are display rules in various
cultures that are learned and that determine whether emotions should be expressed or
not, as in the negotiation situation, for a specific reason. However, this is not easy to
learn.
Thompson states how a liar can be given away by a leakage of an emotion,
especially if there are a great number of emotions involved in the lie. Some people,
although very few, can successfully simulate emotions that are not felt. In most cases
you as a negotiator may not be able to make out whether the emotion is genuine or
false. Ekman (1999) mentions one reliable sign of anger i.e. the narrowing of the red
margins ofthe lips.
340