The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
Talking Tells
Most people believe that liars give themselves away by
what they do, rather than what they say or how they say it.
In fact, it's the other way round - the best indicators of
lying are to be found in people's speech rather than in
their behaviour. Aldert Vrij from Portsmouth University has
suggested that when people try to catch liars they pay too
much attention to their non-verbal behaviour and not
enough to speech. 22 This, he points out, is reflected in the
tendency to overestimate the chances of detecting deceit by
watching someone's behaviour, and to underestimate the
chances of catching liars by listening to what they say.
Several features of talk provide clues to lying. Some
involve the verbal content of what people say, others the
way that people articulate what they're saying.
• CIRCUMLOCUTION. Liars often beat about the bush.
They tend to give long-winded explanations with lots of
digressions, but when they're asked a question they're
likely to give a short answer. 23
• OUTLINING. Liars' explanations are painted with broad
brushstrokes, with very little attention to detail. There's
seldom any mention of time, place or people's feelings.
For example, a liar will tell you that he went for a pizza, but
he probably won't tell you where he went or what kind of
pizza he ordered. When liars do provide details they are
seldom in a position to elaborate on them. So, if you ask a
liar to expand on his account, it's very likely that he'll
simply repeat himself. When a truth-teller is asked the same
question, he usually offers lots of new information.
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