Verbal Clues to Deceit
Excerpts taken from Telling Lies
Detecting lies is both an art and a science, blending insights from psychology of lying, human behavior, and communication skills. Below, we explore how a liar’s words and other clues to deceit can reveal the truth.
Careless errors
While many liars are careful about the words they choose, surprisingly, many liars are still betrayed by their words because of carelessness. It is not that they couldn’t disguise what they said, or that they tried to and failed, but simply that they neglected to fabricate carefully. This could be the result of not planning ahead well enough or, if being questioned, not anticipating the kinds of questions they will be asked.
Careless errors in verbal cues often serve as a rich source for those skilled in deception detection. These moments highlight the importance of critical thinking when analyzing speech for truthfulness or signs of dishonesty.
Slips of the tongue
Even a careful liar may be betrayed by what Sigmund Freud first identified as a “slip of the tongue”. In the Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Freud showed how the faulty actions of everyday life, such as slips of the tongue, the forgetting of familiar names, and mistakes in reading and writing were not accidents, but meaningful events revealing internal psychological conflicts. Slips express, he said, “… something one did not wish to say: it becomes a mode of self betrayal.” Freud was not specifically concerned with deceit, but in his writings gave examples of slips that betrayed lies.
Freud said that “the suppression of the speaker’s intention to say something is the indispensable condition for the occurrence of a slip of the tongue.” The suppression could be deliberate if the speaker was lying, but Freud was more interested in instances in which the speaker is not aware of the suppression. Once the slip occurs, the speaker may recognize what has been suppressed. Or, even then, the speaker may not become aware of it.
The lie catcher must be cautious, not assuming that any slip of the tongue is evidence of lying. Usually the context in which a slip occurs should help in figuring out whether or not the slip is betraying a lie. The lie catcher must also avoid the error of considering someone truthful just because there are no slips of the tongue. Many lies do not contain any. Freud did not explain why some lies are betrayed by slips while most are not. It is tempting to think that slips occur when the liar wants to be caught, when there is guilt about lying. But there has been no study (or even much speculating) that would explain why only certain lies are betrayed by slips.
Tirades
Tirades, another form of verbal clue, are a third way liars may betray themselves in words. A tirade is different from a slip of the tongue. The speech blunder is more than a word or two. The information doesn’t slip out, it pours out. The liar is carried away by emotion, not realizing until afterward the consequences of what they are revealing.
Often, if the liar had remained cool, they would not have revealed the damaging information. It is the pressure of overwhelming emotion—fear, horror, terror, or distress—that causes the liar to give away information. These emotional outbursts often coincide with nonverbal behavior, such as gestures or micro expressions, which are also key in deception detection.
Circumlocutious and indirect speech
Studies show that some people when they lie are indirect in their reply, circumlocutious, and give more information than is requested. Other research studies have shown just the opposite: most people are too smart to be evasive and indirect in their replies.
A hazard would be to misjudge a truthful person who happens to be convoluted or evasive in their speech. A few people always speak this way. For them it is not a sign of lying; it is just the way they talk. Any behavior that is a useful clue to deceit will for some few people just be a usual part of their behavior.
This is why it is important to be aware of their baseline—to be acquainted with the suspect and familiar with their idiosyncrasies in their typical behavior. Skilled practitioners in forensic psychology, social psychology, or interrogation techniques often emphasize understanding baseline behavior when evaluating credibility and trustworthiness.
