Becoming a Polygraph Machine

Becoming a polygraph machine

Studies shows that an average individual produces around 75-100 verbal and nonverbal cues per second while talking and the receiver capable of only processing around 7 bits of information at one time, enough reason for us to be tossed around with lies and deception.

Detecting lies is a difficult task; you may need a lot of accumulated knowledge and skills for you to be able to detect any deception.  I think it is easier to lie than to detect one.  In a situation where one has the intention to state something to be false or that one does not honestly believe to be true, it’s very hard to read between the lines.

Maybe a little know how could go a long way.  It could be against your spouse, business partner and employees.  Go beyond the basic, who knows maybe one day you could be an expert.  And in a matter of seconds you could point out a liar.  An average person can only detect lies with about 50% accuracy, hopefully upon reading this article; we can increase it to hopefully larger than 50%.  The general idea is to use your instinct and just doubt, so that you will not get into trouble.

Signs of Deception

Gestures and movements:

-Liar takes up less space- a very limited gesture, few arms and hands movements.

-Liar avoids eye to eye contact.

-They would likely to touch their face, throat and mouth, unconsciously not touching their chest with an open hand.

-Look out for the timing in their emotional gestures; usually off a normal pace, delayed display of emotion.

-Expressions don’t match the verbal statement, such as smiling when saying “I’m sorry.”

-Their expressions are limited to mouth movements while showing their emotions instead of the whole face

General Behavior:

-They are more defensive while an innocent person will often go on the offensive.

-A liar is uneasy facing his accuser and may turn his head or look somewhere else.

-When talking and doing the conversation, they might unconsciously place object (pen, cup, bag, etc) between themselves and you.

-They sometimes avoid “lying” by not making direct statement. They imply answers indirectly.

-Adding unnecessary details and statements just to convince you

-They are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation.

-They speak in a monotonous tone.

-Words may be incoherent with each other and spoken softly; syntax and grammar may be off. 

-Willingly change subject when offered and becomes more relaxed while an innocent person would like to go back to the previous subject

-Using humor or sarcasm to avoid a subject.

My Conclusion

I think not because someone shows one or more of these signs will signify that he is a liar.  The following behaviors should be analyzed to a person’s usual behavior and habitual movements whenever possible.

Most lie detecting experts agree that a combination of body language and other cues must be used to make an educated guess; but in the long run we boiled down to just having a “guess”, I think series of experiences could help.