How to spot a liar

Fibs have been flying so fast throughout this season of The Traitors that it’s hard to keep up. From Charlotte Berman’s fake Welsh accent (she’s actually from London) to Leanne Quigley’s fake job as a nail technician (she’s actually a former soldier) and Lisa Coupland covering up that she’s an Anglican priest.

In a show laced with deceit, bare-faced lies are to be expected. But, the fact is, the average person tells 1.3 lies a day (the worst one per cent of regularly tell more than 15 a day), according to research by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

There’s lots of factors that can make it easier for people to get away with telling falsehoods. “Physical appearance certainly helps,” says Jody Freshwater, managing director of Silverbridge, a corporate investigations and intelligence agency. Puppy-dog eyes and a soft voice, for example, can help to round the edges off and make some appear harmless, she explains.

Stephanie Davies, behavioural psychologist and founder of Laughology, a consultancy that advises organisations about behaviour change, explains that likeability can help people to have influence over a group. “We do not realise it,” she says, “but we make decisions based on emotions”.

How to spot a liar

The devil is in the detail

To expose a liar, you need to stick to the facts and try not to get emotionally invested in gut feelings.

“It’s a human trait to want to rely on instinct,” explains Freshwater. “We’ve had cases where clients are convinced of their instincts rather than the facts we present to them during due diligence. The reality is that the type of professional liars engaged in white collar crime and sophisticated frauds that we investigate can be very good at what they do. When you are inside a lie it can be difficult to see.”

Freshwater offers some advice to the remaining Traitor-hunters in Friday’s final: “A common tactic to uncover lies during an interrogation is to get the person you are investigating to speak as much as possible and to get them to commit to as much detail as possible. It is often in that detail that they get themselves caught out and become inconsistent in their stories. When you present the inconsistency to them, they must create another lie to cover it, and through that process you can start to dismantle the deceit.”

Exaggerated body language

Sometimes liars will try to cover deceit with body language, and often the act of consciously attempting to mimic an unconscious reaction looks exaggerated. Davies says: “Laughing too hard at jokes, being overly-jubilant at a victory. These are signs that someone is trying to consciously direct you into believing they genuinely are reacting in the way they are presenting.”

Stress signals

According to former FBI agent, Jim Clemente, stress can indicate lying. He says signs of stress can include a higher voice pitch and drinking more frequently or swallowing deeply because stress reduces salivation. Stress also releases adrenaline and this can cause increased fidgeting, which can be another physical clue.

Behaviour change

If someone’s mannerisms change suddenly, and they start acting out of character, this can indicate that they are hiding a secret. In the show, when faithfuls become traitors, their demeanour can change from easy-going and laid back to overnight seemingly became more serious and more engaged in gossiping, Davies explains.

Too good to be true

If someone or something seems too good to be true, it generally is, particularly in the case of fraudsters. As Freshwater explains: “Professional liars know that they must include something in the lie that is attractive to the victim and that encourages them to cross the Rubicon and commit to the lie. If someone is offering you something that seems too good to be true, you should be very careful.”

Once you are on the hook, it becomes harder to detach yourself.

Freshwater continues: “Often, once a fraud victim is in the lie, the desire to keep wanting to believe they haven’t lost hundreds of thousands of pounds means that they can remain open to even more lies.”

Self-soothing

Some people habitually rub their faces, cover their mouths or stroke their hair at times of stress. This is called self-soothing. Not everyone does it. Look for inconsistencies.