“Are you a perfect liar?”

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Of all the questions that arise when I doing training, the one I least expected was, “Since you understand deception so well, are you the perfect liar?”

I remember the first time it was asked, I was blown away.

In real life, people trust me and tell me I have an honest face, so this was a bit alarming! Why would anyone think that of me, I thought. But when I thought about it more, I could see the point of the question.

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

But there is good news! The answer is no, I am not the perfect liar nor could I be, even knowing what I know about deception and human behavior.

And the reason is simple. Clues leak to deception for two reasons:  First because we are under a higher cognitive load when we tell a lie–we have to balance the truth from a lie) which causes clues to leak naturally.  And second, because we want to succeed with our lie, we naturally put pressure on ourselves to succeed and that pressure increases our cognitive load emotionally, which also causes clues to leak.

The more pressure on a person to get away with a lie, the higher likelihood they will leak clues. And in high stake scenarios, we naturally put pressure on ourselves with our desire to be successful and hence we slip up.

So while I know what the clues to deception are, if I try to make sure cognitively that I don’t display any of them, what am I doing to my cognitive load?

I’m sending it through the moon, aren’t I? So what are the chances I would leak clues? The chances are greatly elevated.

Just imagine my thought process trying to tell a lie…blah, blah, blah…don’t forget you can’t stare someone dead in the face, don’t move your shoulder or your lip…what was I saying, oh yeah…blah, blah, blah…did I just move my shoulder?  Bahhh!!!  What was I saying?   Oh yeah, blah, blah…wait…don’t skip pronouns, confuse verb tense — uh…stutter, stutter…. at this point, my lie would blaring for all the world to see LOL!

So while I may understand deception on a detailed level, it doesn’t mean I would be the perfect liar.

And furthermore that is why I am comfortable openly teaching my material to people because if I teach my material to someone sinister, its very unlikely for even more reasons than I am discussing here that he or she will be able to become a better liar either.  Actually, the converse is true. If they focus on all the clues I teach, it will only cause them to leak even more clues, which is candy for me!

Update: For those who are curious what makes a good liar, this article is for you.

“Nothing Gets Past Real-life Human Lie Detector”

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I thought you might enjoy seeing this article that was featured in the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday.

My Favorite Video

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This is my absolute favorite video promo from Lie to Me.

I can’t help but sing that song.

I just love it!

Behind the Scenes Video of ‘Lie to Me’

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I’d be fibbing if I told you I wasn’t looking forward to the new show on FOX coming out this month called Lie to Me. I am really excited for the concepts and work of Dr. Paul Ekman and his colleague Dr. Maureen O’Sullivan to finally get mainstream media attention so that the average person understands what human lie detection is all about.

So many times when I’ve shared my biggest passion in life with people that I have a talent to spot deception (that was studied by Ekman/O’Sullivan), I get a response of “Oh my sister is in to psychic stuff, too.” You don’t know how exasperating that is! I’m not into psychic stuff, and find that comment annoying because it shows a total lack of understanding of the concepts I just spoke about. But of course, with anything new, it takes time for new knowledge to be understood and respected.

I have no doubt in 100 years this science will be vital to all societies who seek justice and truth, but at this time, we are on the infant stages of recognizing this as a science. So I am hoping this show is a whopping success because it will help people open their mind to a new concept — a concept I am very passionate about, a topic I have put my heart and soul into for 4 years.

Are you planning on watching the show?

Lie to Me

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Have you heard about the new show coming out on Fox on January 21, 2009? It’s called Lie to Me. It’s based on the life’s work of Dr. Paul Ekman.

Dr. Paul Ekman, and his colleague Dr. Maureen O’Sullivan discovered truth wizards (I’m one of them). The show is going to be about people who have my ability!

Perhaps I will relate most to Ria Torres played by Monica Raymund (see below for her character description) since we are both “naturals”. Once the show airs, I will be sure to let you know if I do!

Read moreFrom Fox:

The average person tells three lies in ten minutes of conversation.

DR. CAL LIGHTMAN (Tim Roth, “The Incredible Hulk,” “Reservoir Dogs”) can detect the truth by analyzing a person’s face, body, voice and speech. When someone shrugs one shoulder, rotates their hand or raises their lower lip, Lightman knows they’re lying. By analyzing facial expressions, he can read feelings – from hidden resentment to sexual attraction to jealousy. But as Lightman well knows, his scientific ability is both a blessing and a curse in his personal life, where family and friends deceive each other as readily as criminals and strangers do. Lightman is the world’s leading deception expert, a scientist who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why.

Lightman heads a team of experts at The Lightman Group who assist federal law enforcement, government agencies and local police with their most difficult cases. DR. GILLIAN FOSTER (Kelli Williams, “The Practice”) is a gifted psychologist and Lightman’s professional partner who brings balance to the partnership by looking at the bigger picture while Lightman focuses on the details. He needs her guidance and insight into human behavior, whether he knows it or not. ELI LOKER (Brendan Hines, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES) is Lightman’s lead researcher, who is so uncomfortable with the human tendency to lie that he’s decided to practice what he calls “radical honesty.” He says everything on his mind at all times and often pays the price. RIA TORRES (Monica Raymund, “Law and Order: SVU”) is the newest member of the agency, and one of the few “naturals” in the field of deception detection. She has a raw, untrained ability to read people that makes her a force to be reckoned with.

The shows senior creator says:

“I’ve spent close to a year with Paul now,” Baum says of Ekman, who will serve as a consultant on the drama. “The amazing thing about Paul’s work, it focuses on four areas, which you’ll learn about in the show, which is the study of the human face, the body, the voice and speech. And just focusing on the face for a moment, the remarkable thing about this work is that we all show emotion the same way. There are seven basic emotions of anger, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt, we show them all identically, whether you’re a suburban housewife in the OC or you’re a Saudi sheik in Saudi Arabia. So it’s a universal phenomenon, the science, and that’s why I feel it can really reach a broad audience.”

Don’t forget to set your DVR: Wednesday, January 21 9/8c.