Myth BUSTED: Eye Movement (NLP) and Lying

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Many people are taught today and continue to believe that if someone as they are talking gazes upwards and to the left (your left)–then they are lying.  The theory is called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP believes when we gaze up and to the left, we are imaging. We only recall memories looking up to the right.

I don’t believe this for a minute.

I asked my readers to help me look for examples of people who shifted their eye gaze up and to the left, and are honest to help put an end to this myth.

The FBI has even put out a publication in their bulletin denouncing it as credible in June 2011. See here.

“Twenty-three out of 24 peer-reviewed studies published in scientific journals reporting experiments on eye behavior as an indicator of lying have rejected this hypothesis.”

Watch Mike Bloomberg talk in this video below.  In the first 15 seconds, watch his eyes gaze up and to the left.

He says, “I don’t have anything in common with people who sit there and say oh my god, it was terrible. It’s water under the bridge or the dam, so get on with it.”

You can tell he is not lying. He has no reason to.

People move their eyes all over in conversations –up, down, right, left and sideways–and the only thing you can glean from it is that a person is simply thinking.  That’s it. We think when we tell the truth and we think when we lie.  So it tells us nothing else.

Here is another one for you. Watch Fred Armisen answer a question about liking Molly Shannon. He looks up to the right and then to the left as he answers the question!

This is in French, but this Paris hostage has nothing to gain by lying and reading the sub-titles you can see she isn’t saying anything worthy of lying, but she clearly looks up and to the left.

In this video below, there are a lot of eye gazes when you watch in both directions. But there is also an up an to the left at time marker 11:01 by the woman in pink, Kara Swisher, and clearly she is not lying. She says, “There has been a big war on talents and payments.”

Please feel free post more examples in the comment section below that you find to stop this myth once and for all.  Once people see it with their own eyes, they will likely believe it is untrue.

Many thanks to the people who are helping me squelch the myths! A big shout out to M.A.!

“Honestly!”

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How many times have you heard someone say, “To tell you the truth…” or “To be honest with you…”

Does it make you doubt their sincerity?

Many people believe when someone does this, they are lying.

I have always taken exception to this rule because I am one who truly sees when people don’t believe me and so I will emphasize specifically that I am being honest by saying those exact phrases.

To think people are judging others on this statement concerns me.

Can a liar say these statements?  Absolutely!

But so can an honest person, and if you are going to use this as a clue, then you should be able to delineate when its used truthfully and when its used dishonestly. And I don’t believe that can be done, so I say its a worthless clue.  Forget about it!

Here is an example:  Today when reading the news about a family who is burying their lesbian daughter, her word choice “Honestly” stood out to me. Some people would automatically say she’s lying. But her you can see there is no motive for her lie here, and that she IS saying the truth.

What examples can you find of people saying the following when you know they are being honest?

To tell you the truth…
To be honest with you…
Believe me…
Trust me.
Honestly.

Are you up for the challenge?  Post your links below!

Also, do you know of a myth in deception that needs busting?  If so, let us know!

Deception Myths: Week One

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My mission in 2015 is to help eradicate the myths to deception detection. There are so many “clues” that I believe are myths floating around that we need to do something to stop it once and for all.

How can we do that?

It’s quite simple. We can take each myth and find people who are telling the truth who exhibit the so-called “clue” or “myth”. If people can see someone telling the truth in a real and genuine environment doing the “clue” that should help eradicate a lot of myths out there!

Are you in for the task?

I need your help, commitment and dedication.

Each week I will charge you with a new task–go look for someone in a news story, on a TV show, in a documentary where we know with reasonable certainty they are telling the truth doing the behavior of the week!

This week’s task: Look for someone telling the truth who looks up and to the left. Many people are taught that when we construct imaginary stories, we gaze up to the left.

I believe this is a myth because we look up, down, left or right when thinking regardless of the fact we are telling the truth or a lie. It’s individual and not this simplistic!

Can you find example? If so, please post it below or email it to me.

Good luck and thank you!

Snake River (Dateline) Charles Capone and David Stone

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Did you catch Dateline NBC this week?  They profiled the story and disappearance of Rachael Anderson. Rachel disappeared in 2010. Police looked everywhere for her, but couldn’t find her.

In 2013, her ex-husband Charles Capone and his friend David Stone were arrested for her murder, though Rachel’s body has never been found. The case was solely build on circumstantial evidence.

Stone eventually turned and became a state’s witness for leniency and testified against Capone. Stone says that he saw Capone kill his wife and helped him dispose of her body. The reason he said he never came forward is that he was a afraid of Capone, which I say is utter nonsense.

I didn’t believe a word David Stone said on Dateline.

And I ironically didn’t see any hotspots in Capone.

Capone has since been convicted of murder, and is awaiting sentencing. Stone was convicted as an accessory and could be out in as little as 18 months.

While I don’t know what the truth is here, I believe we have yet to hear the truth of what happened to Rachael Anderson.  I am not buying Stone’s story. I wish there were more interviews of Capone to sift through.

What did you think when you watched the show?

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Note:  My opinion of Charles Capone is assuming his interviews were prior to his conviction.  If this is incorrect, please let me know.

Phylicia Rashad Speaks Out

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Phylicia Rashad speaks out with a fake smile and a notably mad undertone in her voice. You can see her squint her eyes and purse her lips as she talks. All hint that she is steaming mad inside masking it by a soft voice and her social smile.

Rashad says, “What has happened is declaration in the media of guilt….without proof.”

When Reshad says this, she looses all credibility to me because she is basically saying a victim cannot speak out and share a story. She is not supporting free speech in any way. She is condemning almost 30 women for doing so! And if you notice she doesn’t even mention them. She just calls them “media”.  It’s rather appalling.  I wish she could have come out with a better argument, personally.

When challenged if she said earlier in the week, “Forget the women”, Reshad basically supports the quote was likely true! She doesn’t change her approach at all. She just re-words it by saying the same thing.

She says, “This is not about the women,” which is essentially dismissing them again–like forgetting them.

She goes on to say, “This is about an obliteration of a legacy.”

Yes, it’s all about poor Cosby, Mr. Reshad, not the women.

Why didn’t you just own what you originally said?

When Reshad says about the drugs and rape, “I can’t speak to those things and don’t want to” she squints her eyes again, which is a very negative response. I call it being “critical”.  It’s a form of disapproval.

It’s very clear that Reshad’s own legacy is being affected by Cosby. She was his side kick and if he goes down, she will be affected as well. She still got attention because of the Cosby show even after decades, but that will all disappear if Cosby is outcast. And whether she wants to admit it or not, it will affect her bottom line to one degree or another without question, if it hasn’t already.

What Reshad fails to see clearly is that Cosby was not going to do anything to anyone sexually or risky who had power and control. He was too smart to do that. That would have been his downfall and so hence, Reshad was safe.  Reshad was someone, who if she discovered his secret or was a target, could expose him in a big way–so he kept her in the dark with purpose and intention.  He also needed to keep his allies and clearly she is one worth protecting.  She is fiercely loyal no matter what.

What I think we see here is someone very upset for herself, and unable to look at the victims for who they really are. Very sad, if you ask me.