WEBVTT

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"Sorry, my phone died."

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"It's nothing. I'm fine."

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"These allegations 
are completely unfounded."

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"The company was not aware
of any wrongdoing."

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"I love you."

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We hear anywhere
from 10 to 200 lies a day,

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and we spent much of our history
coming up with ways to detect them,

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from medieval torture devices
to polygraphs,

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blood pressure and breathing monitors,
voice stress analyzers,

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eye trackers, infrared brain scanners,

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and even 
the 400-pound electroencephalogram.

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But although such tools have worked
under certain cirumstances,

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most can be fooled 
with enough preparation,

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and none are considered reliable enough
to even be admissible in court.

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But, what if the problem 
is not with the techniques,

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but the underlying assumption
that lying spurs physiological changes?

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What if we took a more direct approach,

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using communication science
to analyze the lies themselves?

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On a psychological level, we lie partly
to paint a better picture of ourselves,

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connecting our fantasies
to the person we wish we were

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rather than the person we are.

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But while our brain is busy dreaming,
it's letting plenty of signals slip by.

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Our conscious mind only controls 
about 5% of our cognitive function,

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including communication,

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while the other 95% occurs
beyond our awareness,

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and according to the literature
on reality monitoring,

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stories based on imagined experiences

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are qualitatively different
from those based on real experiences.

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This suggests that creating a false story
about a personal topic takes work

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and results in a different
pattern of language use.

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A technology 
known as linguistic text analysis

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has helped to identify
four such common patterns

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in the subconscious language of deception.

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First, liars reference themselves less,
when making deceptive statements.

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They write or talk more about others,
often using the third person

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to distance and disassociate
themselves from their lie,

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which sounds more false:

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"Absolutely no party took 
place at this house,"

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or "I didn't host a party here."

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Second, liars tend to be more negative,

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because on a subconscious level,
they feel guilty about lying.

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For example, a liar might say 
something like,

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"Sorry, my stupid phone battery 
died. I hate that thing."

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Third, liars typically explain 
events in simple terms

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since our brains struggle
to build a complex lie.

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Judgement and evaluation

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are complex things
for our brains to compute.

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As a U.S. President once 
famously insisted:

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"I did not have sexual relations
with that woman."

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And finally, even though liars 
keep descriptions simple,

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they tend to use longer 
and more convoluted sentence structure,

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inserting unnecessary words

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and irrelevant but factual 
sounding details in order to pad the lie.

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Another President confronted 
with a scandal proclaimed:

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"I can say, categorically, 
that this investigation indicates

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that no one on the White House staff,

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no one in this administration
presently employed

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was involved 
in this very bizarre incident."

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Let's apply linguistic analysis
to some famous examples.

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Take seven-time Tour de France
winner Lance Armstrong.

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When comparing a 2005 interview,

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in which he had denied taking
performance-enhancing drugs

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to a 2013 interview,
in which he admitted it,

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his use of personal pronouns
increased by nearly 3/4.

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Note the contrast 
between the following two quotes.

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First: "Okay, you know, a guy 
in a French, in a Parisian laboratory

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opens up your sample, you know,
Jean-Francis so-and-so, and he tests it.

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And then you get a phone call
from a newspaper that says:

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'We found you to be positive
six times for EPO."

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Second: "I lost myself in all of that.

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I'm sure there would be other people
that couldn't handle it,

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but I certainly couldn't handle it,

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and I was used to controlling 
everything in my life.

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I controlled every outcome in my life."

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In his denial, Armstrong described
a hypothetical situation

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focused on someone else,

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removing himself 
from the situation entirely.

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In his admission, he owns his statements,

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delving into his personal emotions 
and motivations.

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But the use of personal pronouns
is just one indicator of deception.

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Let's look at another example
from former Senator

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and U.S. Presidential candidate
John Edwards:

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"I only know that the apparent 
father has said publicly

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that he is the father of the baby.

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I also have not been engaged 
in any activity of any description

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that requested, agreed to, 
or supported payments of any kind

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to the woman 
or to the apparent father of the baby."

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Not only is that a pretty long-winded
way to say, "The baby isn't mine,"

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but Edwards never calls
the other parties by name,

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instead saying "that baby," "the woman,"
and "the apparent father."

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Now let's see what he had to say
when later admitting paternity:

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"I am Quinn's father.

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I will do everything 
in my power to provide her

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with the love and support she deserves."

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The statement is short and direct,

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calling the child by name 
and addressing his role in her life.

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So how can you apply these
lie-spotting techniques to your life?

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First, remember that many of the lies
we encounter on a daily basis

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are far less serious that these examples,
and may even be harmless.

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But it's still worthwhile 
to be aware of telltale clues,

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like minimal self-references,
negative language,

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simple explanations 
and convoluted phrasing.

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It just might help you avoid
an overvalued stock,

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an ineffective product,
or even a terrible relationship.