How liars lie | Profile

It is common for us to find people who use persuasion skills to achieve their objectives, which can be expected to be acceptable, since it is about influencing to convince using legitimate and ethical arguments, with the aim of honestly changing their opinion or behavior. However, among these individuals there are those who resort directly to lies as a strategy to achieve their purposes.

One of the techniques used by tricksters involves emotional manipulation. Skilled liars know how to appeal to our emotions to gain our trust and manipulate us by using compelling and dramatic stories to build empathy and establish an emotional connection. For example, a salesperson might tell us a story about how his product “saved” a person in a difficult situation.

Another ruse involves the creation of false credibility. Expert liars know how to build a credible image to back up their claims. Use fake titles, awards, and testimonials to appear authoritative on a given topic. Salespeople may claim to have received multiple awards in their industry, while politicians may highlight alleged career achievements.

The use of selective information is another of the elements that these people use, and they do it by carefully selecting which information to present and which to omit to create a favorable image. They use misleading statistics or show only part of the story to support their point of view. For example, a financial fraudster may highlight exceptional gains that some of his clients made, but omit cases of significant losses.

Also, liars have a hard time maintaining a coherent story over time. You may contradict yourself on key details or change your version of events. Rogue sellers may promote different benefits of a product on different occasions, while politicians may change their stance depending on their target audience. Pay attention to inconsistencies in the accounts and ask specific questions to assess the consistency of the information provided. There is nothing better than keeping records of the statements made in order to identify any subsequent changes or contradictions.

Often, liars reveal their deception through their body language and nonverbal cues: they may avoid eye contact, display excessive nervousness, or use gestures inconsistent with their words. Politicians, for example, can evade direct questions or divert attention to other issues. Paying attention to nonverbal cues, such as tone of voice, posture, and gestures; observing if there is coherence between what is said and what is shown; Seeing if there is something that seems out of place, we may be able to discover that there is a hidden lie in that situation.

Detecting lies in everyday life, politics, and business can be challenging, but with the right techniques, it is possible to protect yourself from skilled liars. Remaining objective, fact-checking (with data), paying attention to non-verbal cues, and conducting thorough research before making important decisions will make us better equipped to spot these types of scams and protect our interests. Honesty and transparency are essential in any business or political relationship.

Paulo Coelho developed the best phrase that, in my opinion, marks a clear ethical and moral dividing line between the two concepts: “persuasion is the tool of leaders, lies are the strategy of the weak”.

* Engineer specialized in strategies, innovation and digital transformation.

By Robert Collins

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