The language of lying

In this 2014 TED Talk, Noah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to illustrate how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselvesNoah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to illustrate how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselves.

Watch the video through and say whether the statements below are true or false.

You can also have a look and do to all the activities around this talk in the TED lesson here. It includes some comprehension questions, internet resources to go further into the topic and some questions for discussion.



1 We hear more than 200 lies a day.
2 It's not complicated to fool lie-detecting devices.
3 We lie to make ourselves look better in front of others.
4 Our conscious mind controls 95% of cognitive functions, including communication.
5 Imagined stories are very different from real ones as far as language use in concerned.
6 Liars use the first person when telling a lie.
7 Liars use more negative language.
8 Liars explain the events in a lie in a complex way.
9 The language structure in a lie is complex.
10 When Lance Armstrong admitted taking drugs, he used fewer pronouns.
11 When admitting fatherhood, Senator John Edwards used names and simple sentences.
12 Most lies we tell in life are harmless.

"Sorry, my phone died."
"It's nothing. I'm fine."
"These allegations are completely unfounded."
"The company was not aware of any wrongdoing."
"I love you."
We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day, and we spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect them, from medieval torture devices to polygraphs, blood pressure and breathing monitors, voice stress analyzers, eye trackers, infrared brain scanners, and even the 400-pound electroencephalogram.
But although such tools have worked under certain circumstances, most can be fooled with enough preparation, and none are considered reliable enough to even be admissible in court.
But, what if the problem is not with the techniques, but the underlying assumption that lying spurs physiological changes? What if we took a more direct approach, using communication science to analyze the lies themselves?
On a psychological level, we lie partly to paint a better picture of ourselves, connecting our fantasies to the person we wish we were rather than the person we are. But while our brain is busy dreaming, it's letting plenty of signals slip by. Our conscious mind only controls about 5% of our cognitive function, including communication, while the other 95% occurs beyond our awareness, and according to the literature on reality monitoring, stories based on imagined experiences are qualitatively different from those based on real experiences.
This suggests that creating a false story about a personal topic takes work and results in a different pattern of language use. A technology known as linguistic text analysis has helped to identify four such common patterns in the subconscious language of deception.
First, liars reference themselves less, when making deceptive statements. They write or talk more about others, often using the third person to distance and disassociate themselves from their lie, which sounds more false: "Absolutely no party took place at this house," or "I didn't host a party here."
Second, liars tend to be more negative, because on a subconscious level, they feel guilty about lying. For example, a liar might say something like, "Sorry, my stupid phone battery died. I hate that thing."
Third, liars typically explain events in simple terms since our brains struggle to build a complex lie.
Judgement and evaluation are complex things for our brains to compute. As a U.S. President once famously insisted: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
And finally, even though liars keep descriptions simple, they tend to use longer and more convoluted sentence structure, inserting unnecessary words and irrelevant but factual sounding details in order to pad the lie. Another President confronted with a scandal proclaimed: "I can say, categorically, that this investigation indicates that no one on the White House staff, no one in this administration presently employed was involved in this very bizarre incident."
Let's apply linguistic analysis to some famous examples. Take seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. When comparing a 2005 interview, in which he had denied taking performance-enhancing drugs to a 2013 interview, in which he admitted it, his use of personal pronouns increased by nearly 3/4.
Note the contrast between the following two quotes. First: "Okay, you know, a guy in a French, in a Parisian laboratory opens up your sample, you know, Jean-Francis so-and-so, and he tests it. And then you get a phone call from a newspaper that says: 'We found you to be positive six times for EPO." Second: "I lost myself in all of that. I'm sure there would be other people that couldn't handle it, but I certainly couldn't handle it, and I was used to controlling everything in my life. I controlled every outcome in my life."
In his denial, Armstrong described a hypothetical situation focused on someone else, removing himself from the situation entirely. In his admission, he owns his statements, delving into his personal emotions and motivations.
But the use of personal pronouns is just one indicator of deception. Let's look at another example from former Senator and U.S. Presidential candidate John Edwards: "I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to, or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby."
Not only is that a pretty long-winded way to say, "The baby isn't mine," but Edwards never calls the other parties by name, instead saying "that baby," "the woman," and "the apparent father."
Now let's see what he had to say when later admitting paternity: "I am Quinn's father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves." The statement is short and direct, calling the child by name and addressing his role in her life.
So how can you apply these lie-spotting techniques to your life? First, remember that many of the lies we encounter on a daily basis are far less serious that these examples, and may even be harmless. But it's still worthwhile to be aware of telltale clues, like minimal self-references, negative language, simple explanations and convoluted phrasing. It just might help you avoid an overvalued stock, an ineffective product, or even a terrible relationship.

Key: 
1F 2T 3T 4F 5T 6F 7T 8F 9T 10F 11T 12T

Talking point: Liars

The topic is this week's talking point is liars.  Before getting together with the members of you conversation group, go over the questions below, so that ideas flow more easily when you meet your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

What’s the connection between Pinocchio and a polygraph?
Why do people lie?
What do people usually lie about?
Are all lies bad or can you tell a good lie?
Is it OK to tell white lies?
How many lies do people tell in a day?
Do you know anyone who never lies?
Do some professions lend themselves more to telling lies?
In what situations do people tend to lie? (vg., the CV, teenagers lying about their age)
Have you ever told a lie that caused a problem for you?

Quotes. Discuss these remarks.
-    When someone starts by saying ‘To be honest…’, you can be certain they will lie to you.
-    The mouth may lie, but the face tells the truth.
-    Liars need to have good memories.
-    Lies have very short legs.

Work out the contexts for these lies. Where are the people? Who is speaking to whom?
'I can stop smoking whenever I want to.'
'Thank you. That’s just what I wanted.'
'He’s only a friend.'
'I wasn’t sacked. I resigned.'

What films or TV series do you remember where the main character is a liar?
What do you know about the TV series Mad Men and its main character, Don Draper?
Have you ever watched it?
Why is it so successful?
What topics does the series touch on?
Why would Don Draper come up in a lesson on lies?

If you have never heard of Don Draper, here it is a video which shows three key scenes in the first season.



scene 1
Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.
It’s toasted. I get it.

scene 2
But there is a rare occasion when the public can be engaged on a level beyond flash – if they have a sentimental bond with the product. My first job I was in house at a fur company, with this old pro of a copywriter, a Greek, named Teddy. Teddy told me the most important idea in advertising is “new.” It creates an itch. You simply put your product in there as a kind of calamine lotion. He also talked about a deeper bond with a product: nostalgia. It’s delicate, but potent. Sweetheart. Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a space ship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called a wheel, it’s called a carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Round and around, and back home again. To a place where we know we are loved

scene 3
Client: Is that all?
Don: You're a nonbeliever. Why should we waste time on kabuki?
Client: I don't know what that means.
Don: It means that you've already tried your plan, and you're number four. You've enlisted my expertise and you've rejected it to go on the way you've been going. I'm not interested in that. You can understand.
Client:I don't think your three months or however many thousands of dollars entitles you to refocus the core of our business...
Don: Listen. I'm not here to tell you about Jesus. You already know about Jesus. He either lives in your heart or He doesn't. Every woman wants choices. But in the end, none wants to be one of a hundred in a box. She's unique. She makes the choices and she's chosen him. She wants to tell the world, he's mine. He belongs to me, not you. She marks her man with her lips. He is her possession. You've given every girl that wears your lipstick the gift of total ownership.
Client: Sit down.
Don: No. Not until I know I'm not wasting my time.
Client: Sit down.

Sex offenders lie detector

Yesterday's talking point dealt with lies. To round off the topic we are posting a Skynews video activity about a controversial gadget, the polygraph or lie detector.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.



1 How long has the programme been going on in the UK?
2 Name at least three aspects of the human body that lie detectors test?
3 What does 85% refer to in the report?
4 What method is generally used to monitor sex offenders when they are released from prison?
5 Why were some offenders more likely to admit a crime during the pilot programme?
6 What does six months refer to at the end of the clip?

In many countries the polygraph is a key law enforcement tool, and now in this country the government is convinced mandatory lie detector tests for sex offenders are the way ahead. The organizers of a two a half year pilots in the Midlands say that regular tests made a significant impact in preventing reoffending.
Successes of course are always invisible, but I have no doubt that a number of offences were prevented in the course of the pilot. On some occasions it's offenders who have been recalled to prison who said if they hadn't been recalled when they were, they would have reoffended.
Polygraph tests work by measuring blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and perspiration, which experts say display subtle changes when someone lies. Studies have shown they have around 85% accuracy rate. I agreed to take part in a simple test.

Choose one of the numbers, any one, and it’s number…
Number three.
Then quite simply I was asked to lie about that number when questioning.
Did you pick the number three?
No.
Did you pick the number seven?
No.

But however convincing I might have thought I was, there is, it seems, no fooling the machine.
…what you responded  at  various places through the chart, but where you responded particularly to the number it shows a big cardio response there and also you can see here your galvanic and scheme response.
The polygraph test will work in tandem with other safeguards like the sex offenders register which are designed to monitor the likes paedofiles and rapists on release from prison.
I think it’s going to be an important tool for probation officers in managing sex offenders on license in that second part of the sentence when they’ve been released from custody and are liable to recall prison if their behaviour gives any cause for concern.
The pilot programme found those tested were two to three times more likely to admit to offending behaviour knowing they’d be caught out anyway by the polygraph. Eventually it’s hoped all high risk sex offenders on licence will be tested every six months. Mark White Sky News.

Talking point: Why do we lie?

In this week's talking point, we are dealing with the topic of lies. Get together with the members of your conversation group and discuss the questions below.

Why do we lie?

What do people usually lie about?

Do you know anyone who never lies?

Talk about the most honest person you know.

Talk about a person you know who lies very easily.

Are all lies bad or can you tell a good lie?

Is it OK to tell white lies?

How many lies did you hear today?

Have you ever told a lie that caused a problem for you?

Have you ever got into trouble because someone lied?

What do you think about these two remarks?

"Liars need to have good memories."

"Lies have very short legs."

To help you prepare your conversation session, you can read the Wall Street Journal article Why we lie by Dan Ariely.

We have already posted a number of entries around the topic of lies on this blog:

When is it OK to to tell a lie is a video from the Speakout series.

How to spot a liar is a TED talk.

How to detect a lie is a Howcast listening activity.

This Videojug clip can show you how you can detect if someone is lying to you. You can find a listening activity here.

Speakout Intermediate: When is it OK to tell a lie? (tales)

How do you find out what's happening in the world?
Do you always believe what you see or read in the news?
When is it OK to tell a lie?
Tell me about a time you told a lie.

Watch this video clip where some native English speakers answer the questions above.




Now you can answer the questions about yourself.

You can read the transcript here.