How to Spot a Lie

Pamela Meyer is the author of the book "Liespotting" and spoke at the TED Global conference on lying in our everyday lives and how to spot lies in other people. Studies show that on an average day you are lied to 10 to 200 hundred times. Strangers lie on average three times in the first ten minutes of meeting each other. Some of the lying myths she talks about are that liars don't look you in the eyes and will fidget or stammer. The opposite actually tends to be true. With practice someone will be able to tell what is a lie from statement structure, facial micro-expressions, question formation and timing. Some subtle signs of lying are tense or abnormal posture, using distancing or qualifying language, or signs of post-interview relief.

This was an extremely interesting article. I thought it was crazy that you could be lied to 200 times in one day. But I thought a little more about it and I decided I don't really want to always be able to tell if someone is lying. Sure it would be helpful in some scenarios like if you're a lawyer or a poker player, but most of the time you would just know someone is lying to you but not know what to do about it. Most lies are small, so if you confronted someone it would seem like you were overreacting yet you're still curious why they would be lying to you. It would mostly make life more complicated. The way I look at it I will try to be honest and hope others are honest towards me and that's all I can really ask for.

 "How to Spot a Lie - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/13/opinion/meyer-lie-spotting/index.html>.