The Sad Truth about Lie Detection

How to get (somewhat) better at this challenging skill

A quick note

Thanks for visiting The Jazz of Negotiation! When you have a chance, check out the Welcome announcement to get a feel for this publication’s purpose, its broad scope, and the variety of content it provides.

---

A pack of lies

Wouldn’t it be great to have a mini lie-detector on hand whenever you’re in situations like these?

Case A. You find a new car you really love. The salesman spots your interest and says, “Another couple is coming back at 1:30 to test drive this vehicle.” Is that fact or fiction? If it’s true, you’d better seal the deal. But if it’s just standard sales patter, maybe there’s no risk in trying to  bargain the price down.

Case B. A prospective customer claims that “You’ve got to lower the price 10 percent just to match what your competition is asking.” Should you buckle or hold firm?

Case C. Or, you’re interviewing candidates for a position in your company. One of them says, “Yes, I’ve looked at other opportunities, but joining your organization is by far my first choice.” That’s great if it’s genuine, but maybe they’re just looking to improve their leverage negotiating with some other firm. If so, you may lose other viable candidates while pursuing the faker.

The bad news is that there is no gadget for detecting lies. What’s worse, extensive research shows that most of us do no better at lie detection than if we just flipped a coin. That flaw means we lose two times over. First, we pay a price when we trust deceitful people. Second, we lose out when we turn our back on others who are being utterly honest with us.

This is the first of two full articles this week. It explains why lie detection is often difficult and offers suggestions about how you can become somewhat better at it. (And that’s well worth the effort.) On Thursday, March 25, I’ll publish a sequel that includes short video clips that will give you a chance to test your skill at spotting liars.

---

Myths about lie detection

Most commonly held notions about lie detection are bogus. Eye contact, for example, tells us nothing. There are people who can look you directly in the eye while trying to sell you the proverbial Brooklyn Bridge. And there are others who glance away while telling you the gospel truth. They may be shy or deferential. In some cultures, looking at directly at others is considered rude.

Also fallacious is the tale that when someone looks up to the right (or looks up to the left, as some others say), he or she is spinning a lie. Again, there’s no scientific research to back that up.

But what about somebody who gets fidgety when they say something important in the midst of a negotiation? It could be that they fear being caught in a lie. But just as plausible, they might be telling you the truth, but worried you won’t believe them.

The first step in getting better at reading lies is freeing yourself from all the hokum that’s been said about it.

---

Reading micro-expressions

There are, in fact, scientifically confirmed nonverbal signs can give us a hint about possible lies. Paul Ekman has done ground-breaking work in this realm, though he cautions that these cues have to be carefully interpreted. I highly recommend his book Emotion Revealed, especially his chapter on lie detection.

Ekman’s specialty is on fleeting facial expressions that last for only a tenth of a second or less. It takes training for most of us to spot them. Even the person who displays the emotion may not be fully aware of what his or her face reveals, as those feelings are rapidly suppressed.

Ekman’s research has focused on seven universal emotions that are consistently displayed regardless of culture or gender: anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. Any or all of those feelings can be triggered in a negotiation, sometimes repeatedly.

In my MBA classes, I’ve used an online training tool that Ekman has developed to sharpen people’s ability to spot flashes of feeling. In the picture below, that’s contempt on the left and anger on the right, neither of which you want to see from someone else when you’re negotiating. It’s one thing to distinguish faces in a still photo, of course, but quite another when it pops up for only an instant.

Ekman’s basic training takes less than an hour to complete. Surprisingly, when people do it, the learning sticks, as I can personally attest. Ekman cautions, though, that spotting a micro-expression is just the first step. You have to put what you’ve seen in context.

For example, somebody may show a flash of anger. What could that mean? Perhaps they resent what you just offered or maybe they don’t like your tone of voice. Then again, maybe they’re angry at themselves for negotiating poorly. Or maybe it’s something else entirely unrelated that just happened to cross their mind.

Ekman calls these “hot spots.” To interpret their meaning, you need a baseline, a sense of someone’s personality, their general manner of speaking, and how they conduct themselves to put any one moment in a broader context. When there’s a deviation and it looks like you touched a nerve, be patient. Wait a bit, then go back and raise again what you had been discussing or the question you posed. Experiment, as well. Bring up the issue in another way and see if you get a different reaction.

The people who are good at lie detection—and there are very few—are surprisingly humble about their skill. They see or hear something that seems suspicious, but they actively consider benign interpretations. Their modesty and curiosity are the cornerstones of their success. Emulate that attitude yourself.

---

The negotiation within

Hastings Law School Professor Clark Freshman has written extensively about the connection between emotional intelligence and lie detection.¹ Sensing what other people are feeling is part of the equation, of course. But Clark says that self-awareness is equally important.

That means being mindful of the feelings and assumptions that you bring to the bargaining table. If you’re wary and suspicious, you risk distorting other people’s words and behavior to make them consistent with your fears. Similarly, if you’re in an especially upbeat and generous mood, you may miss subtle signs that you’re not being told the whole story. Psychologists call this confirmation bias.

Clark also addresses cognitive load. If we get so absorbed in reading our counterpart’s nonverbal cues, we may compromise our capacity to engage in the substantive part of the negotiation. Indeed, the other party may sense that you’re scrutinizing them and react negatively.

---

Next steps

I’ve stressed here the challenges entailed in trying to read other people’s minds especially when it comes to truth-telling. Omniscience isn’t in the cards. But we can get better over time, by working on it. The payoff off can be significant. I’ve recommended here Ekman’s book and his online training. If you know of other resources, please share them with me and your fellow Jazz readers.

You also may practice attentiveness when you’re attending meetings that aren’t particularly important to you. Watch other people’s faces. Look for hot spots where somebody’s behavior seems to have changed. What might they be feeling and what prompted that? Watch yourself, as well. Did you just jump to a conclusion? Remember to consider other explanations.

You’ll have a chance to practice by reviewing videos testing your skills in the follow-up article on this topic coming Thursday, March 25.

Housekeeping

Just by signing up for Jazz of Negotiation, you’ll get free access to a full article, plus a shorter post 50 weeks a year, delivered by email. Paid subscribers get additional content: Q and A threads, videos, and from time to time short exercises, with more to come.

Please share the news with people in your network who’d like to sharpen their negotiation skills.

1. “Lie Detection and the Negotiation Within,” 16 Harvard Negotiation Law Review, pp. 263-296, 2011.