Misrepresentation

When someone is using misrepresentation to present a lie they are distorting the facts to intentionally mislead or create a false impression. This is is done in a few ways:

Spinning the truth- “Spinning” is used to reframe the perception of an issue, it is commonly understood as a form of propaganda that relies on deceptive methods of persuasion. For example, a PR person or a sales person might “spin” an issue resulting in it being perceived as a positive.

Stating Opinion as fact- This tactic is increasingly more present in the digital media world. One way this could appear is telling an incomplete story to change the overall interpretation of its meaning. Or, individual using this method of deception might say, “It is obvious that…” or “Everyone would agree that…” to imply that it is factual.

Revisionist Argument- “Revisionist” refers to conscious intentional misstatements about occurrences in the past, whether recent or distant. When confronted, a revisionist may simply create another revision. This is commonly seen in interrogations that utilize the REID technique, in which subjects explain their timeline of events, which is compared against evidence. If the timeline does not match, the subject is confronted, providing the opportunity to be honest or revise.

Euphemisms- Euphemisms are soothing words meant to take away the harsh impact of words with a strong negative association. For example, rather than saying “he died,” one might more commonly say “he passed away".” Euphemisms are commonly used to deliver a lie in a more gentle way, often presenting a partial truth.

Omission

A lie of omission is the deliberate withholding of important facts or information regarding a person, event, life history, or scenario which leads the person receiving the incomplete information to perceive and act differently than they would have if given the full information.

An example of a lie of omission:

A wife returns from a night out with her friends, and her husband asks her how her night went.

Lie (with omissions): She responds “it was great, I met up with the girls at 9 and we went to the club for a few drinks. I got back to Stacy’s at about 3 and we slept in until noon today! Then we went and got some food, and now here I am!”

Truth (without omissions): I met up with the girls at 9 and we went to the club for a few drinks. I met a guy there and ended up hooking up with him and going back to his place. Then we slept in till about noon, got food, and I came back here.”

Fabrication

Fabrication is deliberately inventing an untruth or spreading falsehood such as gossip or a rumor. This is your standard lie. Sometimes a compulsive liar will use fabrication as a means to get themselves out of another previously told lie.

Someone telling a lie will often show signs of deception such as:

1. Being vague and offering few details

2. Failing to provide specific details when a story is challenged

3. Story changes over time, or when presented with questions or challenges

4. Repeating questions or statements before responding to them

5. Indifference: Shrugging, lack of expression, bored posture. This can indicate the individual is attempting to suppress an emotional response.

6. Grooming behaviors such as playing with hair or pressing fingers to lips

It is important to know that when detecting lies, body language can be incredibly difficult to interpret. While some individuals might use grooming behaviors during deception, for others these are baseline actions not associated with lying.

Lying is mentally exhausting, whereas telling the truth typically is not. If you add more cognitive complexity, their cues may become more clear to see. One way to uncover deception is to ask the individual the details of the story in reverse. If they begin to change parts of the story, or it doesn’t align with what they first told you- that may be a sign of deception.

Exaggeration

One of the most common ways to transform a boring story into an interesting one is to exaggerate. Yet, when exaggeration goes too far it can be used to mislead others to believe events occurred under a false narrative.

Exaggeration is playing with the truth. It typically comes from a place of insecurity, and is often harmless, but it can be indicative of a familiarity with deception.

Lack of Transparency

Someone who frequently lies may show less transparency in relationships than normal. They may intentionally withhold information that they know would illicit a negative response, or they might take part in activities that they intentionally hide or make private.

A lack of transparency can be a personal boundary which is healthy and normal in functioning relationships, but if it begins to feel as if your partner is actively hiding something, transparency is an issue.

Redirection

When confronted or faced with pressure, the liar might deflect blame to another person in order to prevent personal responsibility. Misdirection can often look like a long-worded unclear answer to a simple yes or no question.

The intention of misdirection is to create doubt in the person asking the question. Often, the liar will project onto the person asking the question, attempting to make them feel negative emotions for asking the question. Redirection can appear similar to spinning.