To Catch A Liar

Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany said that if a lie is repeated often enough, it will eventually be believed as true; no matter how big the lie. That must have been one of the few times he did not lie! And the worse is, the bigger the lie, the easier it is believed. It sounds so unbelievable, therefore it must be true!

Men and woman lie for different reasons. Men, initially, are poor liars. They usually only lie when they think they have to and are normally caught out. Women, on the other hand, are excellent liars and lie when they think they can get away with it; and they normally do.

Lying is a repetitive action. A lie left on it’s own will soon betray itself. It will quickly need another lie to cover some of the inconsistencies of previous lies. Men will mostly leave this for too long and be caught. This is what makes women such excellent liars; they will tell a small lie at first to pave the way for a bigger lie to follow, which is then swallowed hook, line and sinker.

But a man is a fast learner. He very quickly learns to be as convincing a liar as any woman.

Because one lie leads to another, and another and another to keep up continuity, the liar needs to keep track of his lies. This is best done by believing your own lies. At this stage lying had become a way of living and the liar’s entire life is a lie.

The problem is that the liar not only lies to Mary, also to Peter and Paul. But Mary, Peter and Paul are very different individuals with different circumstances and therefore need different lies to fit the situation. This can work ok if the liar can keep track of his lies… until Mary, Peter and Paul get together one day.

Nothing can annoy me more than somebody lying to me; particularly so if the lie was volunteered. I am a good listener, especially for what is said between the lines and for what is not said at all. Those are what normally betray the accomplished liar. And liars tend to repeat their lies – remember what Goebbels said. And he will invent new lies to justify old lies. This is where the small inconsistencies come to light. You see, Goebbels stuck to the same lie. Others allow their lies to grow by adding bits of detail every time the story is told. His undoing!

To catch a liar, never challenge him. Let him believe that you believe him. Ask for detail, if you must, but only superficially. Never interrogate him. He’ll tell you the truth eventually.

How do I know these things? Simple, I'm the biggest liar of them all. Don't believe a word that I said.