'Lie to Me': is it for real? Four books say it's possible to detect a liar and they'll show you how

Fox's edgy new drama, Lie To Me, is based on the premise that, as long as you know what to look for, it is possible to not only identify when someone is lying, but why they've got their pants on fire to boot.

Does this really stand up to scientific scrutiny?

Lie to Me is based on the research of Paul Ekman, an emotions and nonverbal communication expert. In Mr. Ekman's book, Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage, he points out that although there is no one foolproof way to catch a liar (damn), a person's body language, voice, and facial expressions fall into certain recognizable patterns when that someone is indulging in a wee bit of falsehood.

David J. Lieberman goes much farther in his book, Never Be Lied to Again: How to Get the Truth in 5 Minutes or Less in Any Conversation or Situation, in which he provides 46 clues to deception to watch for in the word choice, sentence structure, expressions, and body language of your possibly cheating spouse or potentially crooked employer.

Mr. Lieberman has recently written You Can Read Anyone, which takes the techniques in Never Be Lied to Again one step further and claims to teach readers how to figure out what someone is thinking or feeling at any time. Sounds weird right? Like something out of an Agatha Christie novel -- Miss Marple, anyone?

Take a look at this video of Steve Van Aperen, co-author of The Truth About Lies, talking about detecting a liar:



And, since body language seems to be such a huge part of lying (or, alternatively, truth-telling), you can't go wrong with The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease, which teaches body language reading from a highly practical point of view with amusing text, illustrations, and photos. Ms. Pease teaches not just how to identify a liar, but how to be more likeable to others, how to get cooperation, how to successfully conduct business interviews and handle business negotiations, and how to pick up a partner (oh, dear).


Source: examiner.com