Can You Detect Business Lies?

Many successful career women pride themselves on their reputations of being dependable and honest. But the fact is not everybody can make this claim. So, how do you know when you’re being duped in business?

The average person is lied to 200 times a day, according to Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting. “We tend to think we’ll know deception when we hear it,” says Meyer, a Harvard MBA graduate. “But not only do people miss the lies they hear, they don’t actually recognize many of the lies they tell others.”

How can you detect deception?

“Watch for an insincere smile. Also, liars struggle to keep words, facial expressions and body language in sync,” says Meyer. Another sign? Liars may, “quickly touch or sweep across their mouth as if to ‘speak no evil.'”

The popular TV show Lie to Me shows how asymmetry in gestures such as smiles, frowns and shrugs are often a mask. Also, liars’ stories tend to lack details and they sweat, according to Forbes.

Fast Company outlines the five most common lies in business, from “This was a rational decision,” to “This is business – it isn’t personal.”

Bonus PINK Link: Honesty is essential to good business. Find out why values have become a business imperative.

By Cynthia Good

“This is the punishment of a liar: [s]he is not believed, even when [s]he speaks the truth.” The Talmud