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How To Tell If Your Customer Is Lying?

Written by: Tom Reilly

Article Overview: Some customers lie -- and these lies cover a broad range of topics. Here is a list of verbal and non-verbal clues to tell if your customer is lying.

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How To Tell If Your Customer Is Lying?

There is no nice way to say this, some customers lie. There, I’ve said it. The plain unvarnished truth—no sugar coating. Not all customers, just some. And these lies cover a broad range of topics: delivery time frames, buying authority, competitive information, and mostly price. Wouldn’t it be great to have a lie-detector on a sales call? Maybe customers would appreciate that too for some salespeople.

Recently, at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, Dr. Alan Hirsch and a research assistant presented a paper on detecting mendacity—spotting a lie, for the rest of us. They identified twenty-seven verbal and nonverbal signs that indicate a speaker is lying. The scientific background for this work includes over sixty journal references and twenty textbook references—solid enough for me.

When I read the news report, I contacted Dr. Hirsch and received a copy of his research report. I also urged him to turn this into a book. I could see the endless possibilities for salespeople.
Dr. Hirsch categorized these signals into two categories: verbal and nonverbal signs.

The verbal signs of lying include:
§ Qualifiers/modifiers: not necessarily, but, however, almost, generally, basically.
§ Denials of lying: frankly, obviously, to be 100% honest with you, as far as I know.
§ Speech errors: this is the old Freudian slip, changing your thoughts and details mid-stream.
§ Pause-fillers: filling empty spaces with um, er, ah, uh.
§ Stuttering: a liar gets tongue-tied, runs words together, stammers and slurs his speech.

The nonverbal signs of lying include:
§ Less finger pointing,
§ Lip licking,
§ Lip puckering/tightening of lips,
§ Increased drinking and swallowing,
§ Fewer hand gestures,
§ Hand-to-face grooming,
§ Sighs/deep breaths,
§ Hand and shoulder shrugs,
§ Handling objects,
§ Looking away to the side or down,
§ Touching nose,
§ Crossing arms,
§ Closing hands into fists.

The researchers caution against making quick judgments based on one nonverbal sign. Several used by the speaker raises one’s skepticism about the veracity of the speaker’s message.

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About the Author: Tom Reilly
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Tom Reilly is celebrating twenty-five years as a professional speaker and author. He is the president of Tom Reilly Training—a company that specializes in training salespeople and their managers. His client list includes Fortune 500 companies as well as small companies in all major industries. In addition to television and radio appearances, Tom makes live audience presentations more than one hundred days per year. He has written twelve business and self-help books and over three hundred articles that have appeared in business publications, trade journals, and newspapers throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to his books and articles, Tom has written and produced forty audio cassette programs, a Value-Added Selling compact disc set and produced a video learning series at the PBS affiliate in St. Louis. He has started two successful businesses. Tom has a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology but quickly adds he is a salesman first and foremost. Tom has a several websites, writes for many trade publications, and publishes a monthly e-zine.

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