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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Catch a Lie in an Email or Text Message by Looking for These Red Flags

Catch a Lie in an Email or Text Message by Looking for These Red Flags


Catching a liar in person usually just means looking for a variety of nonverbal cues, but that's not as easy when it's written in a text message or email. For that, The Wall Street Journal suggests looking for subtle changes in how someone words things.


Detecting a lie over text is tough, but you can watch out for a variety of red flags. Here are just a few of them:



  • Watch for when a writer omits personal pronouns from a story

  • Look for noncommittal expressions (probably, pretty sure, must have)

  • Changes in tense can signal a lie in an otherwise true story

  • Uncharacteristic speech can indicate a lie

  • Abrupt changes of topics are often used to move the topic away from a lie

  • Look for too much insignificant detail

  • Qualifier statements like "to be honest" and "as far as I remember" can signal a lie


It's not nearly as easy as spotting a lie in person, but it can be done. As with spotting any lie, none of the above red flags guarantee a lie and depends on context. Still, they're often good indicators of lies.


How to Tell If Someone Is Lying to You in an Email | The Wall Street Journal


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