How to recognize a seller's lie when buying a car
If we take into account that the average person lies three times in ten minutes of conversation, then it’s scary to imagine how many times during this time a car seller or a traffic cop who decides to cheat you on a fine will lie to you. And by the way, you can recognize a lie by the gestures of a person.
The protagonist of the Hollywood series Lie to Me, Dr. Lightman, played by Tim Roth, knows the language of facial expressions and body movements so much that, recognizing lies, he saves the innocent from prison and puts criminals behind bars. And this is not fiction. Its prototype, Paul Ekman, professor of psychology at the University of California, has devoted more than 30 years to studying the theory of deception and is the world's largest specialist in this field.
All our human communication is conditionally divided into verbal and non-verbal. Verbal is the verbal content, the meaning of the conversation. Non-verbalism includes bodily characteristics, a form of communication - posture, gestures, facial expressions, gaze, voice characteristics (speech volume, speech speed, intonation, pauses) and even breathing. In the process of human interaction, up to 80% of communication is carried out through non-verbal means of expression - gestures, and only 20-40% of information is transmitted using verbal - words. Therefore, having mastered the art of interpreting body language, a person will be able to read "between the lines", "scanning" all the hidden information of the interlocutor. The reason is that the subconscious works automatically independently of the person, and body language gives it away. Thus, with the help of body language, one can not only read people's thoughts by their gestures, but also control the situation in conditions of psychological pressure. Of course, in order to master non-verbal communication, serious knowledge in this area of psychology is required, as well as certain skills in its practical application. In most cases, the seller, who has the goal of selling the car by all means, prepares his arguments in advance and builds a strategy for psychological pressure. Most often, this uses well-thought-out lies that sound convincing and coherent. An experienced sales manager lies professionally, and the deception of a private seller is easier to recognize, but in any case, lying people are united by a number of general rules.
TERRITORY
First of all, in any communication it is important to practically use the zonal space of the interlocutor. There are 4 such zones: intimate - from 15 to 46 cm, personal - from 46 to 1,2 meters, social - from 1,2 to 3,6 meters and public - more than 3,6 meters. When communicating with a car dealer or a traffic cop, it is recommended to observe the social zone, i.e. keep from the interlocutor at an inter-status distance of 1 to 2 meters.
EYES
Pay attention to the behavior of the interlocutor's eyes - the nature of communication depends on the duration of his gaze and on how long he can withstand your gaze. If a person is dishonest with you or is hiding something, his eyes meet yours for less than 1/3 of the entire time of communication. To build a good relationship of trust, your gaze should meet his gaze about 60-70% of the communication time. On the other hand, you should be alerted if the interlocutor, being a "professional liar", looks straight and motionless into your eyes for a long time. This may mean that he "turned off" the brain and speaks "automatically" because he memorized his story in advance. He can also be suspected of lying if, saying something, he averts his eyes to the left of you.
PALM
The best way to find out how frank and honest the interlocutor is at the moment is to observe the position of his palms. When a child is lying or hiding something, he involuntarily hides his palms behind his back. This unconscious gesture is also characteristic of adults at the moment when they tell a lie. On the contrary, if a person opens his palms in full or in part to the interlocutor, he is frank. It is noteworthy that most people find it extremely difficult to tell a lie if their palms are open.
HAND TO FACE
Most often, if a five-year-old child tells a lie to his parents, he immediately after that involuntarily covers his mouth with one or both hands. In adulthood, this gesture becomes more refined. When an adult lies, his brain sends him an impulse to cover his mouth, in an attempt to delay the words of deceit, as a five-year-old child or teenager does, but at the last moment the hand avoids the mouth and some other gesture is born. Most often, this is a touch of the hand to the face - the nose, the dimple under the nose, the chin; or rubbing the eyelid, earlobe, neck, pulling back the collar, etc. All of these movements subconsciously disguise deception and represent an improved "adult" version of covering the mouth with a hand, which was present in childhood.
DISCOVERED GESTURES
In a study of non-verbal communication, psychologists have found that lying often causes itchy sensations in the delicate muscles of the face and neck, and the person uses scratching to soothe them. Some people try to fake a cough to mask all these gestures. Often they can be accompanied by a forced smile through clenched teeth. It is important to know that with age, all gestures of people become less flashy and more veiled, so it is always more difficult to read the information of a 50-year-old person than a young one.
GENERAL SIGNS OF A LIE
As a rule, any lying person tends to spontaneously, out of place, delve into details. Before answering a question, he often repeats it aloud, and when expressing emotions, he uses only part of his face. For example, such a person smiles exclusively with his mouth, and the muscles of the cheeks, eyes and nose remain motionless. During a conversation, the interlocutor, if you are sitting at the table, may unconsciously put some objects between you: a vase, a mug, a book, trying to create what is called a “protective barrier”. Usually the deceiver is verbose and adds unnecessary details to the story. At the same time, the speech is confused and grammatically incorrect, the sentences are incomplete. Any pause in a conversation with a lying person causes him discomfort. Often, deceivers begin to speak in a slower pace than their normal speech.
Always remember: even the most experienced deceiver is not able to completely control his subconscious.
