Q&A for How to Lie

You might be able to play dumb and say you didn't know you were lying, like you didn't have all of the information that you needed. Or you can just say "I'm sorry I lied at the time but i feel differently about the situation now." Or you can just stick to what you said and refuse to acknowledge that it was a lie.

I wouldn't recommend doing this. Lying to your therapist about your symptoms means you cannot get the proper treatment. If you aren't going to get the treatment you need, then there's no point in wasting your therapist's time.

Deny any knowledge of the topic. Don't continue to deny the knowledge itself, because that will look suspicious. You could also try to change topic or ask a question that is close to what the topic is, but not too far away from what the topic was.

Try to think of something sad and visualize yourself in that moment. Make it really seem sad and if that does not work, try to make your eyes as dry as possible by keeping them open, then rubbing them while they're closed.

Try to stay calm and show them fake feelings that make them believe what you are saying. Look as if you're making eye contact but look at their foreheads instead, it's less intimidating for you. Have a watertight tale and, if possible, an alibi. Be insistent and repeat the same story over and again. Groupthink may convince them of your lie if you're good enough at acting the part.

There are tons of books articles, and videos all over that explain how to spot a liar, and there is also a page on wikiHow that explains it too -- see How to Detect a Liar .

Redirect their interrogation by saying something that would embarrass you to be revealing, or only admit a tiny bit of the truth in an embarrassing way. Since people don't want to admit these things the person is more likely to believe you.

Since you're only half caught, you only need to tell half the truth. Fabricate it into what your intentions/ you were, such as doing something entirely different.

The best way is to tell the truth. Of course, you could come up with some reason why you lied, but it has to be good. Otherwise they won't believe you if they catch you in another lie.

If you're asking how to stop lying about brushing your teeth, you're right, it is much better to break this habit of lying and actually brush them. Think about what will happen if you don't brush your teeth. They will turn yellow, which is gross, and you will get cavities. This will result in you having to get your teeth drilled or pulled by the dentist. That's no fun at all. It's much easier and less unpleasant to just brush your teeth.

Practice telling small, white lies without panicking before moving onto bigger lies. If you feel a panic coming on, take a deep breath and remind yourself to play it cool.

If you want to be more convincing, you have to look more convincing. Pay attention to your face: maintain eye contact and a serious expression at all times. Try not to look away, grin, or giggle; many of these are common signs of dishonesty.

Confessing to a smaller misdeed -- which is relevant to what you're being questioned over -- could potentially deflect their suspicion from the main truth you're trying to mask. Another variation of this tactic is to either admit to or make them suspect you of having done something small, minor or untrue. They could take the bait and think that that is all you had to hide from them.

Maintain good posture. Be confident of what you're saying and make eye contact at all times.

All you can do is be a trustworthy person in general (if you don't lie frequently, they'll be more apt to believe you) and keep asserting the truth.

Since you know that is always a problem for you, make a conscious effort to keep them at the normal level.

Maybe you can lie to them at the same time. With both of them, it would be better.

Yes, some people will lie when scared. A kid may lie to their parents about a bad grade because they are scared they will be punished. Someone might lie to their boss about a mistake they made, because they are scared of being fired. Someone may lie about being abused because they are scared their abuser will be angry and hurt them. There are many examples.

In some cases, yes. People lie for many reasons.

If your job finds out that you tampered with attendance the consequences might be worse than if they found out you missed days.

White lies are small lies that don’t usually hurt anyone. An example would be saying you love your mother's meatloaf, even though you hate it. You're actually sparing her feelings by lying.

Yes. If for no other reasons than practical considerations, a few lies here and there to keep children in line are fine. Also, we can't explain the real reasons behind most things to children; they often don't care, don't need that info and are too young to understand anyway. Instead of saying "because you might get abducted by a sexual predator", saying it's a "safety violation" encompasses those aspects on a level they can understand inside their current understanding of the world. Otherwise, you'd have to explain that their world of Lego and sunshine also includes pedophiles, for example, or taxes.

Don't bother lying. Just be honest about how you feel, but reassure your parents that you will respect their wishes where dating is concerned.

You can think in your mind about the person you dislike the most and use that to help you. Usually grinning is caused by making a lot of eye contact or simply because the person is looking at you.

It's probably not a good idea if you really like him, because sooner or later, he will find out, and lying will make it worse.

Yes. Lying will almost always get you in more trouble than just being honest.

Practice makes perfect. Start with small white lies, and gradually come to bigger ones. Always remember to stay calm.

If you have no moral qualms about lying to people, then you probably have no problem manipulating them either, so go ahead I guess.

It's okay as long as the person you're lying to doesn't know you do these things when you're lying. Don't lie to people who know you very well or you'll easily be caught.

The more you bring it up, the more they will be suspicious. If you don't want to confess the truth, you must pretend like your lie was true and assume they believe it, making it unnecessary to ever bring back up again. The only way to reinforce it is to never mention it again. If they ever bring it back up, pretend you are surprised this is still an issue. But stop telling these unbelievable lies. It saves a lot of headaches.