Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English.
I'm Rob.
Sam: And I'm Sam.
Rob: In this programme, we're talking
about biscuits.
Sam: Really? That's not what I was told...
oh hold on, you're lying.
Rob: Yes, you're right, Sam.
I am lying simply
to demonstrate our topic - lying and how
to detect it. You detected my lie
very easily, Sam!
Sam: I could tell by the smirk on your face
that you were telling a fib - that's the word
for a small, inoffensive lie.
Rob: To be honest, talking about
lie detecting will be
much more interesting than biscuits.
But first, let's start with a question
for you to answer.
A competition is held in Cumbria
in the UK every year to find and award
the title of "The Biggest Liar in the World".
But which type of people are not allowed
to take part?
a) Farmers, b) Lawyers,
or c) Estate agents.
What do you think, Sam?
Sam: I'd be lying if I said I knew - but
based on personal experience
I'd say estate agents
- they'd find it too easy!
Rob: Ha - well that's your opinion but I'll
let you know if you're right at the end of
the programme. So, lying is something I'm
sure a lot of us do - sometimes
to avoid trouble, sometimes to cheat
people, or sometimes just
to impress someone - did you know
I can speak seven languages, Sam?
Sam: That's just a barefaced lie, Rob!
But I can see how easy lying can be,
and that's what neuroscientist
Sophie Scott thinks. Here she is on
BBC Radio 4's 'Seriously' podcast,
explaining how we sometimes lie
just to be nice!
Sophie Scott: Often what we mean by
lying is someone setting out
to deceive us with their words
or their actions but actually normal
conversation probably can only happen
because we don't actually say all the time
exactly what we really think and
what we really mean. And that kind of
cooperation is at the heart, I think, of a
lot of social interactions for humans and
I think that's one of the strong pushes to
make conversation polite and therefore
frequently not actually truthful.
Rob: So Sophie mentions two types
of lying. There's the one when we try
to deceive someone - so that's
trying to hide something by tricking
someone to gain an advantage.
Sam: Hmm, that's like you getting me
to pay £10 for a cinema ticket
when actually they were only £5.
That's just dishonest, but there are also
what I like to call white lies
- small lies we tell to avoid upsetting
someone. Those are lies that
aren't intended to give
you an advantage.
Rob: Yes, Sophie Scott says we use them
in normal conversation - when we don't
say what we really mean.
Sam: So, we want to make conversation
polite because we want to cooperate
with each other - she says
cooperation is at the heart.
Something that's at the heart is
the most important or essential part.
Rob: Now telling lies is one thing but how
do you know if we're being lied to?
Sometimes there are telltale signs,
such as someone's face turning red
or someone shuffling their feet.
Sam: But if you really want to know if
someone is lying, maybe we should
listen to Richard Wiseman,
a psychologist at the University of
Hertfordshire. Here he is speaking on the
'Seriously' podcast...
Richard Wiseman: Liars in general say
less. They tend to have a longer
what's called response latency,
which is the time between
the end of the question
and the beginning of the answer.
And there also tends to be
an emotional distance in the lie - so
the words 'me','my', 'I' - all those things
tend to drop away in lies and it's
much much harder for liars to control
what they're saying and how they're
saying it, so focus your attention there,
you become a better lie detector.
Rob: Some good advice from
Richard Wiseman. So to detect lies
we need to listen out for
the response latency - a term
used in psychology to describe
the time taken between a stimulus
or question and a response to it.
The bigger the gap, the more chance
there is that someone is lying.
Is that a good summary, Sam?
Sam: Sort of, Rob. Richard also suggests
we focus on - or concentrate on - what
and how people are saying things too.
There's probably more to it than just that.
Rob: Well now you know how
to detect my lies, Sam, maybe
honestly is the best policy - as they say.
So I'm now going to give you an
honest answer to the question
I asked earlier. A competition is held
in Cumbria, in the UK,
every year to award the title of
"The Biggest Liar in the World".
But which type of people
are not allowed to take part?
a) Farmers, b) Lawyers,
or c) Estate agents?
Sam: I guessed c) estate agents.
Rob: And you are wrong,
I'm afraid. Lawyers,
as well as politicians, are not allowed to
enter the competition. It's claimed "they
are judged to be too skilled
at telling porkies" - porkies is an informal
word for 'pork pies'
and that rhymes with 'lies'.
Sam: Fascinating stuff, Rob and that's no
lie! But now, shall we recap some of the
vocabulary we've heard today?
Rob: Why not? A fib is
a small inoffensive lie.
Sam: A white lie is also a small lie,
told to avoid upsetting someone.
Rob: When you deceive someone,
you try to hide something by tricking
them to gain an advantage.
Sam: When something is
at the heart of something,
it is the most important or essential part
of it. And we heard
about response latency
- a term used in psychology to describe
the time taken between
a stimulus or question
and a response to it.
Rob: OK, thank you, Sam. That's all from 6
Minute English. We look forward to your
company next time. Goodbye!
Sam: Bye everyone!