The Truth About Lying (Paperback)

by Walters (Author) "Have you ever been talking to someone and had a gut feeling that the person was lying to you?..." (more)
Key Phrases: body language symptoms, verbal symptoms, speech symptoms, The Truth About Lying (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Communication skills can make a big difference in whether people tell you the truth or not. Knowing when to ask the next question, the behaviors that signal when the whole story isn't being told and what questions to ask can help you cut through deception and lying so you can have confidence in your communications.

Based on the same methods used by law enforcement professionals, but appropriate for everyday interactions, these skills and techniques can be applied in almost every situation:

--hiring a nanny or household worker

--working with an employee

--talking with a service provider

--dealing with a teenager

--communicating in a romantic relationship

Without threats or intimidation, Walters' strategies will improve relationships and communication by teaching how to spot a liar and, more importantly, how to get to the truth.

About the Author
Stan Walters is known as "The Lie Guy." He teaches courses in kinesic interviewing and interrogation to law enforcement officials throughout the country, and he does many radio interviews aimed at the general public. Walters has served as a Subject Matter Expert on Interview and Interrogation for Johns Hopkins University. He resides in Kentucky.

Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; 1st edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570715114
• ISBN-13: 978-1570715112
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,157 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not so good., September 1, 2004

By	quackhead (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Hate to say this, but this book promises far more than it can deliver. The book cites a lot of conventional wisdom along with a few specious claims (such as, you can tell someone desires to leave a conversation by the direction his feet are pointing, particularly towards an exit).

I couldn't glean very much useful information from the book, because most of it would not stand up to the scrunity of repeated use, different people or various circumstances.

I would say, at best, it's a good fluff piece about this topic.

A better book is Paul Ekman's "Telling Lies". It is based on more sound, consistent, and standardized research and it is better written.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The truth about spotting emotional stress and deception, November 1, 2001

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book spends a great deal of time discussing the fact that the best way to determine if someone is lying is to examine their stress level. Even a person who lies as a regular pathological pattern shows some sort of stress and physiological reaction. It is not a quick process but it does show how to determine when a person is under stress. When that stress level changes as a result of a specific question then it is time to determine why there was a stress change. Were they lying? Maybe, or maybe it is because there are other stress factors related to the question.
The techniques go from learning to spot stress signals and knowing when a stress signal in one person is not a stress signal in another person to how to move to a position of determining the source of the stress.
The book also covers knowing when to shut up and let the person's stress levels and psychological state push them to completing a confession.
The book deals with questions of how to spot a lie, how to deal with it once it is uncovered, the social implications of lying. The book also covers the common ways that people react to being exposed and how they try to continue the deception.
An interesting part of this book is the part where Mr Walters does not let the person being lied to off the hook. Sometimes the person being lied to is part of the reason for the lie. Sometimes they set up the situation so that the liar feels they have no choice but to lie.
An excellent book on the subject from a highly experienced author, it gives all the foundational knowledge that you need to become an expert. All you need now is practice.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book. Now I won't be so naive!, December 18, 2000

By A Customer

Wow. Now here is a book that gets right to the point about liars and lying. Remember how you used to think that someone with poor eye contact was lying? Well, maybe. Maybe not. Stan Walters rips into the art of lying with a vengeance, revealing what liars say with their lips and what they do with their bodies. This kind of information is useful, whether it is in a personal relationship or professional situation. Walters shows us all the layers and forms of lying. His book is well-written and gets to the point. If you wonder whether someone is feeding you a line, read this book.