"An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie" - Aldous Huxley
A 2010 study in Human Communication Research by Serota et al. found that the average number of lies told per day was 1.65 and 22.7% of all lies were told by one percent of the sample, and half of all of the lies were told by 5.3% of the sample.
The limitations of the study were that it was based on participants’ self-reflection, which means this could be an underestimate. Some people tend to lie more often than others and you happen to have one or more in your team.
What do you do? How can you discourage their lies being told to you?
Let’s explore 4 ways to prevent your reports from the ‘untruths’:
- Ask them "WHY?"?When the other person is exaggerating or putting extended emphasis on an issue or conversation topic, try to find why the topic is so important for them to lie about it. Say, “I see that this is a really big thing for you, how come?” In doing so you communicate to the other person that you are extra receptive and an active listener, one who doesn’t take let words pass by for no reason. It’s harder to tell lies to a person and get away with them with someone who listens attentively.
- Keep the work environment positive and as ‘stress-free’ as possible. This plays a pivotal role in understanding that it ‘may not be a lie to them.’ Multiple studies
demonstrate that our memories are influenced by many things, that they change over time, and that they are essentially reconstructed each time we think about them. An open and collaborative environment can counteract a competitive ‘zero-sum game’ scenario.
- Deflecting with humour! Yes, you read correctly, associating a lie with a humoristic response acknowledges the lie but it provides the liar a chance to admit the dishonesty without fearing you'll retaliate. This ties in with point ii and having a positive work environment.
- Do nothing. In some cases, pointing out the lie and liar can snowball and trigger more severe consequences. It may be better to ‘let this one go’ and play the game of patience.
Supply Chain & Temporary Manager
3 个月Thank you Giuseppe, always smart points of discussion, but overall, advice. Why and transparency overall for me, but also why is there a lyer in the arena? I got also the good point that lying is a technique and acceptable if not addictive. I think that all of us used lying technique in his/her history. So, always understand where we are, who we are talking to and Importance of the moment. I will follow your advices as already done
Patent Attorney and Course Leader at PATSKILLS
3 个月It seems to me that the right to tell lies is a fundamental human right, even though some theoreticians, lawyers and religious people may disagree. I think the right to occasionally lie to preserve one's existence is fully justified. On the other hand, addictive lying (like any other addiction) is bad and is likely to go against the addictive lyer. The situation of politicians is special. Take the interesting case of Pierre Maudet. He was persecuted and outcast by his former political "friends", for lying in connection with his Saudi Arabia expenses. However, to me, the ability to carry out straight-faced lying is one of the most characteristic abilities of a successful politician. To me, Pierre Maudet's political ex-friends are typical of politicians who not only like to lie, but they like to pretend that that they don't lie. In other words, politicians are a special category of contradictory liars.
Vice President MILE @ Medical Information Leaders in Europe | Executive MBA HEC Lausanne | Public Speaker | Digital & Organizational Change | Public Health Communicator | Coca Cola Scholar |
3 个月This is a very interesting summary actually and I tend to use these techniques when dealing with this - I might rely on the humor aspect a bit more than I should ??
Chief Procurement Officer - Global Head of Sourcing ; Transformation ; Value Creation & Performance optimisation ; Risk & Sustainability
3 个月This is a thought-provoking approach to managing dishonesty in the workplace. Digging into the "why" behind a lie and using humor are both clever strategies, but they also require a lot of emotional intelligence to execute effectively. What about fostering a culture of radical transparency? By openly discussing the importance of honesty and making it a core value, you can create an environment where lies are less likely to take root. It’s challenging, but if team members know that truth-telling is expected and respected, it might reduce the temptation to distort the facts in the first place. Thanks for sharing these strategies!