The average person hears as many as 200 lies
in a single day. College students lie to their mothers 20%
of the time, and on average strangers lie to each other three times within the first
10 minutes of meeting. All these points are made by Pamela Meyer,
American author, certified fraud examiner, and entrepreneur, who has been described by
Reader's Digest as "the nation's best known expert on lying." People lie for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes they lie to improve their image
or save face, maybe to cover up an accident or bad mistake that’s been made, and often
they tell white lies where the lie is to protect another person from getting hurt. What are the most common lies that people
tell? Let’s run through the top 20 lies in this
episode of The Infographics Show, What do we lie about the most? 20. I’m almost there – So many of us have
uttered those words when we know we are half an hour away from a social meeting and our
friends are waiting. Even though you realize when you finally arrive
it will be plainly obvious that you were not almost there five minutes away or just around
the corner, this little lie is one that many of us often use to save a little face when
losing the race to our destination. 19. My phone’s been acting weird – This line
sounds a little weak, but the reason it’s used so often is it can cover many options
for not following up. After all, our smartphones have our email,
apps, and voicemail, so if you have not followed up with someone, what better way than to blame
it on the phone breaking or not being backed up properly. 18. My phone died – Forget to reply to a text
or WhatsApp? Or maybe you’re ignoring a message from
someone you’d rather get back to at a later date. Another phone excuse is to say the battery
died. This common white lie is a quick and convenient
way of procrastinating to give a response. Sometimes you even receive messages from different
friends who are asking you to catch up but the times clash. Who to chose? It’s just all too easy to ignore both of
them and instead see if things change overnight and text the following day, saying that the
phone died. 17. I’m almost finished – You haven’t even
started! You may be working on your homework or a proposal
for your boss or maybe finishing up a favor for a friend. Whatever the job is, all too often when we
know we either have a lot more work to do or didn’t even make a start, “I’m almost
finished” are the words that spring to mind. It saves all that explanation as to why you’ve
missed the deadline. 16. I remember you – You are introduced to a
person by a friend. It could be at work or maybe at a social gathering
such as a party. The person shakes your hand certainly seems
to remember you, but your mind is blank. They even name your mutual friends and how
you met. Your heart rate picks up, what to do or say? You smile and say, “Of course I remember
you.” Nope, you’re lying, but it does sort the
situation out. 15. It wasn’t that expensive – According to
Techcrunch, 79% of Americans now shop online, and if you’re one of those people splurging
out on new clothes, then it’s good to have a line for the ready if your partner is inquiring
about your purchases. “It wasn’t that expensive” is not the
most inventive of excuses, but it’s definitely a common lie used to defer further questions
whilst you work out how you’ll explain the huge credit card bill when it arrives in the
post. 14. It’s not you, it’s me –If you haven’t
delivered this one liner, then you may well have been on the receiving end. This is one of the most common explanations
for calling it a day, usually in the early stages of a relationship. Someone asks, “Why are we breaking up?”,
and the other person responds, “I’m sorry, but it’s not you. It’s me.” Let’s be honest, what’s really meant is
“it’s you.” 13. It’s soooo great to see you – We’ve
all had those awkward party interactions where you bump into a person you haven’t seen
for months and you’re actually not really too bothered by it. The truth is you’d be happy not to have
seen them in years. However, you shift straight into party polite
mood and start acting as if it’s simply awesome that you’ve crossed paths. You may say to him or her, “It’s soooo
great to see you,” but in your head you’re thinking, “Get me outta here.” 12. I’m good, how are you? - This is often the automatic response we
give in almost every small-talk exchange, whether we talk with coworkers or complete
strangers. You could be feeling hungover or fighting
off a bad cold or just having a disastrous day, and you’re going to lie and say, “I’m
good.” People usually say this rather than say they’re
not good and then have to explain all the underlying reasons. 11. The traffic was crazy – You arrive late
to a party or work function. Maybe you already lied and said you were nearly
there when your friends called, so now you need a new excuse. You explain that “The traffic was crazy.” You have Google maps, you’ve probably driven
that route many times, and you have a pretty good idea of how long it will take, but, of
course, you left home late. Instead of taking responsibility, it’s easier
to blame the traffic gods. 10. It was my last one - Whether it’s candies,
a beer, or cash, you know it’s petty not to offer a little of what you’ve got to
a friend or even a stranger in need. But today, for whatever reason, you just can’t
help yourself from being greedy and keeping every last one to yourself. So you put your empty hands in the air and
act like you’re all out of what you’ve got and go about your day. 9. I’ve got an appointment – It’s one of
those days when you really need to leave work early. You’ve arranged to meet a friend or maybe
you’ve just had enough of the office, but then you can’t leave early without a good
reason. A fictitious appointment is a common way for
people to duck out early. But watch out not to use this one too often,
or you may have to build the little lie into a whole ongoing illness or disease, which
can get complicated. 8. I love it! – You’ve been bought a birthday present
or Valentine’s Day gift, but it’s far from what you expected. How do you react? You’d love to verbalize your disgust, but,
of course, you won’t. The best way out of this one is a forced smile
and a pretend “I love it” to keep everyone happy. Surely, this is one of the most common white
lies that people use! 7. It must have hit my SPAM folder – Of course,
it never went you your SPAM folder. You were simply too busy with other emails
to notice the important email from a colleague or friend, but when the sender calls you to
ask about the message, the quickest way out is to blame it on SPAM. This is a common lie for those of us at at
an office desk 8 hours a day with our heads buried in our laptops. 6. I gotta run – This is a common one when
you want to leave a party, end a phone call, or exit the conversation you’re having with
a random friend you’ve bumped into at the store. You don’t really need to be anywhere else,
but sitting on the couch at home watching Netflix sounds more appealing. You think it will make your friend feel better
if you add a little urgency to your departure, so you say, “I gotta run.” 5. I’m having trouble hearing you – Oh yes,
it’s the old bad cell reception trick and the most common way to be done with a call
you would rather not continue. If you don’t like where a conversation is
going, bad reception is the perfect excuse. And some people are so cunning with this little
porky pie that they even pretend to make a little break in the audio like the call is
dropping out and back up their reason for needing to kill the call. 4. Let’s hang out soon – Oh, that old word
soon which really means “never.” Anyone using this line will be sure to avoid
specifics such as “tomorrow” or “next week.” The noncommittal “soon” gives the appearance
of wanting to see a person again while also giving someone a way to avoid ever actually
having to meet up or hang out with the person again. 3. Of course you don’t look fat in that honey
– John is trying on his new jeans, or Mary is wearing her new dress. In either case, they both look to their partner
for some emotionally supportive words. John and Mary ask, “Do I look fat in this
honey?” Regardless of John forcing his jean buttons
together or Mary feeling the dress is a little tight around the midriff, the only safe response
is “Of course you don’t.” Yes, it maybe a lie, but it’s common and
often highly necessary. 2. Your baby is adorable – All babies are beautiful,
particularly in the eyes of their parents, but are they really? A screaming child who’s just thrown up the
hourly milk meal may not seem like the most gorgeous baby after this type of greeting. However, we don’t want to offend the parents,
so it’s far safer to let this little one liner roll off the tongue. 1. This is delicious – Granny has cooked you
her favorite clam chowder dish, and even though she thinks it should be served at a 5-star
Michelin restaurant, it’s not even good enough for the prison canteen. But you can’t really say anything negative,
or she will be devastated. So you swallow as much as you can and find
a way to discard the rest and tell Granny it’s delicious so as to make her day. Those are just a few of the many small lies
that people tell each other regularly on a day-to-day basis. Are there any that we missed? Let us know in the comments . Also, be sure
to watch our other video called – How Can You Tell Someone Is Lying? Thanks for watching, and as always, don't
forget to like, share and subscribe, and as ever, see you next time.ibe. See you next time!
