My friends and I get a kick out of language quirks and fun ways makerters and advertisers describe their products,incrediants and benefits. In addition, we have been talking about the overuse of the word Literally. This made for a very fun time Wednesday when a friend and I went to a makeup class. My friend was a senior editor at NASA and a Senior Partner at Towers Perin in charge of Communication.
I was holding in my laughter wishing I could see her face every time the makeup artist told us that another product could "literally" make us more gorgeous. And it was," litterally" going deep into our pores. I especially got a hoot from his long description of the minerals in the deep sea water. "This makeup contains the deep sea water taken from water over a mile down in the oceans of Japan." "It takes "literally" thousands of years for the sea water to collect the minerals." And those deep sea minerals "literally" bond naturally to your skin and make it beautiful." (Smile) It was a wonderful example of how some people use the word "literally" to describe things they don't truly understand but want to appear confident discussing. It is not an indication of an overt deception. That is, they are not thinking, "I am going to lie", but more a subconscious desire to look knowledgeable.
I think BP oil is accelerating the mineral buildup in deep sea water. I mean that "Literally."
Who knew that BP Oil was just helping us become more beautiful?
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert Website http://www.PattiWood.net I have a new quiz on my YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert Check it out!
Showing posts with label word choice and deception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label word choice and deception. Show all posts
Friday, 16 July 2010
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
How can you tell if he or she is lying? Listening to the words.
In further media interviews the governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, uses a technique I now call the 'redefining tactic' (after former president Clinton's famous, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman.") Governor Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress. He says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur. During an emotional interview with the Associated Press at his statehouse office on Tuesday Sanford said that during the encounters with other women he "let his guard down" with some physical contact but "didn't cross the sex line." Sanford said the casual encounters happened on trips he'd taken outside the US with male friends to "blow off steam". He alleges they occurred while he was married but before he met Chapur. So to be clear--it doesn't count as sex if you don't cross the sex line and you are just blowing off steam. UCkkk!
As a media coach, I know the importance of using the right words. In this case he is choosing phrases that make him sound like a college frat boy. This is such a horrible story for his family to have to hear about. Please just apologize clearly and briefly and move on.
Click Here to read the AP article about Governor Sanford's apology.
For information of public seminars Patti is giving on body language and deception detection in Philadeliphia though Paliani consulting please contact us or go directly to the Paliani site.
As a media coach, I know the importance of using the right words. In this case he is choosing phrases that make him sound like a college frat boy. This is such a horrible story for his family to have to hear about. Please just apologize clearly and briefly and move on.
Click Here to read the AP article about Governor Sanford's apology.
For information of public seminars Patti is giving on body language and deception detection in Philadeliphia though Paliani consulting please contact us or go directly to the Paliani site.
What words do liars use? Governor Sanford's apology
Just like body language cues leak out whether or not someone is lying, Freudian “slips” in language can reveal underlying anxiety, guilt, or arousal. Research from as far back as the Mehrabian (1971) has reported higher numbers of speech errors in deceivers than in non-deceivers. Linguistic style analysis reveals how the deceptive message is conveyed as compared to a truthful message (Pennebaker & King, 1999). Based on earlier work, some of the most reliable markers of linguistic styles are the use of content-free words, such as articles, pronouns, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, and emotionally toned words. See my last post for other specific examples.
So Gary Condit when talking about his wife and a stewardess he had an affair with used the pronouns she and her to refer to both woman rather than using their names or stating his personal relationship with them. Recently Governor Sanford used the term "those boys" instead of my sons or using the names or his sons during his apology, though he referred to his staff by name, by using such an impersonal label for his sons he idicated his desire to disconect from his responsiblity as a father. Govenor Sanford also never actually said, "I am sorry." Instead he asked for forgiveness which is something I have noticed politicians and celebrities often choose to do in their interviews with the press. As a body language expert and media coach I coach for my clients to use the words, "I am sorry." "I apologize." "I made a mistake." For the nonverbal read of Governor Sanford's apology, check last Friday's post. And for the slips of the tongue used by Michael Vick in his apology for hosting dog fights go to my website.
So Gary Condit when talking about his wife and a stewardess he had an affair with used the pronouns she and her to refer to both woman rather than using their names or stating his personal relationship with them. Recently Governor Sanford used the term "those boys" instead of my sons or using the names or his sons during his apology, though he referred to his staff by name, by using such an impersonal label for his sons he idicated his desire to disconect from his responsiblity as a father. Govenor Sanford also never actually said, "I am sorry." Instead he asked for forgiveness which is something I have noticed politicians and celebrities often choose to do in their interviews with the press. As a body language expert and media coach I coach for my clients to use the words, "I am sorry." "I apologize." "I made a mistake." For the nonverbal read of Governor Sanford's apology, check last Friday's post. And for the slips of the tongue used by Michael Vick in his apology for hosting dog fights go to my website.
