Is that what really happened? How to tell if someone is telling a tall tale...

The next time you hear a story that’s hard to believe – pay attention to the order in which it’s told...

According to Pamela Meyer, a certified fraud examiner, liars tend to tell their story in chronological order, building up to a big finish. When we tell a true story, for the first time, we tend to blurt out details that had a big impact on us, randomly, not necessarily in the order that they happened, or remember things as we go. Liars are more likely to have it all planned out, skipping unnecessary details.

Another giveaway to a phony or exaggerated experience is the end. Truth tellers tend to include an epilogue, describing how they feel or how they were affected. That’s difficult for a liar to do, considering they didn’t truly experience those emotions since it never really happened that way.