How to Lie Effectively

Two warnings. Firstly, the block quotes are not what they appear to be. Next, can you trust me? I may be talking like I know a bit about this, but that could all just be your gullibility.

Be consistent.

Make a story, and stick to it. If you contradict yourself, someone's going to know something's wrong. Then they might find your lie. Then you might be out of luck.

Don't lie.

This may seem counter intuitive, but try not to lie. Not about this thing, of course. But about other things. This will make you seem trustworthy. So when you tell this lie, someone's first instinct would be to trust you.

But wait, if people tell the truth just to later lie, how can you trust anyone? Congratulations, you're now a skeptic.

Secondly, it's a whole lot better to have a story and stick with it. So, tell the truth about littler things pertaining to your lie, that also don't give yourself away. There's nothing like the truth to establish a credible story. Just make sure to remember what you told the truth about.

Practice your poker face.

Some people believe they can tell when a person is lying just by their facial expressions. While this is hardly an effective way of determining if someone is lying or not, it could certainly lead to being found out. So try not to give someone a reason to think you're lying.

But, don't just use a poker face. If you never look like a stoic stone statue, then you probably don't want to break the pattern. Just look like you naturally do. No one notices your facial expression when it looks like normal.

Stay Sober

Alcohol lowers inhibitions. Alcohol plus liar equals confession.

Distraction

So someone knows that you're lying. But they don't know what you're lying about. So, distract them by revealing a fake lie. Or lead them on the wrong path.

If you're going to do this, make sure it really is a red herring. If they look into it and you get into trouble for something else, way to go. Also, if you're trying to implication fictional crimes in yourself, make sure they're fictional, or can be proved as such.

Gullible people

If you somehow have a choice of who to lie to, choose the most gullible person. That way, they'll believe you. Or not believe you, if your lie sucks.

Don't tell people where you learned this

While not necessarily a step in the actual lying, it'd be nice if people didn't know what exactly to look out for in a lie, eh?

Next, it'd be a whole lot better for society if the lying was kept to a minimum.