How can I beat a lie detector?

The other day I saw that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry was put in a situation where he had to take a lie detector test.

(He was dating a policewoman and she asked him if he watches the TV series “Melrose Place” and of course he lied and said no but she didn’t believe him so he had to take the test)

So I was talking to Elaine and I was like, “what can I do? Maybe I’ll try to beat the machine,” and she was like, “Who do you think you are, Costanza?”

So he said, “Wait a minute, you’re right. I have access to one of the most deceitful minds on the planet: George Costanza!”

So he turns to George and asks, “Teach me how to beat the machine.”

To which George replied “sorry I can’t do that, it’s like asking Pavarotti, teach me how to sing like you”, so Jerry goes on his way to figure out for himself how to do it, and George breaks away from him with the wise words. :

“Jerry, it’s not a lie if you believe it”

You may have heard that sentence before, but this reminds me of an interesting story:

I have a friend who had to take a lie detector test as part of a job application.

So this guy is so honest… kind of too honest, and something very interesting happened there…

Before the test the technician who operates the machine told him:

“Okay, now, if we ask you a question about whether or not you did something… if you’re not 100% sure, you might as well say ‘I’m not sure’ or ‘I may have done that’…” which say something that the machine would interpret as a lie”

So like I said, this guy is totally nerdy-honest, which is why he’s so freaked out because he keeps thinking about it…”well, what if I’m saying something that’s a lie? Maybe I think I did but I don’t.” I did … “

Long story short, after 2 or 3 times he failed the test, he was declared unfit for work, even though he was honest(!) just because he was scared by the whole situation.

And if you think about it from the point of view of persuasion and manipulation, what really happened was that they planted that seed of fear and doubt in his mind.

So here’s a very valuable lesson on persuasion and manipulation for business owners that I learned from the great marketer Dan Kennedy, which is how you can better persuade your audience by understanding how our minds work:

Look, there are certain dark emotions in all of us, okay?

I don’t care if you’re Mother Teresa, you have some sort of skeleton in your emotional closet (or at least a little bone in your shoe…)

And when you’re trying to convince a person, you really want to tap into those deep, dark emotions of theirs.

Take, for example, the oldest and most sophisticated system of persuasion in the world -I’m talking about religion-

Religion is based on planting seeds of fear in people to persuade them to convert (heaven and hell), otherwise why be a good person right?

So when you think “how can I best persuade my audience?”

Think about what deep, dark emotions your market has regarding your product or service…

Think about how you can stir them up, how to prod and piss them off, make them think about these things, and get them excited about what you’re talking about.

In a nutshell, that’s what’s going to win them over.

The more emotional weight your prospect carries with him regarding your promotion, the more likely he is to convince himself that he needs what you’re selling.