We hear anywhere from 10 to 200 lies a day. And although we've spent much of our history coming up with ways to detect these lies by tracking physiological changes in their tellers, these methods have proved unreliable. Is there a more direct approach? Noah Zandan uses some famous examples of lying to illustrate how we might use communications science to analyze the lies themselves. [Directed by Nadav Arbel, narrated by Noah Zandan].

Noah Zandan: The language of lying

The language of lying

Linguistic text analysis reveals deception: less self-reference, negative tone, simplistic explanations, and convoluted sentences.

Analysis of Lance Armstrong's interviews shows a dramatic increase in personal pronouns when he shifted from denial to admission.

John Edwards' shift from a convoluted denial to a succinct admission in a paternity scandal showcases linguistic markers of lying.