Analytical Summary of “How tosspot a Liar”

Analytical Summary of “How tosspot a Liar”

“How to Spot a Liar” is a TedTalk done in the year 2011 by Pamela Meyer, an author, fraud detector, and an entrepreneur.  In the talk, Meyer discusses How to Spot a Liar.  She explains why people lie and how to spot it by using many examples of the difference between lying and telling the truth. Meyer gets a hold of her audience by use of appropriately educative tone, ethos, logos and pathos, and repetition.

A successful speaker opens their session in a way that permanently captures the attention of the audience. Meyer was excellent in how she started her session. She instills curiosity by mentioning that everybody’s neighbor in the room is a liar. Meyer develops her claim by starting with expressing to the audience that everyone is a liar because everybody has told at least one lie in their lifetime at some point. She uses an educative tone that maintains the attention of the listeners.  Meyer perfectly helps the audience conceptualize deceit by defining and contextualizing it. For instance, she differentiates the traditional concept of a lie from scientific understanding.

The Author connects with her audience by including real statistics (Logos). Logos such as scientific data and facts builds confidence and trust with the audience. Meyer’s overall purpose of this Ted Talk was to educate people about lying and the telltale signs you need to watch for. Meyer used many tones, but the one that stood out to me was her educating tone, throughout the Ted Talk she powerfully preached the why and how people lie, it’s as if the speaker was trying to teach the audience what the red flags are and what they mean. Logos are used in this speech by the speaker to help the audience believe what she is saying, “On a given day, studies show that you may be lied to anywhere from 10 to 200 times.” (4:06) Meyer uses this device because not only is she standing up there talking, but she wants to give the audience data to wrap their minds around. Such data will make them realize that the discussion is a real problem that needs to be given the deserved attention.

Ethos is used in conversational settings where one party wants to convince the other. Meyer has used pathos to cement her points. For instance, she points out how others disapprove of her career in lie detecting, and that she is socially deserted by many. This might be a bit off the primary goal of the discussion, but it works wonders in maintaining the audience’s attention. She also uses an emotional appeal with grieving mothers, aided with audiovisuals to help the audience better understand her claim. The case of the mother facing her son’s murderer in court is one of the excellent instances picked by Meyer. It is not only a piece to educate on lie detection, but also to portray the magnitude of loss that lie can lead to. Meyer ends up comparing the two mothers that had been interviewed for the recent passing of a daughter. She points out all the telltale signs of when and how to spot a liar; the second mother was Diane Downs just from the interview you could tell downs was hiding something, “At night when I close my eyes, I can see Christie reaching her hand out to me while I’m driving, and the blood just kept coming out of her mouth. And that, maybe it’ll fade too with time, but I don’t think so. That bothers me the most.”(Downs). No emotional expressions are reciprocating the words. She even ends up with a smile. Meyer breaks it down for the audience and allows everybody to see through to the sick individual. She shows her credibility by her facts and her informational stories about the topic.

Repetition is a rhetorical device that many writers and narrators use to show emphasis. Meyer has used repletion in a talk to strengthen specific points. She says no one wants to meet her in person since she is a lie detector. She stresses, “no, no, no…” This is an indication that people lie and they know that they do, that is why they do not want to meet her in person. To stress the importance of the knowledge she is passing, she repeats the word “difficult” (1:41). She tells how leaders go through difficulties trying to detect lies in conversations in difficult times. This convinces the audience that they need to understand the concept because everyone dreams of being in a position of leadership. Therefore, repetition helped Meyer drive her point home.

In conclusion, Meyer gets a hold of her audience and perfectly delivers her message by use of appropriately educative tone, ethos, logos, and pathos, and repetition. She poses an opening sentiment that creates curiosity among the listeners. She logically explains and helps them conceptualize the idea by using an educative tone supported by scientific facts, uses her social situation as an ethos and the emotions of the mothers as pathos. She aids her speech with audiovisuals to help the listeners get a real picture of the lesson. She also uses repetition to emphasize several points. Meyer is an excellent speaker,  able to hold the audience and deliver the message.