A few times I have run across people either in college or now in business who are just liars that range from unimportant stupid things to making up situations, jobs, and accomplishments that are untrue. One thing I have noticed about them, is that they seem to have their lies well rehearsed. Either they have put a great deal of thought to these lies or they have rehearsed tell them to other people or perhaps in front of a mirror like a performance would be my guess, because when I hear them referenced the information the best I can remember is exactly the same.
Now, I’m not talking about lies about things like their own weight or stuff that’s personal. And I’m not talking about questions you ask to them directly, just stories that you know are complete BS while listening to them or you find out soon they aren’t true.
Here are some of the lies I’ve been told which I later found out were untrue from a third-party:
Story: This guy grew up in the same area as me, but at a different time, and when I mentioned about the high school there he claimed he also went to that high school. Then told me a story about something which happen to him in class with students where he won over a bunch of rowdy students over and became friends with them.
Truth: He did grow up in the same area, that was true, but he never went to high school at all and dropped out of school in middle school and never got a GED. So the claiming of going to any high school and his story were just a lie.
Story: This guy claimed when he was in college he did so well by showing up a faculty member, he was asked by the Dean to take over that instructor’s class after firing him.
Truth: He went to the college, didn’t finish his degree and dropped out. He never taught there or took over a class for anyone.
Story: This guy who is in his 30s said when he was 18 years old he was dating a girl from a wealthy family from Europe (I forget the country). He was getting along with her fine, and her family offered for him to come live with them and support him while he went to college. She was tragically killed in a car accident. But her family liked him so much they still extended the offer for him to come there and they would support him while he went to college. He was going to take them up on their offer, but claimed his father told him not to go and he was needed at home instead. So he never took them up on their offer and that’s the reason why he never went to college.
Truth: I know this guy’s brother who is a little order than him and he said the entire story is complete BS. His brother never dated a girl who was from another country and no one he dated was killed in a car accident.
Story: This guy has been claiming that decades ago when his brother-in-law was struggling financially, he sent money to him to help him pay for college.
Truth: The brother-in-law did finish college and has had successful employment since then. At the time this would have occurred the guy in this story was still living at home with his parents not working and wouldn’t have had any money to do such a thing. I know the brother-in-law and he denies that he ever got any money from this guy for college or anything else. In fact, he said all his money for college was paid done through loans, which he was still paying off.
Story: This guy moved to town to take a contract job in IT, he said he bought the home he was living in and even discussed mortgage interest rates claiming he got the same rate I just did for my home.
Truth: He never bought the home, it was never for sale and he was just renting. I was told this by a mutual friend who happen to know he was living across from a member of his family and he knew the whole history of that rental property.
Have you been told lies like this?
I personally am surprised people would tell lies like this to begin with. I don’t see what there is to gain by doing so, and they are such BS in most cases you know they can’t be true. Or you could easily find out they aren’t true or the truth just comes out.
How do you deal with these lairs? Do you just let them tell their lie and let it go, do you confront them? Do you question them to catch them? Do you just go along with it? Or do you just ignore it? Also, do you remain in contact with those people? Do you return their phone calls?
Have they missed their calling as novelists?