How to spot lies and make true claims more believable

In the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, there’s a vehicle chase scene where Angharad, the estranged wife of the evil antagonist Immortan Joe, accidentally falls out of the truck and is tragically run over by the “bad guys” who are pursuing them.

Her friends, who believe she might still be alive, plead for the driver Max (played by Tom Hardy) to turn around…

“No,” he replies, convinced that she didn’t survive.

But the other members of the group distrust Max and don’t believe him.

So the leader of the group, Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron) asks skeptically, “Did you see it?”

And Max replies in a matter-of-fact tone, “She went under the wheels.”

Still not convinced, Furiosa repeats her question, “Did you SEE it?!”

So Max takes his eyes off the road and looks her straight in the eyes, and in the same matter-of-fact tone, repeats himself…

“She went under the wheels.”

And all of a sudden, Furiosa is convinced.

In an instant, her doubt is dispelled, and a look of sadness washes over her face as she realizes Max is telling the truth.

With tears in her eyes, she shouts to the group “We keep moving!”

So they continue driving and don’t turn back.

Anyway, as subtle (and tragic) as this scene is, it’s actually reveals a powerful lesson in psychology.

That is…

The link between repetition and truth.

You see, it’s very hard to repeat a lie multiple times in a row.

As Chris Voss (who was the FBI’s top hostage negotiator for over 20 years) said in his bestselling negotiation book “Never Split the Difference”…

“Get your counterpart to reaffirm their agreement at least three times. It’s really hard to repeatedly lie or fake conviction.”

In other words, if you’re negotiating with someone, you can’t be sure they’re fully committed to the deal until they’ve repeated their agreement multiple times. Repetition signals commitment and truth.

Which is also why it’s used in copywriting.

For example, I believe it was John Carlton (who is universally regarded as one of the greatest living copywriters) who recommended being somewhat redundant in your guarantees.

E.g., “You don’t risk a penny because you’re protected by our 100% no-risk money-back guarantee. So if you’re not absolutely THRILLED with XYZ product, for any reason or no reason at all, just let us know and we’ll give you a swift and courteous refund of every penny — no questions asked.”

(I wasn’t able to find his exact quote on this topic, but that’s the gist of it).

See how redundant and repetitive that is? You could just say “money-back guarantee,” and leave it at that.

But by “overstating the case” and being a bit repetitive, it makes the guarantee more believable, and therefore more trustworthy.

Anyway, just something to think about whenever you make a claim.

Any claim is more believable if you restate it multiple times, as Chris Voss, John Carlton, and Mad Max show.

Just make sure to always use it wisely and ethically, and ONLY if what you’re claiming is the truth.

ONLY if what you’re claiming is the truth ;)

-Beau D. Schultz

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