This is what is called the mental load of lying : the more it increases, the more inconsistencies tend to appear.
First question: tell the story… backwards.
Here is a simple but formidable technique: ask your interlocutor to recount the events starting from the end.
For example:
“What would happen if you rewrote the whole story, but in reverse?”
Why does this work? Because a real memory remains accessible, even when the order of the story is altered. In contrast, a fabricated story is much more difficult to reconstruct coherently.
As a result, doubts, omissions, or inconsistencies may appear more easily.
Second question: requesting unexpected details.
The second key is to ask specific but unexpected questions.
For example:
“Who exactly was present?”
“What was happening around them at that moment?”
“And just before that, what happened?”
A sincere person usually remembers secondary details, even the most trivial ones.
On the contrary, someone who improvises will tend to be vague or limit their answers, for fear of contradicting themselves.
