With Celebrity Traitors set to kick off later this week, body language and behavioural expert Darren Stanton has revealed exactly what makes a top tier Traitor, as well as key signs Faithfuls can look out for to spot them amongst the group.
Stanton explains that social norms around lying ‘go out the window’ on The Traitors, and explains those who make good liars are people with an ‘excellent memory’ as well as people who ‘keep it simple’ and ‘as close to the truth as possible’.
Elsewhere, Stanton says key ways to spot a liar include tell-tale gestures such as ‘grandiose language’ and ‘overcompensating too much and giving too much detail’ while speaking to others dishonestly.
He outlines how to be successful in the role of a Traitor, and says they need to be ‘subtle’, ‘not too vocal’ and ‘not stand out too much’.
Finally, he reveals physical signs to spot a Traitor, including ‘overcompensating on eye contact’ as well as ‘doubling blink rate’ and ‘dilated pupils’.
Curb your ego
Speaking to Betfair Casino, home to games such as Plinko, Stanton said: “The way to win The Traitors is to curb your ego, make things subtle.
“Don’t be too vocal or obvious, don’t stand out too much or put your head above the parapet.
“I think that’s how someone really has the best chance of winning, less is more.
“The great manipulators in that show always convince people they aren’t like that.”
Social norm out the window
He added: “Statistically, the average person will tell three white lies in an average 10-minute conversation. Men are statistically eight more times likely to lie than women.
“These lies are often about power, status, money, while women tend to lie more to protect the feelings of others, such as friends and family.
“However, in The Traitors this social norm goes out the window.
“People who find it easy to lie can be very convincing.
“The brain has the ability to produce the evidence to support the belief, so if someone really believes a certain reality is true, or has mentally rehearsed something that is untrue into becoming ‘the truth’, the brain won’t give off the leakage signals it normally would, the brain thinks it must be the truth.
“The body instead will leak out signs of truth even if it’s not true.
Keep it simple
“Those who tend to make good liars are those who can associate in different realities and different frameworks, they also need to have an excellent memory to know what they’ve said and to whom.
“The most successful liars keep it simple, they keep it as close to the truth as possible.
“In the context of The Traitors, this is about building trust and rapport with someone they want to manipulate.
“That is the key ingredient, about building rapport with someone, matching and mirroring and letting the other person come to their own conclusion when you’ve actually manipulated them into that.
“In The Traitors, it is all about building connections in order to achieve your aim.”
Stanton concluded: “The way to spot a liar is that they will overcompensate and will give people too much detail, which is always a red flag for someone who is lying.
Grandiose language
“They also tend to use grandiose language e.g. I swear on my house, I swear on X’s life. They use disproportionate language like this.
“The Traitors is this weird part of the human condition, where we like to see people in jeopardy and in scary situations.
“That’s why people like horror films or rollercoasters because we can experience terror without there being any real risk.
“Overall, people love to watch shows like The Traitors because they like to think, what would I do in that situation?
“Fundamentally, it’s such a successful show because it’s a way the viewer can enter into potential problems without the risk of really hurting anyone there.”
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