For instance, some people tell fantastic stories about their lives that never happened, like the co-founder of Fyre Festival, who claimed to have bought an island owned by Pablo Escobar—when in fact, they were kicked off the island by its real owner for even mentioning Escobar in promotional materials. In Elizabeth’s case, one bizarre lie she frequently told was about her voice. She affected a baritone nearly all the time. Listen to this clip from an interview:
“This is what happens when you work to change things. First, they think you’re crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden, you change the world.”
In this clip, she sounds collected and prepared, but employees reported that the baritone would slip at the end of long days, revealing a typical voice for a young woman. In that same interview, you can hear her voice shift once the questions become more challenging:
“Then they fight you, and then all of a sudden, you change the world.”
A lie like this, meant to promote a particular image, might seem quirky and forgivable, but be cautious of these traits, as they can signal a deeper need to control how people perceive them—a textbook narcissistic trait. These people often lack the feelings of guilt or shame that prevent most from engaging in fraudulent or harmful behavior.
They also tend to have a very different relationship with lying. Most people have limits on how flagrantly we’re willing to lie, preferring instead to bend the truth. The more egregious our lies become, the more visibly uncomfortable we are. But this isn’t the case with narcissistic types, who can tell bold-faced, flagrant lies without hesitation. For example, listen to how Theranos demoed their fake tests:
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