Have you ever had to tell a white lie before? Maybe it was something small and meaningless. But we’ve all been there before – whether it’s coming up with an excuse as to why you’re late to work or why you didn’t turn in that homework assignment or making an excuse as to why you don’t want to go on a date with your significant other and their parents – it comes in many different shapes and forms.

With these five tips, you’ll be making accurate and efficient excuses to get you out of any commitment.

1. Stall Like Hell

It’s easy for most people to jump from thought to thought without really taking ownership of one thing and sticking to the topic at hand, this only happens when we don’t know what the hell it is we’re talking about. As bullshitters, you need be CALM and COLLECTIVE before you align yourself to the lie you are about to present. Take deep breaths, focus, and before you begin your lie, try stalling.

Example: Let's say it's one in the morning and you were supposed to be home by ten:

Mom: Why are you home so late? Do you have any idea how late it is?

You: Oh gosh, is that the time? I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.

With that first line, you give yourself a moment to come up with an excuse, as follows:

You: I was with Evan studying for the chemistry exam and we were working on a practice test, so naturally we turned off our technology and isolated ourselves till we finished.

BOOM. That's easy. Stall until you come to the idea. Or let it come to you. Which brings me to my next topic...

2. The First Thought Is The Best Thought

An easy way to spot a liar is how unsure they are with their words; how they jump from thought to thought without really aligning themselves to one lie.

Let's take a look back at that first example:

Mom: Why are you home so late? Do you have any idea what time it is?

You: Well you see, I was out with Evan and we were having fun, I mean, we were just playing video games, and yeah, no we were gonna call you, and then I was gonna sleep over and then –

As you can see, jumping from one thing to another isn’t very convincing. If our exemplar had stuck to one lie and then branched out from there, it would’ve been more convincing.

BOTTOM LINE: Find that one lie or excuse and stick with it, don’t change it.

3. Specificity Is Key

This one's real simple. Just don’t be vague, generalized or ambiguous. It shows that you don’t really know what it is that you’re speaking about, which is a tell-tale sign of a liar.

Let’s create a new scenario: Your significant other invites you out to drink with some friends, but you don't want to go because you're tired.

S.O.: Me and the gals/pals are going out for drinks tonight, care to join?

You: Ah sweetie, you know I would love to but Greg (his/her boss) is gonna kill me if I don’t finish editing this commercial for Nike by tomorrow morning.

If you take this part you can see all the good things going on here:

"Ah sweetie, you know I would love to but Greg" - this whole line is a stall and a bonus, the addition of the name of the boss, adding more definition to the lie.

"gonna kill me if I don’t finish editing this commercial for Nike by tomorrow morning." - you're listing what you're doing with detail and name dropping.

Although specificity is very important, it goes hand in hand with the next part of bullshitting.

4. Use What You Know

Pulling from something you know allows you to bullshit more accurately and confidently, thus MORE BELIEVABLE. What you can assume from the previous example is that the exemplar actually does work in the commercial editing business and therefore is an acceptable excuse. Not only is it acceptable but the liar can pull from that subject more efficiently thus sounding truthful.

5. Take Your Time

Like previously stated, you want to take your time to be CALM and COLLECTIVE. Take deep breaths and focus on the task at hand.

Well, that's all the advice I can give. Hope you can get out of that commitment and bullshit your way through life.