Lying Rhetorical Strategies Used in Lying Honest

Lying Rhetorical Strategies used in Lying Honest self-disclosure is an important factor that strengthens interpersonal relationships, since this is a manifestation of one's trust and sincerity to the individual. However, there are sometimes situations or information about one's self that cannot be easily disclosed, for reasons that every individual can have: perhaps disclosure of personal information may threaten or weaken the relationship, or simply, the individual is not yet ready to let his/her partner know about particular information about his/her life. One alternative to self-disclosure is lying.

Defined as the "deliberate attempt to hide or misrepresent the truth," lying is considered unethical since it is an act of disinformation, a breach of one's trust and belief to the individual (Adler, 1998:332). There are many reasons for lying. People may lie in order to avoid tension or conflict, to save face from embarrassment or shame, to guide social interaction among other people, to expand or reduce relationships, or sometimes, to gain power. Some people may consider lying as an outright form of unethical behavior.

Thus, there three rhetorical strategies that allows individuals to prevent self-disclosure of information without directly committing oneself to the act of lying. These rhetorical strategies are: white lying, equivocating, and hinting (335-8). In order to further understand these rhetorical strategies, a hypothetical example is used: suppose that you decided to live with your partner, and felt the necessity to of telling the truth about your character and attitudes.

Although you still feel hesitant to disclose every personal information about yourself, you want your partner to gradually create an idea of your personality and attitude. Suppose also that the information that you want to tell, yet not fully disclose, to your partner is your dislike for having children in the house. You consider this a problem because your partner has expressed interest in establishing a family and to have children with you.

The first rhetorical strategy, white lying, seems to be the safest way to avoid conflict between you and your partner. Through a white lie, you lie to your partner about your preference not to have children, and agree with his/her decision to have children. Using this strategy is a helpful way to avoid conflict or tension, but in the long-term, this can be a disadvantage to your relationship.

White lies can be sustained for a short period only, and eventually, you have to be honest about how you really feel about the issue. Equivocation, meanwhile, is a rhetorical strategy that has "two or more equally plausible meanings" (336). Through equivocation, you may suggest your preference for not having children around by saying, "Sure, kids are cute, although they can be messy or hard to manage after some time." In this statement, you consider your partner's idea without really expressing opposition or approval to his/her preference. This strategy.