The trouble with chronic liars is that it is hard to differentiate when she or he is telling the truth versus fibbing. One begins to assume lying or at least exaggeration. That is such a shame.
Honesty is a primary or cornerstone character trait. How honest should one be? That depends on how much integrity you want to have. You should be consistently genuine and honest.
Sure, there are times you might say, "Oh, that is no bother for me at all..." ...When it reality it is a lot of work for you! And then there are the situations when you do not want to hurt people by your words, so choose your words carefully. I suppose there may be some situations where you should say "no comment" or "I cannot talk about that now." Should one lie to a dementia patient to calm him down, with no evil intent in your response?
This lying topic can be an interesting conversation with friends.
Even if a woman asks you if her outfit looks great, and you think it is not the best for her looks, you could say that if she really likes it and it makes her feel good she could wear it at times but that she has better looking outfits and that you would not suggest her buying the one she is trying on. That is better than saying it looks great when it does not.
There is a balance of choosing the right words while being honest and helpful and kind, and avoiding hurt versus just by lying about it.
Use sound judgment and kindness.
But to answer the question of this topic, yes, sometimes one can tell if someone is lying.
At other times, you cannot.
There are fakers, catfishers, and very persuasive people that get away with it. Why they do this is hard to understand. Why people choose to deceive is hard to understand. There must be some motives that they think will give them a benefit by lying.
What would be a problem is when you are telling the truth and someone thinks you are lying.
I wonder how often that happens with people. You would think rarely if you are perceived as an honest woman by your consistent honest behavior.
Chrissy