There’s a reason why polygraph results are not allowed as court evidence in most laws. And for good reason. So unless you have a potential in-law who’s like Robert de Niro’s character in Meet the Parents, then there’s no need to worry.

In any case, you can always cheat your way through a polygraph test. Here are to routes to beat that test:

• Keep you cool

  Lie-detectors are designed to pick up non-verbal physical clues such as increased heart rates and pupil dilations but these are not enough to judge how true your words are. If you’re a pretty good poker player and can keep your cool and be calm all through out, then the machine will not be able to find any irregularities. But you should be an Oscar-deserving actor to pull this off. Either that or you’re a rock.

• Overreact at every point

  Another route that you can take is to exaggerate at every response. The test is designed to have control questions. These are designed to elicit obvious responses like your name, or if the sky is green (to which you reply “No”). This will be their basis in seeing “spikes” or irregularities in the test.

  Overreacting to every response will give the polygraph varying readings whether it’s a control question or not. Since you’ve messed with the controls, they wouldn’t have anything to base their readings on. You can even prick yourself with a pin or needle so to that your body will give off heightened signals due to reflex.