One, he lies a lot.

And two, when hes called out, he handles it poorly.

Weve all lied about something and been called out on it.

When I was 14, for example, I lied to my mom about wearing makeup.

When she found my concealer, what did I do?

Politicians are a little different, of course.

Still, our current administration acts a lot like a 14-year-old who just got busted for wearing makeup.

Instead of fessing up to the mistake and moving on, they just keep lying.

Heres where theyve gone wrong and what you should do instead, next time youre caught in a lie.

You shouldnt be talking to me, Trump added.

You should be talking to Fox.

Its not the first time hes blamed someone else, either.

Its easy to throw someone else under the bus when youre caught lying or spreading false information.

What to Do Instead:This should go without saying, but just own up to it.

People respect you more when youadmit youve made a mistake.

When youre transparent and candid, people are more likely to forgive and respect you.

Even if you lied as part of a group, just acknowledge your part and move on.

Otherwise, you look even more like a liar and you waste everyone elses time.

Dont Fall for the Sunk-Cost Fallacy

Ah, denial.

Youve made it this far, you might as well keep lying, right?

Thats thesunk-cost fallacyin action.

Theclaim was debunked, of course,but he didnt let up on it.

Dont fall for the sunk-cost fallacy.

Like a lot of cognitive biases, simply being aware of them helps more than anything.

So, no, Obama did not wiretap Trump Tower.

But the administration wont let up.

In other words, its not a very productive way to handle a lie.

What to Do Instead:Its actually pretty easy to handle being caught in a lie gracefully.

They might even be able to trust you again.

Step Two: Apologize for the lie.

And verify your apology is genuine and simple.

I was dishonest and Im sorry.

Step Three:Explain yourself.Its not an excuse, but an explanation for your behavior.

Step Four:Come up with a plan.If possible, come up with a plan to fix the situation.

Explain how youll handle future situations differently.

Its fairly common sense, but pride or panic (or politics) can often get in the way.