5 Tips To Help You Find Out If Someone Is Lying
In a perfect world we had a portable lie detector that we could use on everything and everyone, but unfortunately we don’t live in this ideal world. How can you find out if someone is lying?
What we do have is a good basic common sense and intuition to sense when someone is lying. In addition, we always have our attention.
Discover in this article how you can detect when someone is lying.
How can you tell if someone is lying?
It may sound strange, but lying is something that is very common and happens very often.
Sometimes someone just lies without actually wanting or realizing it. But there are also people who lie blatantly and constantly and then it is sometimes very difficult to know whether he or she is telling the truth.
For starters, you can analyze a number of signals to determine if someone is telling the truth.
1. Using too many words
People who often lie usually talk very quickly and tell everything in more detail than usual. They do this to try to convince their interlocutor of what they are saying.
This waterfall of speech is often supplemented with exuberant gestures and expressions such as:
- ‘to be honest’
- ‘I now speak the full truth’
2. Microexpressions
Micro-expressions are small facial expressions that you often don’t notice if you don’t pay attention to them explicitly. They often only last a few seconds.
When someone lies:
- sometimes raise an eyebrow
- wrinkles appear on the forehead
- make the lips and repetitive movement
3. Incoherence
When we tell a story over and over, we usually do it without changing a single detail. If you lie, on the other hand, you are going to change certain elements that are sometimes different from a previous version you have told.
In an earlier version he may have said that it was raining and later he said that the sun was shining very brightly.
Also, the relationship between your words and facial expressions can betray a lie. For example, when someone tells a sad story but has a smile on their face, he or she may not be telling the truth.
4. Touching the nose and mouth
This is one of the most common signs of someone lying.
It is an unconscious move that a liar makes to cover his mouth to hide that the words that come out of his mouth are not true.
If someone is constantly touching their nose and it is not related to a cold or allergy, it could be a sign that they are lying.
5. Childish Behavior
Behaving childishly or using a ‘soft’ voice is another signal we should be aware of.
Believe it or not, some people grow up in an environment where it is accepted or forgiven to lie, as long as the lie is about something ‘innocent’.
Little children look cute when they try to tell us something, but we have to be vigilant about what they do or say.
6. Eye Movements
You can also determine if someone is lying by looking at the face.
It’s normal for your eyes to move from one side to the other when you’re distracted, but making this move very quickly to remember something can be a signal that someone is lying.
On the other hand , liars also often try to avoid eye contact with the person they are talking to, or focus on an object just behind their interlocutor.
Be aware that many experienced liars have trained themselves to look straight at you without noticing that they are not being honest.
7. Breathing
Lying can cause a lot of stress and cause changes in breathing. Especially when the liar feels guilty about the lie he is telling or feels pressured.
Sometimes it also makes them have trouble swallowing saliva or keep clearing their throats because their lie leaves them with a dry mouth and throat. Because of this, they often go:
- lick their lips
- take a deep breath
- breathing through the nose
8. Voice Changes
Vocal changes in your conversation partner are often also a clear indication to determine whether someone is lying or telling the truth.
You may notice that:
- they speak faster or slower than usual
- their intonation is sharper than usual
- their voice trembles when they say certain words
Stuttering or babbling are also often signals that a liar gives when he lies.
9. Sweating
When someone is in an uncomfortable situation, they often perspire more than usual. Maybe they themselves say something about it being very warm in the room even though the air conditioning is on or while it is winter.
Measuring how much sweat a person produces is one of the parameters analyzed by a lie detector or polygraph. If someone suffers from clammy hands due to sweating or you notice sweat stains on their clothing, this can be a signal that they are lying to you.
10. Emotional Reactions
The response or timing of a response can also help you figure out if someone is lying. For example, if you ask something and you immediately receive an answer, this may be because the answer is not honest or because the answer has been rehearsed.
These can also be signs of a liar:
- when someone continuously defends themselves verbally
- asking someone trying to dodge
- gives answers that have nothing to do with the question at all
Also be alert if people start using the same words or answers as you or if your conversation partner avoids your questions by answering with a different question.
