Lies, Lies and Half Truths. – How to Tell if a Person is Lying

Liar – One who tells lies

For many years I have both studied and taught different aspects of business and management. One of the areas that I have always been interested in is ‘body language’. Body language usually refers to non-verbal communication signaled by the position and posture of a person’s body. This is thought to be a more automatic responses, and much less considered than a person’s actual words. The understanding of body language is an excellent method of gaining an advantage. One aspect of the use of body language is the way a person’s body is positioned when the speaker is lying. The ability to distinguish the truth from a lie can make the difference between a good decision and a poor one.

The following are some simple methods widely used to judge how truthful a person is being about what they are telling you. It should, of course, be remembered that these are indications only. The use of body language is not an exact science but it certainly provides food for thought.

Reactions and method of interaction.

Someone who is lying will be uncomfortable when they have to face the person asking them questions or accusing them of a lie. Often this will translate into a person turning their body or head in a different direction.

It is also the case that a person who is lying will get very defensive. A person who is telling the truth will be more likely to attack or go on the offensive.

Liars may try to put physical barriers between them and the accuser. This may translate into the unconscious placing of an object, such as a piece of furniture, between themselves and the person who they are lying to, or they may cross their arms.

Body language

The physical expressions of a liar may appear to be stiff or limited. It is typical to see less hand and arm movement. The liar will try to withdraw into their own space.

A liar will often try to avoid eye contact. There of course may be other reasons for this response too and people with experience in a bi-cultural or multicultural setting may come across this trait without it being an indication or otherwise of honesty.

Another point that is often referred to in the literature on this topic is the tendency of someone who is lying is put their hands up near their face. Perhaps they will touch their throat or mouth, scratch their ear etc.

Contradictory emotional gestures.

The expressions or gestures do not match the verbal statement. For example a frown when they are saying something is very nice.

The expressions of a liar tend to be more often limited just to mouth movements when emotion is being faked, instead of using the whole face. A common example of this is with a smile. A ‘real’ smile involves the whole face the jaw and cheeks move, their eyes and forehead push down, nose may wrinkle and eyes may get squished. A forced or ‘fake’ smile sees only those muscles around the mouth move. A quick way to judge this is to look at person’s eyes.

Often duration and timing of the emotional gestures and the emotion are out of sync. The emotion displayed may stay longer than natural and also may stop very suddenly. This is because people are thinking it through, not letting it happen.

The timing between the emotional expression or gesture and the words spoken do not link up. Think of when someone has given you a present you have not really liked, you say ‘it’s great’ and then remember to smile.

The verbal content and context

A contracted statement is more likely to be true. A correct, more drawn out statement once again shows though rather than reaction. I.e. ‘I didn’t do it’ as compared with ‘No I did not do that thing’

Liars will often try to avoid actually lying. This is done by not making direct statements. The liar may imply an answer rather than denying it completely. I.e. Do you really think I would do something like that?

A liar will often try to reuse the words or phrase when denying something. Q. Did you take that money? A. No I did not take that money.

It has also been noted that liars may tend not to use pronouns. Their speech may be in a more monotonous tone than normal. A truthful statement tends to see emphasis placed on pronouns.

People that are telling lies also often become unusually verbose. The liar will often speak much more than normal. Thinking they need to convince you their answer is truthful.

A liar may mumble, or garble their words. The liar may speak very softly; the grammar and syntax may seem unnatural. The sentences may be not emphasized or muddled.

Other ways to detect a liar

One good method for catching out a liar is to change the subject of a conversation quickly. The liar will be happy, follow along quickly and may appear to visibly relax. The liar wants the subject changed; a truthful person will in these circumstances often appear confused and try to change the subject back to the previous subject.

A liar may try to use sarcasm or humor to avoid the subject.

Remember

The above are ‘indicators of lies’ not ‘proof of lies’. When judging if a person is lying these behaviors can be compared to their normal behaviour. Behaviors out of context are a good indicator of untruth.

The concept involved in these indicators are that a liar must think through actions, they do not come naturally, while an honest person just reacts.

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