Sneaky Ways To Catch Them In A Lie, Even When They Deny It
A liar will usually do everything in their power to get away with it. They will deny, turn the tables on you, or give a very convincing performance.
These tricks will allow you to see right through their lies and catch them red-handed so you stop getting deceived.
They Get Defensive
If you ask them a simple question and they immediately get worked up and say something like "why do you always have to be so nosy?" they're likely deflecting.
In fact, they're trying to turn the tables on you so that you feel guilty for even "invading" their privacy.
Look For Inconsistencies In What They Say
If you pay attention, you'll notice that something just doesn't fit. When you're talking to someone who's lying, you'll notice their story is actually illogical.
Especially if they're making it up on the spot, their nerves might cause them to leave plot holes or confuse timelines.
Their Smile Will Disappear
A liar will try to look as serious as possible in an attempt to convince you of their sincerity. The truth is, if their smile immediately fades, it's a reflection of their panic, and the rest is an act.
If they know this too, they might start smiling too much when they're lying, so watch for how their smile changes.
Observe Their Body Language
There are many body language indicators when someone's lying. Some of the more common ones include pulling the body inward in an attempt to look smaller and maybe be less noticeable.
Other people might try to hide their hands so you don't notice their fidgety fingers.
Watch For A Rigid Stance
Since lying is stressful, the body will naturally tense up. This results in a stance that is rigid, both for sitting and stance. It's also a subconscious sign of restraint.
It's almost a physical reflection of fighting yourself to hold back from telling the truth.
They Tend To Leave Out The Details
A liar skips over the details that people usually use to flourish and embellish their stories. They want to move over it as quickly as possible and also want to make sure they can remember everything they do say in case they ever need to refer back to it.
They will avoid giving details such as time, background, or how it made them feel, which are harder to recall.
Watch Out For Microexpressions
As the name suggests, microexpressions are very brief expressions that reflect concealed emotions. They're the indicators that trigger you to notice that a friend is just putting a front, for example.
When a person is lying, they might let out brief moments of sadness or other emotion that creates a quick lapse in their performance, followed by a quick recovery, like a smirk.
They Make A Little Too Much Eye Contact
People who lie a lot use this to their advantage to appear more convincing. They know that you'll think they'll avoid eye contact if embarrassed, so they do exactly the opposite.
They actually will often go out of their way to keep eye contact with you to appear more sincere.
Compare To Their Usual Behavior
A good indicator of dishonesty is whether their behavior changes, but that means you have to have a base behavior to compare it to. So someone who is generally anxious might go to efforts to appear calm, or the other way around.
Just ask yourself if the person's behavior is different from how they would normally act.
They Might Massage Their Eyes
A liar might start rubbing or touching their eyes in an attempt to avoid looking at you. It's like reverting back to being a child who covers their eyes when they don't want to be seen.
This acts as a way to feel hidden, avoid eye contact, and to not give out their real emotions.
Their Voice Goes Up
It's not uncommon for the voice to go up higher when lying. This is caused by tension from the stress.
In fact, the heightened emotion, such as the anxiety commonly experienced during lying, is thought to release tension in the vocal tract, which then produces an increase in pitch.
They Start To Blush
A common sign of a liar, especially an inexperienced one, is a flushed face, often accompanied by sweating.
Blushing is an involuntary reflex caused by the sympathetic nervous system. It's one of the body's natural responses to the release of adrenaline.
They'll Avoid Referring To Themselves
When someone is lying, they will start removing themselves from their own story. They want the focus to remain on other people so they'll decrease the use of "I" or "me."
This is a subconscious way for them to distance themselves from the lie and the story they're trying to put together.
Shrugging The Shoulders
This involuntary motion is one liars are often guilty of when making a definitive statement. In reality, the shrug is concealing the reality and attempting to emphasize the lie.
They don't do it on purpose. Rather, it's a subconscious way of not committing to the lie and avoiding guilt.
Look For Excessive Blinking
On average, we blink around five or six times a minute, or once every 10 seconds. However, when the body is under stress, such as when lying or being caught, the number of blinks increases to five or six times in rapid succession.
Look For Where Their Eyes Lead
Eyes are a giveaway in many ways, but they also betray the liar by signaling their intent. The eyes will point to where the body wants to go.
If you catch them looking towards the nearest exit, this might be an indicator of the liar's desire to physically escape the situation.
They Will Lean Back
Unfortunately for the liar, the body speaks its own mind, so even if their mouth is lying, their body often is not.
In that same sense, leaning back is their way of putting some distance between themselves and the person they're lying to.
They Will Keep Making Corrections
Since liars are often making up their story as they go, they will spontaneously change it to replace details with new information they think makes their story more plausible, but that they didn't think of on the first go.
For example, they'll edit a person or place's name. In a way, they think you might lose track too because they've given you so much information.
They Use "Honesty" Words
Honesty words are phrases like "honestly" or "just to be honest." They use them because of their connotation and association with "honesty" when, in fact, it just makes them look like they're trying too hard.
Emphasizing honesty can often be a sign they're hiding something because there wouldn't be a point in adding those words to an already honest statement. It's manipulative.
They've Lied Before
One of the best indicators that they're lying now is that they've lied before. It's safe to assume once a liar, always a liar.
Although some people work on changing, it's better to confront them and then to trust your instinct on what their answer reveals.
