How to Detect a Lie

You may wonder if that person you are speaking with is being completely honest with you. Lover’s spats, business meetings, sales pitches…life is full of moments when the truth is obscured by ulterior motives and outright deceit. Although none of these tactics are foolproof, there are several ways to detect if someone is lying.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Watch the eyes. Liars will avoid making eye contact and their mannerisms are usually stiff and rigid. Some experts contend that a person looks up when thinking about information, down when considering her emotions and to the side when skirting an issue through deception.

2. Notice voice tone and inflection. When lying, people tend to speak in extremes, either monotone or with great energy. Overconfidence is as likely a tip-off as withdrawal. Whatever the case, the person’s words should be appropriate to the situation. If he becomes defensive when answering a simple question or launch into an unnecessary elaborate explanations, recognize the behavior as a warning sign.

3. Pay attention when she dodges the issue. A liar may change the subject quickly or become overly interested in the new topic if you do. Using humor and sarcasm are also common ways of being deceptive. Watch for statements instead of direct answers to your questions. For example, if you ask, “Where is my car?” and she replies, “I never drive your car,” she's merely dodging the question. Continue asking until you get a straight answer.

4. Study their smiles. A fake smile involves only the mouth, whereas a genuine smile engages a number of facial muscles, including the eyes and cheeks. Expressions should match spoken words. Honest people won’t frown while saying they want to spend the evening with you.

5. Consider the mouth. Lying produces anxiety that can cause the liar’s mouth to become dry and tense. Watch for unusual licking, swallowing or pursing of the lips.

Tips & Warnings

• All of these cues are merely suggestions of someone lying. None provides proof of deception. Before calling someone a liar and potentially damaging a relationship, be certain that the person is genuinely dishonest. Confronting a liar with the truth is always the best way to settle a matter, so long as you do so with love and compassion.

[MercianPrince]

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[DiscountTickets]

on 6/12/2009 Very interesting information, I knew a little bit of this, but you just came up with more information, so well written, thanks for sharing.