How to Spot a Liar

It's not human nature to detect lies, but we can learn how.

Humans are by nature, trusting - and prone to be fooled by more attractive, innocent-looking faces. Still, humans are also by nature intelligent: and can learn a few tips to ensure they AREN'T fooled.

Things You'll Need

• practice and patience
• observation and diligence

Instructions

1. 

   First: be aware of your own bias. Pretty or handsome faces are likely to fool you into thinking the person is more trustworthy. Con artists -- and dates -- that are attractive are psychologically more prone to convince you they're telling the truth. Biologically, we are more predisposed to symmetry in nature. Overcome this bias. Liars don't wear it on their face.

   Be aware of your own motivations, too. Sometimes liars succeed because we want to believe what they say. "Really? I can earn a million dollars at my poolside, just because you say so?"

   or: "Honestly? You didn't come home last night because you were rescuing a family of puppies from drowning, and it took you all that time to find them all good homes?"

   Come ON.

2. 

   Don't be fooled by the stereotypes. Not all liars blink, dart their eyes away from you, rub their noses, or shift uncomfortably.

   In fact, practiced liars DON'T. They'll give you a good, firm, look in the eye.

   To get to know whether people are lying, pay attention to their mannerisms. Start now. Is this a person who USUALLY rubs their nose, shifts uncomfortably, or darts their eyes? If so, when they are lying to you, they may not. Pay attention to DIFFERENT behavior.

   What you will be looking for, in general, are what psychologists call "microsigns." They last less than a second, but they indicate "inappropriate emotions."

   Giveaways - very, very slight - that the person is telling one thing, but feeling another.

3. Only less than 15 of almost 20,000 people studied have a natural ability to detect these signals, and they aren't all law enforcement officials. Look for a shrug in the middle of a positive statement, for instance, or a sigh. Although some people are naturally good at it, with practice, this technique can be learned.

4. 

   Some things to look for in a liar include either a lack of specific detail in a story or too much detail. Consider the circumstances. For instance, often a liar has to make up a story on the spot. In that case, to ferret out the lie, casually get the liar to repeat the story by asking questions. Details will muddy or be inconsistent. In the case of too many specifics, this will be obvious, because the liar will be talking way too much.

5. 

   Liars also tend to use less "first-person" words, like "I" or "me" in their spoken and written speech, according to one study that used language-analysis software.

6. 

   Liars, it's been shown, find it easier to lie on the phone, perhaps because of the depersonalization -- no face-to-face.

7. The main thing is to remember that while one does not want to lose one's faith in humankind, a little skepticism goes a long way.