How to Catch a Lie
From work relationships to your personal life, the ability to spot a lie can help out in multiple situations. Knowing a liar's tells can help parents figure out a child's culpability or give a boss an edge in managing employees. While techniques used to tell if someone is lying aren't foolproof, they can give an individual a hand up when it comes to determining the truth behind another person's statements or whether or not to trust someone.
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Instructions
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Listen for familiar lies. Some of the best lies are popular, and may even be lies you have used. From simple excuses, such as an illness, to the major whoppers, like a death in the family, if it is a lie you have told to get out of an unwanted task, suspicion may be warranted.
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Watch for signs that the person is nervous. A lot of people get nervous when lying, and it will show. If he avoids eye contact, sweats or fidgets, he may be lying.
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Ask questions. A good way to trap a liar in her story is to ask for the specifics. Most lies lack detail, and the holes in the story should appear under scrutiny. A liar can become belligerent or angry when questioned. Ask questions more than once to see if details change. Liars often pause while lying to make up new details.
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Observe body language. Sometimes a liar's pupils will dilate. Likewise, the pitch of a liar's voice may rise.
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Look for reassuring statements, like, "Trust me," or, "Believe me." Liars will sometimes use these phrases to convince their target of the truth. If a person uses similar phrases in abundance, ask yourself why.
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Ask simple questions you know the truthful answer to in order to establish an idea of the subject's behavior when he is telling the truth. You can then compare that behavior to the way he acts when you suspect he is lying. The questions should be ones you both know the answer to, and you should both know the other knows the answer, such as "Did you work Monday?" or "What day is it?"
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Watch for insincerity. If a smile appears fake, or the subject sounds pleasant but has her arms crossed or stands at a distance, something may be wrong.
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References
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