How to Tell When a Person Is Lying

Liar liar pants on fire! Oh yeah, the schoolyard chant that some of us learned so long ago. No one likes being lied to but it is all too common. Lie can be big or small and cause anywhere from hurt feelings to financial devastation. Learning some small tricks to tell when a person is lying can be very helpful.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Become a lie detector by following your instinct and gut. This may seem like an obvious tactic when detecting a liar. But, think back to the last time that someone lied to you or manipulated you (a subtle form of lying). How often have you said or heard from someone "I knew it!" as an afterthought to an event? Instinct is your body's innate lie detector, but it only works when you trust it.

2. Learn to read a person's body language. A person avoiding eye contact during a conversation can mean that he or she does not want to look you in the eyes because the words are lies. Although there has been speculation and research about the direction of a person's eye movement as the answer to when someone is lying, it's not always as easy as looking up and to the left always indicated lying.
   
   Guarded body language can also be a tell that someone is lying. Some of the common thoughts are about hand gestures. Generally speaking when a person is lying he or she will cover their mouth and face. Think of a person lying to you and covering their mouth as an indirect way of covering up the truth.
   
   See if the person begins to fidget, has changes in breathing, blushes, or begins to sweat. All of these can be potential signs that a person is lying to you.

3. Listen to the person's voice. When a person is lying their voice often changes as does the manner of speaking. For example, a person may mutter an answer to a question when lying rather than speaking in a direct tone. If their voice and regular style of speaking changes around a certain topic then this means you should pay attention. Subtle changes in tone can be very telling about a person. Most people who have to answer a telephone at work are told to smile before they pick up the telephone because the person on the other end can hear it. This is true. Become a person who listens to others intently and you will pick up on their behavior and emotions. This can be used for more than just trying to tell if a person is lying or not.

4. Watch for inconsistency in behavior. If you are trying to tell whether you are being lied to then you have to factor in what you know about the person already. If you are talking to a friend who is usually really calm, gestures while speaking, speaks clearly, and always looks you in the eyes, but then he suddenly begin to avert his eyes, closes up and has avoidance behaviors there's a good chance that something is going on.

5. Remember that not any single one of these are absolute. It also does not mean that your friend who doesn't always look you in the eyes is a liar. This is why it's really important to learn a person's patterns.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are being pressured into buying or selling something by a person that you don't know err on the side of caution. There are people who are aggressive sellers or collectors and lying or deceptive practice can be used. These are times when listening to your gut reaction is the first tool to use.

Resources

• How to stay sane around manipulative people and situations.

[eemie]

on 8/13/2009 Hmmm, luckily ppl don't lie to me much but its good to know! Thanks for the tips!