How to know if someone is lying to you

Content

Steps
Method 1 of 4: How to tell if someone is lying to you based on your facial expressions and eyes
Method 2 of 4: Determining Truth Using Verbal Response Analysis
Method 3 of 4: Recognizing Lies Using Sign Language
Method 4 of 4: How to Distinguish False from Truth During Interrogation
Tips
Warnings

Learning to read a person's facial expressions and determine if they are telling the truth can come in handy and keep you out of trouble. This skill will help you know if you should trust the charming stranger you recently met on the street, and if you should go on a date with him. In trials, juries often use these methods of detecting lies, they are also known to the police and judges, which makes their work easier. In order to master the art of lying, you need to know a thing or two about body language and the meaning of facial expressions - usually people do not attach importance to such little things. You just need to read our article and practice a little in using the newly acquired knowledge.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: How to tell if someone is lying to you based on your facial expressions and eyes

1 Observe the micro-expressions on the face of the person you are talking to. Micro-expressions are expressions that appear on the face for only a split second, and they usually express the real emotions and feelings that a person is experiencing. Some people can automatically recognize such micro-expressions without additional training, others need to learn it. We'll show you how to learn it.
- Usually, if a person is lying, then his face will express anxiety - the inner ends of the eyebrows raised upward, forming wrinkles on the forehead.
2 Another well-known sign of a liar is touching the tip of your nose or covering your mouth with your hand. People who lie very often touch their nose with their hand. This is most likely due to an increase in the level of adrenaline in the blood - in particular, in the capillaries located at the tip of the nose. Therefore, there is an itching sensation on the nose. The person who is lying is likely to keep his hands as close to his mouth as possible - as if trying to cover his mouth and stop telling the truth. If a person's lips are clearly tense or compressed, this means that he is tense and anxious.
3 Watch the eyes of the person you are talking to. Usually, when people try to remember something that really happened, their eyes look to the left side or to the upper left corner (if the person is right-handed). When people try to use their imaginations and come up with something to lie, their eyes look to the right. For left-handers, respectively, the directions will be opposite. Also, people who lie blink more often. If a person rubs his eyes (especially a man), he is most likely telling a lie.
- Watch your eyelids. When a person is lying, or if they disagree with what they are saying, they close their eyes for a longer period of time. But for this you need to know how this person blinks in a normal situation, for comparison. If a person's hands or fingers are trying to rub or close their eyes - this is another sign of a lie, an attempt to "block" the truth.
- It is not necessary to judge the veracity of what a person said only by the movement of his eyes. Recent studies have shown that other factors can also affect eye movements. Therefore, such signs are ambiguous. Many scientists argue that it is impossible to determine from the eyes unambiguously whether a person is telling the truth or not.
4 If a person does not look you in the eye, this does not mean that he is lying. Contrary to popular belief, liars don't always avoid eye contact. People also often interrupt eye contact to focus on their memories. Liars, on the other hand, specifically look into the eyes in order to make their lies seem more sincere, in order to “prove” to the interlocutor that they are telling the truth.
- Research shows that some liars make eye contact too often, with little or no interruption in eye contact. Therefore, investigators usually take prolonged eye contact with a suspect as a sign that he is trying to hide something. When a person avoids eye contact with you, it means they are anxious or confused.

Method 2 of 4: Determining Truth Using Verbal Response Analysis

1 Watch the voice of the interlocutor. If he suddenly starts talking faster or slower than usual, or the timbre of his voice suddenly rises, this may mean that he is not telling the truth. Stuttering, mumbling, and stammering are also hallmarks of a liar.
2 Keep track of the amount of detail in the conversation. If a person tells you too much and mentions too many details, for example: “My mom lives in France. It's very beautiful there, isn't it? Do you like the Eiffel Tower? It's very clean and wonderful! " - this may mean that he is desperately trying to make you believe that what he is saying is true.
3 Monitor your emotional response. When the person is lying, the emotional response will be out of place - for example, because they knew in advance what you would ask and rehearsed their response and reaction.
- If the person answers immediately after you asked the question, they may be lying. He could think over his answer in advance and was only waiting for the moment when you ask the question.
- Another sign of a liar is the omission of important facts and events. For example: "I left for work at 7 am, and when I returned at 5 pm, he was already dead." In this case, the person does not talk about what he did between 7 am and 5 pm. This could mean that he is lying or trying to hide something.
4 Pay close attention to the other person's reaction to your questions. The one who speaks the truth, most likely, will not make excuses and prove his case, will not take a defensive position. A liar, on the other hand, will prove his innocence, respond with insults, change the subject, deviate from the answer, and so on.
- The person who speaks the truth will respond to accusations with explanations and more detail. The liar will only repeat what he has already said and insist on his own.
- Watch out for the delay in answering your questions. An honest answer usually follows immediately after the question - if the person remembers well what happened. The more a person lies, the more difficult it is for him to follow what he says, so he ponders over each answer, fearing to give himself away and say something that contradicts his previous answers. When people look away and look away, it can mean trying to remember what happened.
5 Keep track of what words the other person uses. Here are the signs that a person is lying:
- Repetition of the same words when answering a question.
- Avoiding an answer or trying to delay an answer - for example, asking to repeat the question. Other methods of avoiding a quick answer - for example, when a person says that this is a great question, or that it is not so easy to answer it, that it all depends on what exactly is meant, etc.
- Liars often avoid abbreviations and emphasize negative particles. For example: "I did NOT do this." This is an attempt to convince the interlocutor of his innocence or innocence.
- Incoherent speech, sentences that do not make sense and incomplete phrases are signs of a liar.
- Using humor or sarcasm to avoid direct responses.
- The use of the expressions "honestly", "to speak directly", "so as not to lie", "to be precise", etc. may be a sign of deception.
- Responding too quickly or answering a question with exact repetition of the sentence structure. For example, the question: "Did you wash the dishes not very thoroughly?", The answer: "No, I did not wash the dishes very thoroughly."
6 Repetition of the sentences already said earlier. If the interlocutor continues to answer with the same words and repeat the sentences already said, he is most likely lying. When a person comes up with a lie, he usually memorizes it in the form of a certain expression or a well-thought-out sentence or statement he has composed. If you ask him about the same thing several times, he will repeat the same thing all the time.
7 Moving on to another topic. If the person suddenly turns the conversation around or changes the subject, it could mean they are lying. For example: “I was walking home, and then all of a sudden on the way ... hey, did you get your hair cut, or what? Suits you"
- Liars know people love compliments. If your "suspect" during the "interrogation" suddenly starts to compliment you, this cannot but arouse suspicion. A person rarely gives compliments just like that, out of the kindness of his soul.

Method 3 of 4: Recognizing Lies Using Sign Language

1 The next sign is sweating. When people lie, they sweat a lot more than usual. During polygraph testing, for example, sweating is measured. Sweating alone doesn't mean a person is lying, though. Some people just sweat more than others. Sweating can also be a sign that a person is nervous or shy. Sweating is generally considered to be an indicator of whether a person is telling the truth when it is combined with other factors such as trembling, redness, and frequent swallowing.
2 Watch the way the person moves their head. If he nods when he speaks, it could be a sign of a lie. This phenomenon is called incongruence.
- For example, when a person says that he carefully washed all the dishes and constantly nods his head at the same time, as if agreeing with his own words, this may mean that he did not wash the dishes very conscientiously. Usually this sign is found in all liars - with the exception of people specially trained to lie.
- Doubt or hesitation before answering is also a hallmark of liars. The person who speaks the truth usually nods before answering or while giving an answer. When a person tries to lie, he will hesitate to answer and nod with a delay, as if after a short reflection.
3 When people fuss, twitch or twirl objects in their hands, it means that they are nervous or afraid. Liars often twirl objects in their hands or fiddle with a handkerchief and constantly fidget in place.
4 The next sign of a liar is the lack of imitation. It is natural for us to imitate other people's behavior when talking to them. This is how we express our attitude towards them, our interest. When a person lies, he spends most of his efforts on controlling his behavior, and therefore he stops behaving naturally, stops imitating us and our actions.
- Backward deviation of the body. When a person speaks the truth and has nothing to hide, he leans forward towards the person with whom he is talking. If a person lies and hides something, he will lean back, away from the interlocutor. Leaning back can also mean a lack of interest or dislike for the other person.
- When people tell each other the truth, they usually subconsciously imitate some of the actions of the interlocutor - they tilt their heads at the same angle or take a similar posture. A person who lies is unlikely to behave the same way. He will not imitate the movements of his interlocutor, on the contrary - he will do the opposite, tilt his head to the other side and move in a different way.
5 Watch the other person's throat. If he is constantly swallowing or coughing, he is most likely lying.When a person lies, their body releases more adrenaline than usual. So first, when a person tries to lie, the glands begin to produce more saliva, causing frequent swallowing, and then, when all is said, the production of saliva suddenly decreases sharply, which causes a cough. His mouth is dry (he may cough). A liar puts a lot of stress on his body, his heart rate increases, and his lungs require more air.
6 Check the person's breathing. The liar tends to breathe faster, producing a series of short breaths, followed by one deep breath. Dryness may appear in the mouth. Again, this is because they are under stress, which makes the heart beat faster and the lungs require more air.
7 Watch the movement of other parts of the body - arms and legs. When people behave naturally, they choose comfortable postures, they make sweeping gestures with their arms and legs without feeling constrained. When a person lies, he is uncomfortable, he makes sudden movements and takes an uncomfortable posture. His hands may touch his face, ears, or neck. Folded, intertwined arms, folded legs, and constrained or absent movement may indicate a reluctance to give information and an attempt to hide something.
- Liars often don't make any gestures with their hands. They do not point fingers, try not to open their palms, etc.
- Liars often hold their hands to something - the edge of a chair, table, or some object. Often they clench their hands so hard that their knuckles turn white.
- Liars often tug at their hair, straighten their clothes, or tug at the hem of their dresses.
- Remember the following:
  - Liars often hunch over to look casual and relaxed. They may yawn or look around the room as if expressing their boredom. If a person behaves at ease, this is not a guarantee that he is telling the truth.
  - It must be remembered that all of these signs can be indicators of nervousness and excitement, not deception.

Method 4 of 4: How to Distinguish False from Truth During Interrogation

1 Be careful. Lies and deception are not so difficult to identify, but it is also easy to make mistakes when you see deception where there is none. A huge number of different factors can affect human behavior and the manifestation of all of the above signs. For example, most of these signs can be not only an indicator of deception, but also signs of shyness, nervousness, shame, and self-doubt. A person who is in a stressful situation can act strange and look like a liar and a deceiver, even if they are not. Therefore, in such situations, it is important to observe a person for a long time and monitor his behavior in search of numerous signs that he is lying, because the presence of one or two of these signs is not enough to determine a liar.
2 Look at the big picture. When looking at sign language, verbal responses, and other metrics, consider the following factors:
- Is the person under stress that is not caused by this particular situation?
- Perhaps, factors such as the traditions and culture of his people influence a person's behavior?
- Are you personally prejudiced against this person? Maybe you expect or want him to lie? Be careful with your feelings!
- Does this person have experience? Is he a skillful liar?
- Does a person have a reason, a motive that makes him speak a lie?
- Are you good at looking for signs of deception? Maybe you just think that this person is lying? Be objective about yourself and your abilities.
3 Try not to thicken the clouds. Let the person feel a normal, non-hostile attitude - then he will relax and behave naturally. Never show the person that you suspect him of lying.If he doesn't suspect anything, you will be in a better position to look for signs of deception.
4 Determine what is normal behavior for this person. Observe how he behaves when he is not lying. This will help you notice signs of unnatural behavior if the person suddenly starts lying. Ask him some general questions and watch his reaction. Ask questions you already know the answers to.
5 Often times, people who are trying to trick you will tell true stories, deviating from the topic of the conversation in order not to answer directly to the question you asked. For example, if the question "Have you ever hit your wife?" the man replies, "I love my wife, why should I beat her?" - this means that he is trying to get away from a direct answer to the question. He can speak the truth without answering the question posed. This means that he is trying to hide something.
6 Ask the person to tell the whole story again from the beginning. If you are not sure that he is telling the truth, ask him to tell what happened over and over again. If he is lying, it will be difficult for him to adhere to the same story with its many repetitions.
- Ask the person to talk about what happened in reverse, starting with the most recent event and in reverse chronological order. It is very difficult to do this even for a professional, experienced liar.
7 Look at the liar with disbelief. If he lies, he will be uncomfortable. If he is telling the truth, he will be angry or upset (pursed lips, lowered eyebrows, lowered gaze).
8 Use silence as a weapon. It is very difficult for a liar to remain silent. Silence leaves him in the dark - did you believe him or not? Liars do not have patience, they will fill the silence with meaningless conversations, even if you do not ask them anything.
- Liars try to determine whether you believe them or not. If you remain impartial and don't give out your thoughts, they will start to worry.
- If you know how to listen, you will not interrupt your interlocutor, allowing him to completely finish his story. This will help identify inconsistencies in what he tells you.
9 Check everything that the interviewee tells you. If you can, check all the facts and details he mentioned. Talk to possible witnesses, if any.

Tips

The more you get to know the person with whom you are talking, the easier it will be for you to understand his train of thought and the better you will be able to distinguish the truth from the untruth in his mouth.
Liars can use the objects around them to create details of their story. For example, if there is a pen on the table, they can include it in their story. This is another sign by which you can recognize a liar.
A quick and abrupt change of subject or inappropriate jokes can indicate a lie. It is also indicated by overprotection or staring to the side, trying to convince you by staring intently at you. Sometimes they can distract you with questions. Some people are good at pretending. Some people are very good at lying and hardly give themselves away, so you have to rely on your own intuition.
Some of the signs described above can appear during deep thoughtfulness or trying to recover lost memories. People who are often nervous, shy, easily frightened, have done something wrong, etc., may show signs of deception where there is none. Some people are just nervous and do not know how to adequately respond to stress or pressure, so they will behave strange and suspicious - like liars, even when they have absolutely nothing to hide.
If you think that someone is lying, then try to find some details in the behavior. * If they start to feel shy or touch their face, then this may indicate that the person is lying!
Some people have a reputation for liars and deceivers.Consider this, but do not prejudice such a person. People change all the time. Reputation is not everything, and even signs of deception should be part of the big picture, which must be carefully examined before drawing conclusions.
To practice identifying liars, you can watch television programs, such as lawsuits. Try to determine by the end of the program which of the defendants is lying. If it turns out that you were right, then you are good at distinguishing the truth from the lie.
Try to determine if what the other person is telling you makes sense. When people are cheating, they get nervous, so they often come up with lies that have absolutely no meaning.
Make sure the person is really lying before making decisions. You don't want to ruin your relationship with this person for no reason.
It is much easier to recognize lies if you know the person well.
While any of the above may sound like a lie, a combination of these gives a more accurate result.
Many people are telling the truth in most cases. They value their reputation. Liars, too, can maintain an impeccable reputation so that they can be easily believed.
Some people are just shy and may not really lie, although they fidget or avoid eye contact at this point. So don't rule it out.
Some people are professional liars. There may simply be no flaws and inconsistencies in their history. Every time we tell something, we form memories. Therefore, if a person is a professional deceiver, he can talk about fictional events with such confidence that even an experienced detective will be confused. Some liars are simply unrecognizable.
Liars don't talk too much. If you ask them simply, "Did you do this?" They will simply answer "yes" or "no." Be careful. More detailed questions can bring them to clean water.
If you say “I don’t believe you” or if you say “This doesn’t sound convincing,” the liar may start talking louder. Try to conduct a dialogue, and not just declaim that the person is lying.
Some liars, on the contrary, are overly talkative.
When someone is lying, he begins to fidget or stutter and begin to do everything to make you believe them: cry, beg. They also look into your eyes to convince you so strongly that you feel uncomfortable.
Clinical psychopaths and sociopaths can professionally engage in deception. They skillfully manipulate people and reality, so it is almost impossible to catch them cheating. Such people do not care about anyone - only about themselves, and can lie for any reason on any topic, regardless of the consequences.
Some of the above symptoms can appear when a person is simply concentrating. (For example, with a difficult topic or when a person is under stress).
Also watch the speed of your eyes. The liar will keep his face in front of you, but instead of looking into your eyes, he will look around or look around.
Instead of close interrogation, you can ask related questions for several days.
When a person remembers events, his gaze moves down. If a person continues to look at you at the moment of recollection, then most likely he is lying.
Liars can often stretch words and stall for time when answering.
Watch your body movements, voice, and eyes. Usually these moments betray a person when he is lying.
Plastic surgeries or Botox injections can make it difficult for you to determine the person's expression.
Be wary of people who consistently agree with you. Some liars just like to constantly assent.
If you know a person well and see that he is under stress, you can easily bring him to clean water.
If the person knows that you like him, he may say that he is already in a relationship.In this way, a person wants to check how much you like or make it clear that you are not interesting to him.

Warnings

A forced smile is most often just an attempt to be polite. If someone smiles at you insincerely, they may just be trying to make a good impression on you or show their respect.
Deaf or deaf-mute people may constantly look at your lips instead of in your eyes - because they read lips.
Some people just like to make eye contact all the time. They do this all the time; maybe their parents told them it was polite. This does not necessarily mean that they are lying.
Be careful, if you are constantly trying to find lies where there are none, people will avoid you and it will be unpleasant for them to spend time with you. You do not need to constantly suspect everyone and not trust your loved ones. This is not healthy.
Sign language is just one sign, not a guarantee that a person is lying. You don't need to base all your findings solely on the aforementioned metrics. Find evidence that the person is lying before accusing them of lying. Do not be biased towards the interlocutor, do not look for deception in his words just because you want to find him.
Some people with autism or Asperger's disorder hardly ever make eye contact. This is not a sign of their dishonesty.
Research shows that interrogation of a suspect should always be conducted in his native language, as even people who are perfectly fluent in another language will not behave naturally when speaking it.
In some cultures, eye contact is considered rude, so that person may constantly avoid it. People who have suffered from violence or had difficult relationships with their parents often avoid eye contact with the other person when speaking. Shy or social phobic people often act like they have something to hide. Their behavior is very similar to that of a deceiver. Before drawing conclusions, make sure that this person is really a deceiver, based not only on the above signs, but also on specific facts.
Some people often have dry mouths so they can always swallow and cough frequently.
Some people get anxious and turn around when they want to use the toilet or when they feel cold / hot.
People with bipolar disorder speak very quickly when they are overexcited.