20 Signs To Tell When Someone Is Lying

Have you ever wondered if you’re being lied to? Well, luckily there are some ways in which you can know when this is happening. These are signs that you’ll want to look for when you’re trying to tell if someone is lying to you. They’re based on a combination of body language and behavioral signs that behavioral analysts and psychologists have studied for years. Of course, you need to know how the person normally acts before knowing for sure. Nonetheless, here are the signs you should look for.

Touching Their Face A Lot

According to Dr. Phil, people tend to touch their face, especially their nose, a lot when they’re lying.

Having A Fake Smile

Do you know the difference between a genuine smile and a fake smile? Well, it’s important so always remember that a genuine smile causes a person’s eyes to crinkle in a way that changes their whole face while a fake smile only involves the corners of their mouth.

Giving A Half Shrug

Whenever someone is lying to you, they’ll give you a half shrug. This is different from a sincere shrug that involves your whole body. A half-shrug is a small, forced movement.

Shuffling Feet

Remember, you’re not dancing so the only reason for someone to shuffle their feet is because they’re uncomfortable. This is their way of saying that they want to leave the situation behind them as soon as possible.

Making Abrupt Head Movements

When you ask someone a question and their head suddenly jerks back, bows down, or tilts to one side, then you know that they’re lying to you.

Hard Eye Contact

People have heard that when they’re lying they’ll avoid eye contact. To counter that, many people are now purposefully trying to hold the other person’s gaze as they lie to them today.

Too Much Pointing

Liars are often defensive and hostile. This happens because they’re trying to turn the table on you.

Excessive Sweating

Liars get sweaty, really sweaty. This is because lying is stressful so when you lie your body temperature rises and you sweat.

Randomly Moving Arms

Sometimes a person will throw their arms around as they’re lying to you. They think this will distract you from the lies they’re telling.

Making Duck Lips

According to Dr. Phil, liars make a subconscious attempt to look adorable. Oftentimes this manifests itself in pursing lips, widened eyes, and duck-faced lips.

Stuttering And Hesitation

Many liars will either stutter or hesitate as they tell their story because they’re trying to come up with a really good story to tell you. Of course, it’s hard to think clearly when we want someone to really believe in what we’re telling them.

Giving You Information You Didn’t Ask For

Liars tend to give you information that you didn’t even ask for. Dr. Phil says that this is because they’re either trying to hide something or they’re being defensive.

Defensiveness

Many liars will become defensive when confronted, while innocent people tend to become offensive.

Not Using Contractions

Liars will rarely use contractions. So, instead of saying, “I didn’t do it,” they’ll tell you, “I did not do it.”

Using Questions or Repeating What You’ve Said

Another stalling technique that many liars use is to either repeat your exact words or answer you with a question.

Avoiding “I” Statements

CNN says that liars don’t use “I” statements. So, instead of saying, “I believe you’re wrong,” they’ll simply counter with, “you’re wrong.”

Over-Emphasizing

Many liars will over-emphasize their story’s details. This is what they’ll do with things that have nothing to do with the key issue too.

Using Items of Protection

Sometimes liars will unconsciously place things like books, coffee cups, or their laptop between the two of you as you chat.

Verbal Tip-Offs

There are some verbal tip-offs you should watch for when dealing with liars. They include phrases like, “To be perfectly honest,” “To tell you the truth,” etc.

A Trick For You

We’ll end this list with a “trick” or tactic that you can use when you think someone is lying to you. Try to quickly change the conversation. Although liars show signs of relief, an innocent person will show signs of confusion.