PEOPLE - How To Tell If Someone Is Lying

How To Tell If Someone Is Lying

by Rebekah Sager

Everyone lies. In fact most people lie several times a day. It is said people lie up to 5 times a day thus with the 6 billion population, 30 billion lies are told in a day.

From the time we’re about three years old, we begin to lie. Maybe we learn if from our parents or maybe it’s simply intrinsic to being human.

Did you know that people who don’t care about what others think are actually more likely to be honest. That said, who is most  likely to lie to you? It seems people who are more likely to adapt to situations and care excessively what people think of them are more likely to fib.

In an effort to help average people detect lies, authors of Spy the Lie, Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, and Susan Carnicero distilled their professional deception skills in a deceptively clever book.

These are the author’s top indicators to look for when you’re trying to uncover the truth.

1. Spy the delay: Basically, if someone is telling the truth, it usually doesn’t take them too long to answer a question. If you ask someone about an event that may have taken place several years ago, they may pause to think about or remember the time period, but the delay needs to be considered in the context of whether it’s appropriate for the question. If they answer too quickly or take too long, based on what they’re asked, it could be very significant.

2. Nose touching, mouth covering, eye movements, and general grooming: When it comes to covering the eyes or mouth, it’s natural for people to hide themselves when confronted about an untruth. In terms of touching the face or grooming, it’s basically a way we humans handle anxiety. When people feel anxious, blood tends to drain from surfaces like the face, ears, and nose making these places itchy—thereby needing to be touched–a liar is literally fingered.

3. Throat clearing or swallowing: A slight spike in anxiety can cause a dryness in the throat or mouth, and before answering a question, there would be a need to clear the throat.

4. Changing the subject: One way to avoid telling the truth is to avoid the subject all together. When being questioned if the person you’re talking to quickly changes the topic, it may be because they don’t want to continue lying or they’ve run out of details.

5. Removing themselves from the story: Liars don’t use the words “I”, “mine”, “myself”,  or “me” a lot. They’ll refer to events as if they weren’t there at all–because they probably weren’t.

Whether you’re interviewing a perspective employee, test driving a new date, or asking your kid about their homework, having a sense of some of the physical clues to look for may keep you safe from total deception.