By Ani Madanyan, Social Observer & Communicator

Have you ever wondered if someone was lying to you? I personally hate liars, and there have been cases where I wondered if someone was telling me the truth or not. What if you could tell if someone was lying? Oh this is about to go down…

Body Language

“Liars tend to use gestures with their hands after they speak as opposed to during or before a conversation,” says Tracy Brown (author of seven books, professional speaker, and business leader). “The mind is doing too many things including making up the story, figuring out if they’re being believed and adding to the story accordingly,” she adds. In other words, “Normal gesturing that might normally happen just before a statement happens after the statement” (time.com). When people lie, they flip their palms away from you. It’s a signal that they are holding something back, aka the truth. “They may put them in their pockets or even slide them under the table.” Some people tend to rock their body back and forward, or itch themselves. They fidget with their hands, legs, and face. When people fidget it shows that they are nervous. For example, when they shake their legs or cross their arms–this is a Red Flag (time.com). These are worthy measurements of a liar, but personally when I look for a lie I stare the speaker straight in the eye, and I just know if they’re lying or not. It might be my superpower…

Facial Expressions

I always thought that when someone looks to the left, it means they’re lying. But, this rumor is surprisingly wrong. Livescience.com says that you cannot sense a liar from where they look (livescience.com). However, when people fidget with their mouth (bite lips, lick lips) this could show that they’re holding back the truth. Most people get either really sweaty or really dry. This is why they lick their lips. Some people get dry in their eyes and this is what causes them to squint or blink excessively (psychologytoday.com). I know for a fact that I’m not a good liar, so you can tell by the look on my face if I’m lying or not. I bite my lips, bat my eyes, and stutter. Is this transparency good or bad? Not sure.

Voice

When people are anxious, the muscles in their vocal cords may tighten as an automatic response to stress, resulting in a high-pitched voice. Some people get voice cracks when they lie (I’m guilty of doing this). People tend to clear their throat or cough out of nervousness or discomfort. Some people try TOO hard to convince the other person so they use phrases such as “I swear” or “honestly.” When people stutter or say “uh, um, like” this is another Red Flag you’re confronting a liar (time.com). Most people also repeat the questions that they were asked. They do this to think of a lie in their head, or simply just because they are nervous. For example, “When did this happen?” “When did this happen? Well, uh, I…” Keep this in mind when interrogating people. Personally, when I lie, my voice tenses up and I get SO nervous.

I’m not sure if I ruined friendships or relationships or fixed them here, but either way, you’re welcome. Now, you can easily detect a lie in your friends and loved ones, unless you’ve got a manipulator on your hands. But that’s a lesson for another time…