[Music]
What if you didn't need a lie detector?
What if your knowledge of psychology and human behavior was enough to tell if people were
telling the truth?
Some people are inherently born with the ability to spot a liar.
Others study and practice for years before they can call people out on their dishonesty.
Well, we're about to give you a crash course on how to spot a liar.
Here are ten of the most obvious signs: evasiveness; one study on lying, found that evasiveness
was one of the biggest signs of dishonesty.
But what is evasiveness?
Basically, when people are lying, they are less likely to be specific.
They might say "I don't know" or "I don't remember".
In terms of lying, this is a massive red flag.
Inconsistency; Liars can't keep their story straight.
That's basically what psychologists mean when they say inconsistency.
And studies have proven it's a big sign of lying.
This is a common tactic used by police during interrogations.
They ask the suspect to repeat their story again and again hoping to poke holes in it
when certain details are inconsistent.
Simulated facial expressions; although this is another huge sign of lying, it's very hard
to spot.
Why?
Because some Liars are just really good at acting.
One study showed that only certain facial muscles are activated when people are experiencing
genuine happiness.
These muscles are called the orbicularis oculi, otherwise known as cow’s feet.
But, you'd have to be a serious expert the spot which muscles are being activated in
the face.
They can't tell their story backwards.
If you ever doubt that someone is telling the truth, ask them to tell their story backwards.
Studies have shown that when people are lying, they have trouble telling their false version
of events in Reverse.
When people are lying, they have an increased cognitive load.
This basically means that liar’s brains are working much harder than those who are
telling the truth.
When you ask a liar to tell their story backwards, this might push their cognitive load over
the edge leaving them unable to keep their story straight.
Not maintaining eye contact; this has to be one of the most obvious signs of a liar.
Eye contact is linked with truthfulness, and multiple studies have linked lying with the
inability to look someone in the eye.
Although this has been explored by research, it only takes a little bit of common sense
to see why this is true.
Once again, it goes back to evasiveness.
They can't handle unexpected questions; like we've mentioned previously, Liars are using
their brains much more than those telling the truth.
Honest people don't have to think too hard about what they're saying, they're simply
telling the truth.
Liars on the other hand are inventing entire stories and situations clearly out of their
own imaginations.
Sometimes, they plan out their responses and stories long in advance.
That's why when we ask them unexpected random questions, it often catches them out.
It's another technique that police often use; simply asking them what they were wearing
or what they ate could be enough to leave a liar stuttering.
Micro-expressions; this is another sign which is incredibly hard to spot.
Research has shown that facial expressions linked with genuine emotions might only last
a few milliseconds.
As a general rule, shorter expressions are usually real.
Longer drawn-out expressions have a higher chance of being fake.
A liar is essentially trying very hard to show everyone what they're feeling, as opposed
to genuinely feeling these emotions.
The problem is that these genuine micro expressions are very hard to spot.
Sometimes, they're impossible to even see because they're so quick.
Blinking; but there might be an easier way to spot what psychologists refer to as masked
emotions.
Just take note of how often someone is blinking.
Research has shown that frequent blinking is linked to masked emotions, a clear sign
of lying.
Their facial expressions and their emotions don't match up.
This is something most of us aren't familiar with.
Sometimes, people just give us a strange vibe.
Often, this is because their emotions and facial expressions seem totally disconnected.
They might be smiling when their body language seems sad or vice versa.
Studies have shown that this is a major red flag when it comes to lying.
Play devil's advocate; now we're getting into expert territory.
This might be hard to pull off but it's a great way to spot a liar.
Let's say someone says that they love roller coasters, but you have a sneaking suspicion
that they're actually terrified of them, all you need to do is play devil's advocate.
Talk about how scary you think roller-coasters are and situations where you've been terrified,
they'll probably agree with you on some level.
Now, all you need to do is compare that statement with what they initially said about loving
roller-coasters.
Which statement seems more genuine?
The answer should be pretty obvious.
This is a technique which has been backed up by quite a few studies.
Tell us about your stories of when you caught a liar.
What were some of the signs that made it obvious?
We hope this helps you in getting the truth out of people in the future.
What did you think of this video?
Does it help you spot a liar?
Comment below and tell us which of these tactics you use to catch a liar in the act.