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Now, back to the current topic.
Has your friend been acting out of character lately?
Do you sense that they might be hiding something from you?
It can be frustrating when your friends
aren't completely honest or upfront with you,
especially about the things that matter.
So, here are eight signs your friend may be lying to you.
Number one, they do a lot of hand gestures.
Observe your friend's body language carefully.
Experts believe that people often
gesture a lot with their hands when they're lying
especially if they do it after speaking, instead of during.
Their minds are so busy coming up with the lie
and making up a story to support it
that they often delay their gesturing and movements.
Someone who is lying is also more likely
to use both hands when gesturing,
face their palms away from you,
and exaggerate their movements.
Two, they fidget more than usual.
Do you notice them fidgeting more than usual?
Do they shuffle their feet
or touch their face, and play with their hair?
All of these are examples of nervous ticks
that people subconsciously do when they're lying.
When you're nervous, your heartbeat accelerates
and your automatic nervous system goes into overdrive
causing you to feel restless and on edge.
Three, they break eye contact with you.
You might think that when someone is lying to you,
they can't look you straight in the eyes.
However, a recent study showed
that liars are actually 70% more likely
to stare directly at you than
those who are telling the truth.
This is because they want to appear more confident
and act as if they have nothing to hide.
The real trick is if they can maintain eye contact with you,
because liars have a tendency to break eye contact a lot.
Number four, their tone of voice changes.
Does your friend talk quickly
or raise their voice when they get defensive?
Aside from body language or facial cues,
you can listen closely to their tone of voice.
People who are nervous talk in a higher pitch than normal
because the muscles in your vocal cords
tighten up as an instinctive response to stress.
Other tells include cracks in their voice,
frequently clearing their throat,
and if they swallow before they speak.
Number five, they repeat words or phrases.
Do you notice that your friend
repeats certain words or phrases over and over again
when they're giving you an excuse
as to why they're late or missed an event?
While that doesn't necessarily mean
that they're lying to you,
it should still make you suspicious.
Liars tend to talk more and repeat themselves a lot
to seem more open, honest, and genuine.
Number six, they give very vague answers.
Does your friend give you really vague answers
like "I have this really important thing I need to do"
and just leave it at that?
Studies show that vague answers like these
often mean that the person is lying.
They might also repeat questions before answering them
intentionally leaving out important details
and say um or uh a lot instead of responding right away.
Number seven, they quickly end the conversation.
Once your friend thinks they've convinced you of their lies,
they'll want to end the conversation as soon as possible.
They might change the topic
or act indifferently by checking their watch,
shrugging, or looking bored
to prompt you to end the conversation.
They might also excuse themselves
by saying they have somewhere else to be
or an appointment they're running late for,
or pretend to answer a phone call and leave.
And number eight, you sense something is off with them.
Finally, if all else fails, go with your gut.
If you sense that your friend seems off
or notice they're acting suspiciously lately,
then there's probably more to the story.
One study found that participants could intuitively
tell when someone is lying with up to 43% accuracy.
There are a lot of nonverbal cues
that our subconscious mind may pick up
that tells us that our friends are lying
or hiding something from us.
If you want to learn more about your gut instincts,
check out our video titled
"7 Gut Instincts You Should Not Ignore".
So, did you notice any of these signs
when talking to your friend?
Do you think they may be being dishonest
with you about something?
Let us know in the comments below.
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