Mark Twain once said, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything," which is absolutely true, at least for regular people who aren't so great at lying.
Deceptive people who are very good at lying can even trick lie detectors.
They lie with a straight face that shows no signs of deceit to the average person.
Only a highly intuitive person who can naturally detect lies and deception can spot a liar.
And according to one study, this ability to detect lies and deceit is strongly tied to the person's ability to read micro-facial expressions and other subtle nonverbal cues.
For the rest of us, learning the science of lying and the techniques to read the nonverbal signs of lying are the only two ways to become good at detecting liars.
So, the question is, what's the science behind lying?
And most importantly, how can you read anyone and know if they're lying to you?
In this video, we'll learn 6 ways to spot a liar.
Make sure to watch until number 6 because it’s one of the most amazing techniques to spot a liar we’ve ever seen!
Number 1: Read their body language.
Liars are often betrayed by their bodies.
The nonverbal signs they can't control often give them away.
There's always a certain degree of discomfort in telling lies that's often reflected in the liar's body.
The liar can show signs of distress in the form of involuntary movements, fidgeting, and pressed lips.
One of the ways you can catch a bad liar is by asking them a yes or no question and seeing if they nod their head or shake it.
This is very likely to work if you catch the suspect off-guard.
Liars are also very likely to keep some distance between you and them, especially if they have something they want to hide, like a particular smell.
This is very apparent in teens suspected of smoking by their parents: they often try to keep a distance between themselves and their parents during an interrogation.
And we’re sure you can think of similar scenarios when the liar's body language exposes them.
However, reading body language isn't always reliable, especially in the case of a good liar.
Good liars know that their bodies will betray them, so they learn how to control their nonverbal signs.
But still, it's nearly impossible to control micro-facial expressions when strong emotions hit you.
This brings us to: Number 2: Read their micro-expressions.
Micro-expressions are very quick facial expressions that last for less than one second.
If you blink during the time someone shows a micro-expression, you might miss it.
And what makes detecting micro-expressions even harder is the fact that not many people are good at picking them up and understanding their meaning.
Knowing that, if you suspect someone is lying, you should keep a close eye on any signs of guilt, anger, disgust, or any combination of those emotions.
If the liar has a lot to lose if exposed or tries to hide something very important by lying, it often triggers strong negative emotions in them.
Even if a liar is good at hiding their negative emotions, they can't suppress them all the way.
Signs of negative emotions are prevalent around the eyes and mouth.
Strong emotions provoke involuntary muscle movements around the eyes.
Since all humans are hardwired to recognize emotions, we don't have to describe what fear or anger looks like— you’ll know it when you see it.
However, if you want to know more about how to read emotions like an expert, you should check out the research of Dr. Paul Ekman and his daughter, Dr. Eve Ekman, who built the world’s first interactive mapping of how emotions influence our lives, titled the Atlas of Emotions.
A person who tells the truth is often confident and doesn't need to hide anything; they often have a straight face.
But even people who tell the truth can show micro-expressions that might suggest they're lying.
So, the micro-expression technique to spot a liar isn't very reliable all the time, according to research.
Another nonverbal technique to spot a liar that's not very reliable according to research on the topic is: Number 3: See if they're avoiding your gaze.
If the liar did something that's supposed to make them feel ashamed of themselves, they will likely avoid eye contact.
When a person feels ashamed or guilty, they often avoid eye contact, even with strangers who know nothing about what they did.
But avoiding eye contact doesn't hold up all the time because some people are shy and can't keep eye contact for long anyway.
Introverts and people who tend to be nervous are often suspected of lying even when they’re not.
By the way, make sure to subscribe if you’ve learned something new today.
Number 4: See if they're suspiciously keeping eye-contact.
Some liars may try to deceive you by showing overconfidence and maintaining eye contact.
By letting you know they're not afraid of looking at you, the liar might convince you that they're not lying.
This is often a characteristic of a charismatic person who is naturally pretty confident and doesn't struggle with keeping eye contact.
Keeping eye contact with someone you suspect is lying also makes spotting micro-expressions easier.
However, you shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Just because a person is looking at you directly in the eyes with an expression of anger or frustration doesn't mean they're lying.
Anger and frustration can often arise due to the accusation itself, not because the person is hiding something.
It’s also worth mentioning that people with attractive or youthful faces are often thought of as more honest, which makes detecting their lying harder than usual, even if you’re keeping eye contact with them all the time.
The same thing can be said about extroverted people who have expressive faces.
It’s true that the eyes are a window to the soul.
But unfortunately, it’s tough to interpret every signal that comes from the eyes.
That’s why we have to diversify our strategies to learn how to detect lies.
Number 5: Pay attention to the pitch of their voice.
The pitch of their voice can also be a signal that someone is lying.
Similar to micro-facial expressions, the voice fluctuates to signal certain emotions.
We all know what an angry voice sounds like, as well as a fearful one or any of the other negative emotions.
A liar in a high-stress situation with something to hide might not be able to control their breath and vocal chords efficiently, resulting in a high-pitched voice.
You can notice this phenomenon when you confront a liar and ask them to explain something in their made-up story or tell you a detail.
The stress resulting from having to come up with a made-up explanation or a detail often knocks down the liar's defense, which results in a shallow, high-pitched voice, and at times a trembling voice.
But, in many situations accusing someone or being too suspicious can invoke stress and a change in the pitch of the voice.
That's why this lie detection technique is not 100% reliable.
This leaves us with: Number 6: Use verbal lie detection.
According to the most trustworthy authorities in the field of lie detection and deception, there’s no non-verbal sign that could be considered the “nose of Pinocchio,” which we can always rely on to direct lies.
Some people are like Pinocchio and cannot hide their lies because their bodies always betray them.
But it’s not always reliable to look for non-verbal cues.
The only reliable technique to catch a liar, according to the experts, is actually getting them to talk and interact with you verbally.
And one of the most common cues to detect when trying to catch a liar is to see if they pause longer when they speak.
Most liars who are caught off-guard need time to process what they have to say.
Such cues as stuttering and using too many speech fillers like ‘‘ah’’ and ‘‘um’’ should always arouse your suspicion.
A very cautious liar may speak very well and not even stutter once, but you can easily notice that they take longer than usual to process what to say.
However, a liar who’s already prepared and knows exactly what to say will always keep a straight face while lying and speak elegantly without stopping.
In the case of such a straight-faced liar who recited their script, you should ask for details in their story that they don’t expect you to ask.
When conversing with a suspected liar, always be mindful of narrative loopholes and inconsistencies in the story.
You’re more likely to catch a liar in conversation than just assume someone is lying because of some non-verbal cues.
Verbal lie detection is not as attractive as nonverbal lie detection.
There’s something inherently exciting about being good at reading people, even if they keep their mouths shut.
However, in high-stake situations, like in the court of law, reading nonverbal cues is not as reliable as verbal evidence.
Freudian tongue slips can also be verbal signals that might expose a liar, but that's a topic for another time.
And if you liked this video, then check out these related videos to see more.
And make sure to subscribe and leave a comment saying “I subscribed” and we will personally reply to your comment.