Profiling: How to tell when someone is Lying

Covering their mouth or eyes

Covering their mouth or eyes. Many people want to literally cover up a lie or hide themselves from the reaction to it, which may be why they put their hands over their eyes or mouths when letting an untruth out. Others may even actually completely close their eyes when telling a lie, particularly when its in response to a question that doesn't require a lot of reflection.

Direction of their eyes

Direction of their eyes. Sometimes people who are not telling the truth may look to the left because they may be constructing answers or imagery in their head. This may be opposed to looking to the right or up and to the right, where people's eyes often head when they are trying to recall an auditory or visual memory. However, these eye directions may be reversed for the typical left-handed person. Eye direction may not be most reliable indicator of a lie.

A change in their voice.

First, you may notice a change in their voice. A person's voice or they way they speak may change when they are lying. The best way to find out is by asking simple questions such as their name or where they live, or a close friend or family member, and then start asking more challenging, interrogative questions.

Improvising with the details.

Improvising with the details. Since a liar may make up things as they go, they may also have a tendency to add excessive detail to better convince themselves or others of what they are saying. They may also embellish with details that a person who is telling the truth wouldn't think of adding. For example, let's say you saw a poster that said her mom could always tell when her brother was telling a lie because her brother would just talk on and on when questioned.

Pointing their finger (Literally.

Pointing their finger (Literally. The act of pointing at or toward something or someone else may signal a desire to take a focus off of an individual and onto someone else. Of course, knowing if that person normally gesticulates or finger points frequently can be a helpful baseline. Additionally, if they point their fingers in a different direction than the way their eyes are looking, they could also be telling a lie.

Taking that hardline pause

Taking that hardline pause. Liars may pause a lot as they work to construct details or stories in their head or to explain their actions using a storyline that really didn't occur. Paying attention to these pauses can be important because it may mean that an individual is making up events as they talk. People who pause, who seem to be thinking hard, or who show gaps in their conversation may be exhibiting behaviors consistent with people who lie.

Their bodily expressions may not match what they are saying out loud.

Their bodily expressions may not match what they are saying out loud. For example, have you ever seen your friend or someone you may not know tell someone else that everything is fine when their body language and expressions clearly say something different? It could be because they aren't telling the truth, even lying to themselves. WHen someone is lying, the timing between what they are saying and what that are expressing may be off or their expressions may be mismatched to their words, for example, think of a flat "Thank You" accompanied with a frown for a big bouquet of flowers, something is off. Other signs of a mismatch include a person shaking their head 'no' while replying yes to a question.

Their language can change.

Their language can change. They might use distancing language to separate themselves from the truth, even changing their selection of pronouns as they speak. "I misplaced her money," could've changed to "I..Misplaced the Money," all in an effort, subconscious or otherwise, to show less connection to an object or objects or to what is being discussed.

They may try and be still

They may try and be still. Yes, I know it seems weird, but being perfectly (very) still may mean that they are lying. One way to tell if they are lying is by looking at person to see if they are keeping still or even pulling their arms and legs in toward their body, mostly because they are nervous or tense. To tell if they aren't lying, they would seem comfortable by seeming more relaxed, and moat move more than a liar would, but when something is seeming "out of the ordinary" , they may become stiff or rigid in body movement.

Unusual gesticulating

Unusual Gesticulating. Think about what a kid does when you ask them where the last cookie went. They may lick their lips, look at their nails, or even shakes their hands, and then tell a big lie. What's really happening is that their anxiety-response has kicked in it, causing blood to be withdrawn from their extremities. They may be unconsciously trying to calm that anxiety response or at least get the blood flowing back to their extremities, all of which could point to nervousness about telling a lie.