How can you tell if someone is lying? 24 tips! [Recognize & Unmask Liars]

How do you know if someone is lying or telling the truth? How can you find out the truth? You can read it all from the body language to notice it that way. In this article, you will learn exactly how to expose and confront a liar .

Tip 1 – Make up a ‘fact’ as a trap for the liar

Does the liar think he has been somewhere? Then do the following:

1. Then make up a ‘fact’ (which is actually completely incorrect) about this location. For example: “Then you walked past the grand piano in the middle of the room and then you …” Or: “It must have been annoying that you had to be stuck in a traffic jam of seven miles.”
2. Now watch very closely for signs of hesitation.

Liars hesitate when you make up a fact about where the liar wasn’t. A normal person who is not lying should immediately say without a doubt that there was no piano or traffic jam at all. So pay attention to that.

Broker: You saw the ad in the Times?
Patrick Bateman: Yes … no … yes I mean, yes, in the Times.
Broker: There was no ad in the Times. I think you should leave now. ”
– Quote from the novel American Psycho

Bonus tip: don’t give one fabricated fact, but stuff your statements with irrelevant facts and information and notice how the liar’s brain becomes overloaded, causing the liar to hesitate even more.

Tip 2 – Only vaguely refer to the incident

If I said to you, “You didn’t get them both in my office, did you?” Then you would have no idea what I’m talking about. I am referring to something that you know nothing about: that two 50 euro bills have been stolen from my office.

If I were to say the same thing to another person (“ You didn’t get them both in my office, did you? ”) And that person replied, “ I didn’t touch your money, ” then that person probably did. .

Bonus tip: add a little false fact, and the person who did it will correct you. “You didn’t get them both in my office, in the second drawer from the top, did you?” (While it’s actually the 1st drawer from the top.)

Tip 3 – Look for the absence of the words ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’

When someone is lying, the liar is less likely to refer to himself. If someone suddenly says the words me, myself and me much less often, then there is a higher chance that this person is lying.

Tip 4 – Liars suddenly hardly move when lying

Thieves literally don’t want to stand out, so they move as little as possible. Moreover, there is another reason: because lying is difficult and requires a lot of concentration, the liar has a tendency to suddenly stop moving. So be extra alert to lies if someone suddenly sits very still or seems to suddenly stop his movements. Does the head only move after the sentence instead of simultaneously? Chance of a lie!

Tip 5 – Pay attention to ‘uhmm’s’ and slips of the tongue

Because liars are much more hesitant than truth-tellers, it makes sense that they stumble over their words, say “uhmm,” and slip up a lot more. An honest person is fluent.

Tip 6 – The person pauses just before the lie

So pay attention to the timing of when someone says something. Because the liar has to think for a moment before this person starts speaking, there is a pause before he / she speaks.

Tip 7 – Pay attention to the following well-known lie symbolism on the head (Pinocchio!)

There are a number of gestures around the head that symbolize lying when done while saying the sentence:

1. Covering your mouth. As soon as someone does something unfair, they put their hand over their mouth.
2. Touching your nose (Pinocchio).
3. Touching the neck.
4. Touching the face in general.
5. Lips together to literally hold yourself back.
6. A big ‘Shhhh’ gesture with two hands to your mouth.

Tip 8 – Ask the other person to repeat his / her story in reverse order

If the other has just done a long explanation, ask this person to tell his / her story in reverse order. We only remember and tell our lies in strict chronological order, so slips of the tongue will happen if the other person tells it in reverse!

What did you do yesterday? Thank you! Now tell it backwards. Start at the end of the evening and work backwards to the beginning of the evening.

Tip 9 – Pay attention to how distant the other person’s language is

The more distant the other person’s language is, the more likely it is to be a lie. “I did n’t touch that man ‘s money at all” is more distant than, “I didn’t take his money.”

Tip 10 – Watch for turtle behavior

Tortoise Behavior: Literally hiding from yourself. For example by:

• Place your feet behind the chair legs.
• To recoil.
• To sit slumped.
• Take up as little space as possible.
• Bend over.
• Keep your arms close to your body.
• People who have something to hide never draw attention or say anything.

Tip 11 – If the other person repeats the question, there is a high chance of a lie

If you ask someone, “Did you take that 20 euro note from my desk?” And if the other person first repeats the question: “Did I take that 20 euro note from your desk?” Then there is a big chance of a lie. This also applies to the person’s statements: if the person repeats himself often, there is also a chance that you are dealing with a lie.

Tip 12 – You can’t read it by the eyes … Unless people look down!

It has been said that avoiding eye contact means that someone is lying and … And yet other sources say that looking away means that someone is telling the truth. Don’t bother using the other person’s eyes as a lie detector. Sometimes someone looks you in the eye when he / she lies, the other time the eyes go in all directions so that information can be retrieved or generated in the brain ( eye patterns ). What often happens with liars is that they tend to look down (including leaning forward), which is a sign of guilt.

Tip 13 – Do you hear a lower (or a higher) and softer voice in the other person?

A change in the pitch of the voice is a sign of a lie. A lower (or a higher) and softer voice is a characteristic that is more common in lies.

Tip 14 – Does the other say yes while he / she nods no?

Also watch for incongruity in yes-no signals between the head and the message. Does the other say yes but does he / she unconsciously nod no? Or vice versa? Then there is a chance of a lie.

Tip 15 – Does the other shrug their shoulders?

If the other person shrugs (or one of them) slightly while answering, it is a sign that it could be a lie. If someone on one side shrugs, it means, “I have absolutely no faith in what I just said.”

Tip 16 – Does the other show a micro-expression of relief (a smile on the face)?

When you see a micro-expression of relief, through a smile on the face (corners of the mouth go up), it means that this person is relieved that he / she has been able to tell the lie and thinks they can get away with it, or because the liar is relieved because someone else is accused.

Some people cannot hide this. This confirms the lie especially when it concerns a serious matter where laughter is not appropriate. Only problem: micro expressions are very short and hard to spot.

Tip 17 – Pay attention to how formal the response is

The more formal the response, the more likely it is to be a lie. In English, you can easily recognize this by the other person saying ‘I did not’ instead of ‘I didn’t’.

Tip 18 – You can also spot lies on the basis of shame or guilt

If you manage to spot shame or guilt, you could conclude that the other person is ashamed because this person is lying or because this person is actually guilty (because he / she stole something, for example) . You can recognize shame and guilt, for example, because the other person is pulling in their lips and / or looking down.

The opposite can also be true: if someone is not showing shame or guilt, then this person is recording it for someone else. Think of a little brother protecting the other little brother by saying he ate the cookies.

Tip 19 – Multitasking and lying is almost impossible

For example, have the person pour coffee while you question the other at the same time. Does this person suddenly have a lot of trouble with it? Manual tasks are more difficult to perform automatically if you are trying to construct a lied story.

Tip 20 – Liars don’t touch you

They are too busy presenting their own story properly, which means that all their energy and concentration must go there. They cannot use a kinesthetic distraction.

Tip 21 – A lie never contains imagery and proverbs

A liar is only focusing on factual things to say. In addition, the liar will never use imagery, proverbs and metaphors while telling the lie! So if someone does use them, you know that person isn’t lying.

Tip 22 – How quickly does the other respond?

Answering your question very quickly means there is a high probability that the other person is guilty.

Tip 23 – Does the other honestly say that he no longer knows some things?

A liar will want to prove as much as possible that he / she does know all facts and events. Therefore, the liar is not likely to admit that he / she does not know details from a long time ago, but think about it first. Someone who doesn’t lie will honestly admit that he / she doesn’t know the details from a long time ago.

When people tell the truth, they don’t know details from a long time ago

Tip 24 – Are you dealing with a good liar? Then it gets more difficult

Some liars, such as smugglers, have trained themselves to tell lies. For example, one of their tricks is to tell them something that is a little embarrassing or that makes them look bad in their story. This disarms skepticism.

These were all the tips you can use to tell if someone is lying. Good luck using these tips!