How to Tell If Someone Is Lying?

It is a known fact that almost anyone in the world lies. Some of them tell low-stakes lies while others equivocate in a regular manner, which can change their lives entirely. If you know a person for many days, then you might be able to understand if he or she is lying or not. However, if that person is a professional liar, then it can be difficult for any ordinary person to understand them.

So, if you usually do come across liars and want to know the ways of how to tell if someone is lying, then make sure to keep on reading. Here, we will discuss some symptoms that almost everyone exhibits while they are lying.

1. Behavioral Delays

You have asked someone a question, which might be personal or anything else, and you did not get any answer initially. After a short pause or delay, he or she begins to respond to you. It usually is a sign that the person is lying or making up some stories to deceive you.

Most times, before telling a lie, most people tend to think about the next steps. It takes them some time to make a cover-up story, which is quite natural. So, if you ever ask someone a common question and he pauses before answering you, then it means that he is most likely making up a story.

However, this way of how to tell if someone is lying is not always perfect. For example, if you ask someone about a memory that dates back to a few years before, then you will never get an immediate answer. It is only natural that the person will take some time to remember what actually happened that day.

So, it will be difficult for you to understand if he or she is lying or not.

2. Creating a Distance

Creating a distance, especially physical distance, is yet another natural habit of most liars. When a person lies, most he or she feels guilty inside. Therefore, even though their mind does not want it, their body starts reacting. So, if you are seeing that when talking with you, the person is slowing moving away from you, then he probably lying to you.

The action of moving away or creating a distance generally occurs when a person is being questioned. Besides, when lying, many people also tend to cross their arms or stand in defensive postures. According to psychologists, this is the person’s body’s natural reaction to defend the equivocations.

So, if you want to know more about how to tell if someone is lying, then make sure to practice throwing awkward queries. The questions that can make anyone feel uncomfortable. Once you have thrown the question, then sit down and look at how they are reacting. If they are gradually moving away from you, then that means they are, most likely, lying to you.

3. Avoiding Direct Eye Contact

Direct eye contact can be quite intimidating. Therefore, they can make anyone feel vulnerable. When lying and creating a mistruth, most people usually do feel somewhat insecure about it. Thus, they tend to avoid direct eye contact while prevaricating.

Most psychologists think this to be one of the best ways to tell if someone is lying or not. So, do you want to know about how to tell if someone is lying eyes? Then, ask a sensitive question to someone and see if he avoids direct eye contact or not.

However, people with certain medical conditions, such as autism, also do not make eye contact when talking. So, with this method alone, you will not be able to detect a liar. Hence, for that, make sure to combine the aforementioned two pointers with this. If you see all of these three symptoms in someone, then that means he or she is definitely lying.

4. Hiding Eyes or Mouth

When lying about something, most people often try to hide their eyes or mouth. They can do that by covering them up with their hands or look sideways. It is a natural reaction for the body to cover up a lie. So, when responding to you, if someone’s hands come in front of his or her mouth, then it can be a significant sign of mistruth.

Most times, when a person is lying, his or her eyes tend to tell the truth. No matter how convincing that person is, you can undoubtedly understand that they are equivocating, just by looking at their eyes. Due to this reason, many individuals, while lying, usually cover up their eyes. So, it is yet another method that you can enlist on your how to tell if someone is lying notebook.

However, hiding eyes does not necessarily mean blinking. But, if a person keeps his or her eyes closed for quite some time when answering your question, then he is most likely lying.

5. Non-verbal and Oral Disconnection

Our brains work in such a way, that our actions and verbal behaviors usually match with each other. It is quite natural for every human being. So, if there is a disconnection when someone is talking, then it can be a possible deceptive pointer.

Most times, when telling a lie, most people generally tend to nod positively while saying no. It can be quite difficult to do for anyone, especially when you are being truthful. However, a deceptive individual would do it without even thinking about it even once.

So, do you want to know more about how to tell if someone is lying body language? Then, make sure to look for the phases of the disconnection between their oral and non-oral behaviors.

6. Swallowing or Throat-clearing

Many people can tell a lie without fidgeting even once. However, before lying, they will surely perform significant swallowing or positively clear their throat. It is a sign that they are trying to keep the lie under their toe. Nevertheless, if he or she is doing it after answering the question, then it is not a matter of concern.

Most times, the deceptive person would perform a swallow especially when you have asked them a question. According to the psychologists, a question, especially a personal one, generally causes anxiety among those who have something to hide. The anxiety, in turn, can dry your throat and mouth. It may lead to frequent swallowing.

7. Frequent Fidgeting

Lying about something can enormous stress on your brain. Therefore, when you are lying, it activates the limbic system of your body, which, in turn, creates nervous energy. However, due to the pressure of stress and the limbic system deterioration, most people start showing signs of uneasiness.

Besides that, to burn off this extra energy, most individuals just cannot sit still. They will either try to pick up make-believe lint or they might start playing with their hair. According to the psychologists, these are known as self-soothing behaviors. Another method of knowing about how to tell if someone is lying is by checking if the person is rubbing his hands while talking.

8. Rapid Blinking

A normal and healthy person generally blinks his or her eyes for about six to seven times per minute. That means, he will blink once every eight to ten seconds. However, as mentioned before, when in stress, your body starts acting differently.

In this case, it starts creating the dopamine hormone continuously. It, in turn, starts affecting the muscles of your eyes.  Therefore, if a person is lying, then there is a high chance that he or she will blink in quick successions.

Nevertheless, rapid blinking is quite common among the people who are suffering from Schizophrenia. So, while using this method of how to tell if someone is lying, make sure to keep this in mind too.

9. Answering Vaguely

Almost every time when a person starts lying about something, he answers all of your questions vaguely. If he or she is an intelligent person, then they will intentionally leave out specific details. They might also answer some of your questions vaguely, making it difficult for you to understand him or her.

While talking on the phone, you will not be able to see their actions. Therefore, you would have to rely on their voice or what they are saying. If you want to know about how to tell if someone is lying on the phone, then this method can be quite useful for you.

Also, while talking on a phone, make sure to be attentive to the other person’s voice too.  If their voice is quivering while talking or they are being less responsive, then they are possibly lying.

10. Exhibiting a Bored Expression

As you already know, to cover up one lie, a person has to tell a hundred lies more. Most times, this continuous lying causes a sense of irritation and boredom in deceptive individuals. Therefore, while talking, they tend to shrug a lot more. If he or she gets tired of all these, then they might also exhibit a bored posture for avoiding showing their real emotions or intentions.

Besides this, many people also start to overthink while lying. Therefore, they might sometimes start talking about other topics that are quite different from the current one. So, while talking, make sure to be on the lookout for these signals too. If someone, who you know, is lying, then they will surely perform any of these symptoms, which are meant to deceive you.

However, if you want to learn more about how to tell if someone is lying, then do not only focus on the person’s body language. Along with that, you should also make sure to listen to the way he or she is talking. It would surely help you with your purpose.

11. Asking Same Questions Over and Over Again

No matter what you have asked, an innocent person would always directly answer you. They have nothing to hide or keep any secrets from you. However, this usually does not happen in the cases of deceptive people.

As a liar, no one would directly say that they are wrong. They will try to imply that you are the one who is at fault. So, they will usually avoid your questions and throw some deceptive queries back at you.

Thus, if you see that someone is not answering your questions directly, then be on guard as soon as possible.

12. Keeps Changing Stories That Just Do Not Add Up

A deceptive person would also keep changing the stories each time they tell it. It usually happens as they are constantly creating new stories and forgetting about the older one. So, they generally will not make any sense too.

Therefore, if you have heard the previous story, then you will see that both the narratives do not really fit with each other. This is yet another method you can add in your how to tell if someone is lying list.

Things That You Need to Know About the Ways of Detecting Liars

So, if you want to know more about how to tell if someone is lying, then here are some pointers that can help you with it.

1. How to tell if someone is lying by seeing their eyes?

Most liars generally avoid direct eye contact while telling a lie. They might also cover up their eyes with their hands for the same reason.

2. How to tell if someone is lying on the phone?

It is somewhat difficult to understand if a person is lying on the phone as you cannot see their actions. Thus, for that, you would have to be more conscious and listen to their voice more thoroughly. If they are lying, then they will take some time before uttering every word.

3. How to tell if someone is lying in a text?

If it is a person that you know personally, then they will always talk with you in a casual manner. However, if they are lying, then that behavior would also reflect on their texts. So, you would almost feel like you are talking to a different person.

Conclusion

If a person is a professional liar or is someone that you are not familiar with, then it will be quite challenging for you to understand their lies. So, make sure to look for all the aforementioned signs if you suspect if someone is lying.