Dealing with a new business partner or in a relationship, credibility is crucial. In this posts, we’re going to list down how to tell if someone is lying.
In our world, we are surrounded by different types of people. As we grow older, we will be meeting more people as we enter a larger society. So, knowing the characters and personalities of them is important. But, it is not easy at all. We need to be smart enough when it comes to dealing with humans. Moreover, you need to be really observant and smart in countering humans that have unpredictable characters.
At one point, you might be shocked as you have never met a person with this particular type of character and personality before. Some people are really good that they could easily know the real side of a person, but not everyone has that ability. The crucial part is to tell whether that person is lying. In friendships or even in your family, they tend to lie sometimes. Therefore, these are some ways that could help you to tell whether a person is lying or not.
1. Pay Attention on Gestures
Gestures play a big part when it comes to knowing whether a person is telling the truth or they are lying. What is a gesture? Gesture is a movement of part of your body as you express your feelings, ideas and more. It is a form of non-verbal and non-vocal communication in which you use part of your body to deliver messages. Gestures include the movement of your hands, head and many more. Here are some gestures to tell if that person is lying.
- Their eyes, if they keep their eyes wide open and stretched while talking to you. This gesture shows that he/she is panicking. On the other hand, some might avoid eye contact when talking to you as they do not have the confidence and are afraid of being caught.
Remember that eye contact is always linked with truthfulness. And when they have the inability to look into your eyes, multiple studies have confirmed that this is a sign of a person lying
- When they point their index finger on you. They are trying to flip the whole situation and put it on you as they do not want to be pointed out.
- They pull on their collar and touch their neck very often. You can identify this easily. When they touch their neck very often or pull their collar, this shows that they are guilty.
- They start to fix their appearance. This includes when they fix their hair, clothes, etc. This is because they want to divert their attention and your attention into something else. They use this trick as it might help them in covering their guiltiness, making you not focus too.
- They bite or lick their lips. This shows their anxiousness.
2. Evasiveness
Evasiveness is one of the most obvious signs that tells you when a person is telling a lie. Moreover, this is also one of the biggest signs of dishonesty. But, what is evasiveness? Evasiveness is when they are being less specific and vague. In this case, they tend to say that they don’t know or they do not remember the things you asked. They are playing things safe. This is a total red flag in terms of lying.
3. Inconsistency
When a person is lying, you will feel that their story is weird. Notice that they can’t keep their story straight. The reason behind this is because liars use so much of their brain inventing new stories and situations that are completely out of their imagination. Inconsistency is actually another big sign that they are lying.
Sometimes they jump from one part to another part of the story, which totally makes no sense. Try asking them questions a couple times. As they keep on repeating their story, you’ll notice the inconsistency in some details. At the end, you’ll spot and notice that he/she is not telling the truth.
4. They Are Talking in Fragments
This is another sign that will help you in knowing whether a person is lying or not. When a person is lying, they are unable to speak fluently. That is why they tend to speak in fragments. They speak in fragments as they need time to think in making up their story.
When you are simply telling the truth, you don’t have to think too hard about what you are going to say, meanwhile, the case is different for liars. Liars use so much of their brain compared to those who are telling the truth.
5. High-Pitched Voice Than Usual
When a person is lying, they tend to be nervous as they feel that they are under pressure. Therefore, as he/she is filled with the feeling of nervousness, the muscles in their vocal chords will automatically tighten up. This is a response to stress which leads to them having a high-pitched voice.
Moreover, they might even have a creak in their voice. You will notice that they clear their throat very often as they are trying to bear with the discomforts of the tightened muscles. This can also be considered as a sign of dishonesty. Furthermore, there might be a sudden change of volume too. As they get more defensive, you’ll realize that the volume of their voice gets louder too.
6. They Are Being Repetitive With Your Question
This is another sign that shows that they are lying to you. When they are being repetitive with the question you asked, this shows that they are having trouble answering your question. Answering a question is never hard if you are telling the truth, but, if you choose to lie then you will be struggling in answering it.
As mentioned above, lying requires more brain power compared to when you are telling the truth. People that are lying need to always be careful and pay attention to everything they say, this is why they are being repetitive. By being repetitive, it gives them more time to think on how to properly counter the question asked.
Furthermore, if they answer your question with another question, this is another red flag too. This means that they are avoiding your question. They try to change the topic. You can instantly know that they do not want to have a conversation about it.
7. Ask Them to Tell Their Story in Reverse
If you asked them to tell their story in reverse rather than in a chronological order, it will be easier for you to detect if that person is lying or telling the truth.
This is a much more effective way of identifying whether a person is lying than looking for lack of eye contact or weird gestures. By asking them to tell their story in reverse, it puts extra mental pressure on them. Therefore, this is one of the most effective ways in catching a liar.
Bottom Line
Hopefully, these tips can help you in knowing whether a person is lying or not. Please be noted that these tips are not 100 percent accurate as this is just an indicator to help you tell someone’s credibility from the human’s nature.
