Three 'tells' - how to know if someone's lying

My partner told me a lie on Monday (it was one of those nice, white, I-have-your-best-interests-at-heart lies, but it was a lie, nonetheless). My bullshit-ometer beeped instantly and furiously and I called him on it. He confessed immediately. But how did I know he was lying?

These are the three most common 'tells' to help you catch out a liar.


1. Body talk

Liars often freeze. They don't quite face you, and hardly move during the lie. Others counteract the impulse to be still by being overly dramatic, moving the body much more than usual.

Rapid blinking, scratching, itching, swallowing and fidgeting can all reflect the discomfort of telling a lie.

And touching the nose, or covering the face or mouth are a subconscious attempt to ‘cover up’ the lie.

2. The eyes have it

Most people have a hard time lying to you while looking straight into your eyes. Sometimes they will only look away at the moment of the lie, for example, a brief glance to the floor. Again, some will try to sell the lie by making and maintaining eye contact fiercely.

Looking up and to the right stimulates the part of the brain associated with imagination (that is, making things up), whereas looking up and to the left stimulates the part of the brain associated with recalling memories (that is, telling the truth).

Also, wide-eyed innocence is based on the ‘who, me?’ fake innocence of a kid denying he’s stealing cookies while his hand’s still in the jar.

3. Voicing suspicions

A liar's voice can become higher and squeaky.

There might also be a noticeable pause in a liar's speech, especially just before the lie. Most people can't come up with a plausible fiction in an instant, so they have to take a moment to think something up.

 
These are all helpful indicators that someone is fibbing but most people have a decent lie detector built in. Trust your trusty bullshit-ometer and it will usually point the way.