10 Common Signs That You May Be Dealing With A Liar

Dec 01, 2017

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Remember that old childhood rhyme? If only lying was really as easy to detect as a fire. In actuality, liars can be extremely clever at hiding their deception. But researchers claim that there are some tell-tale signals that can help you to detect whether someone is telling you the truth or trying to deceive you. Check out this list if you want to become more prepared to spot the liars in your life. 

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Remember that old childhood rhyme? If only lying was really as easy to detect as a fire. In actuality, liars can be extremely clever at hiding their deception. But researchers claim that there are some tell-tale signals that can help you to detect whether someone is telling you the truth or trying to deceive you. Check out this list if you want to become more prepared to spot the liars in your life. 1. Overdoing Eye Contact One of the most prevalent beliefs about liars is that they won't look you in the eye when they're telling a lie. Since this assumption is so common, many skilled liars do their best to keep their eyes focused on the eyes of the one they hope to deceive. So if you're in a conversation where you suspect lying and the person talking to you just won't stop staring at you, watch out! Chances are pretty good they're hoping to fool you into thinking their eye contact equals sincerity. Don't buy it! If they maintain continuous eye contact with you for more than 50% of the conversation, they're behaving unnaturally and could very likely be lying. 2. Altering Voice Patterns If the person you're speaking with has a certain tone of voice they usually speak at and it suddenly raises or lowers in pitch, or vice versa, they could be lying. They may also shift their volume or rate of speech. Stuttering and stumbling over words is another possible indicator of dishonesty. All of these unnatural speech patterns are signs of nervousness that can often accompany lying. Keep your ears tuned for anything that sounds out of the ordinary in a person's manner of speech. If you detect it, stay alert for possible deception! 3. Unnatural Hand And Mouth Contact When a person lies, sometimes they will lean their hand against their chin or on their face close to their mouth. Their fingers may actually cross over and completely cover or partially hide their lips at some point during their deceptive speech. Some researchers believe that this is a defense mechanism wherein a liar may unconsciously seek to create a barrier between themselves and the person they're hoping to deceive in order to keep their lie hidden. 4. Above Average Eye Blinking Speed Rapid blinking can be a sign of stress. While telling a lie, some people who feel discomfort about deceiving others may inadvertently increase both the rate at which they blink as well as the number of times they blink per minute. If you're talking to someone and you suddenly notice them blinking excessively, be leery. They may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes! 5. Sudden Dry-Mouth When people lie, nervousness can kick in and cause their salivary glands to stop producing saliva at a normal rate. You may see a person in this situation clearing their throat, swallowing, or pushing their lips together frequently. This temporary lack of moisture in their mouth altering their normal behavior may be your clue that you're on the receiving end of a lie. 6. Displaying Symptoms Of Restlessness Everyone fidgets once in a while. However, if you're in a conversation with a person who isn't normally known for nervous activity and they suddenly start pacing, straightening their clothing, or playing with their hair, watch out! These out-of-character actions may be their reaction to the flood of anxiety that often overtakes people who are trying to be deceptive. 7. Displaying Signs Of Elevated Blood Pressure And Increased Heart Rate If you've ever been dishonest yourself, perhaps as a young person trying not to get in trouble with your parents, you may remember feeling your heart start to race and your palms start to feel clammy. Those are both physical responses of nervousness brought on by the fear of getting caught in a lie. So if you're discussing a sensitive topic and the person you're talking to suddenly begins sweating profusely or breathing more heavily, they could be afraid that you're not falling for their dishonest games. 8. Overloading You With Unnecessary Details Many liars are so afraid they'll be caught in their lies that they add intricate details to their stories in order to make them sound more believable. But at some point, when a person keeps going on and on sharing off-topic or trivial matters, it can be a sign that something fishy is going on. One way to try and catch this type of liar is to start asking lots of questions. If their story starts to show discrepancies or if the details don't make sense, you might be able to figure out that they're not being truthful. 9. Disagreement Between Words And Body Language When a person is being truthful, they're likely to back up their words with gestures that reinforce the message they're trying to convey. For example, they may nod while giving affirmative statements, or shake their head when giving negative statements. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a liar can sometimes get these signals mixed up. In these instances, their body language might actually contradict what they're saying. So if you notice someone nodding at a point in the story where it would make more sense to shake their head or vice versa, take note. This is a sign of deception. 4. Pointing Or Gesturing Assertively Some liars, instead of acting shifty and nervous, will become forceful and belligerent, as a way to bully people into thinking they're telling the truth. They may wag a finger right at you, or point in some other direction to get you to focus on something other than their lies. This type of action can be a desperation tactic that's typically used by liars who realizes that they've likely been found out. When you concentrate on these types of verbal and nonverbal behavioral cues, you may be able to enhance your lie detection skills. So keep these signals in mind as you go about your daily life. They may come in handy the next time someone tries to get you to swallow a whopper! To find out even more ways you can avoid being falling for lies, take a look at this informative video.

1. Overdoing Eye Contact

One of the most prevalent beliefs about liars is that they won't look you in the eye when they're telling a lie. Since this assumption is so common, many skilled liars do their best to keep their eyes focused on the eyes of the one they hope to deceive. So if you're in a conversation where you suspect lying and the person talking to you just won't stop staring at you, watch out! Chances are pretty good they're hoping to fool you into thinking their eye contact equals sincerity. Don't buy it! If they maintain continuous eye contact with you for more than 50% of the conversation, they're behaving unnaturally and could very likely be lying.

2. Altering Voice Patterns 

If the person you're speaking with has a certain tone of voice they usually speak at and it suddenly raises or lowers in pitch, or vice versa, they could be lying. They may also shift their volume or rate of speech. Stuttering and stumbling over words is another possible indicator of dishonesty. All of these unnatural speech patterns are signs of nervousness that can often accompany lying. Keep your ears tuned for anything that sounds out of the ordinary in a person's manner of speech. If you detect it, stay alert for possible deception!

3. Unnatural Hand And Mouth Contact

When a person lies, sometimes they will lean their hand against their chin or on their face close to their mouth. Their fingers may actually cross over and completely cover or partially hide their lips at some point during their deceptive speech. Some researchers believe that this is a defense mechanism wherein a liar may unconsciously seek to create a barrier between themselves and the person they're hoping to deceive in order to keep their lie hidden. 

4. Above Average Eye Blinking Speed

Rapid blinking can be a sign of stress. While telling a lie, some people who feel discomfort about deceiving others may inadvertently increase both the rate at which they blink as well as the number of times they blink per minute. If you're talking to someone and you suddenly notice them blinking excessively, be leery. They may be trying to pull the wool over your eyes!

Sound familiar? Keep reading! 

5. Sudden Dry-Mouth 

When people lie, nervousness can kick in and cause their salivary glands to stop producing saliva at a normal rate. You may see a person in this situation clearing their throat, swallowing, or pushing their lips together frequently. This temporary lack of moisture in their mouth altering their normal behavior may be your clue that you're on the receiving end of a lie. 

6. Displaying Symptoms Of Restlessness

Everyone fidgets once in a while. However, if you're in a conversation with a person who isn't normally known for nervous activity and they suddenly start pacing, straightening their clothing, or playing with their hair, watch out! These out-of-character actions may be their reaction to the flood of anxiety that often overtakes people who are trying to be deceptive.

7. Displaying Signs Of Elevated Blood Pressure And Increased Heart Rate

If you've ever been dishonest yourself, perhaps as a young person trying not to get in trouble with your parents, you may remember feeling your heart start to race and your palms start to feel clammy. Those are both physical responses of nervousness brought on by the fear of getting caught in a lie. So if you're discussing a sensitive topic and the person you're talking to suddenly begins sweating profusely or breathing more heavily, they could be afraid that you're not falling for their dishonest games.

8. Overloading You With Unnecessary Details

Many liars are so afraid they'll be caught in their lies that they add intricate details to their stories in order to make them sound more believable. But at some point, when a person keeps going on and on sharing off-topic or trivial matters, it can be a sign that something fishy is going on. One way to try and catch this type of liar is to start asking lots of questions. If their story starts to show discrepancies or if the details don't make sense, you might be able to figure out that they're not being truthful. 

9. Disagreement Between Words And Body Language

When a person is being truthful, they're likely to back up their words with gestures that reinforce the message they're trying to convey. For example, they may nod while giving affirmative statements, or shake their head when giving negative statements. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a liar can sometimes get these signals mixed up. In these instances, their body language might actually contradict what they're saying. So if you notice someone nodding at a point in the story where it would make more sense to shake their head or vice versa, take note. This is a sign of deception. 

10. Pointing Or Gesturing Assertively

Some liars, instead of acting shifty and nervous, will become forceful and belligerent, as a way to bully people into thinking they're telling the truth. They may wag a finger right at you, or point in some other direction to get you to focus on something other than their lies. This type of action can be a desperation tactic that's typically used by liars who realizes that they've likely been found out. 

When you concentrate on these types of verbal and nonverbal behavioral cues, you may be able to enhance your lie detection skills. So keep these signals in mind as you go about your daily life. They may come in handy the next time someone tries to get you to swallow a whopper! 

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