How to Spot a Liar and his Lies!

1. Reasons for Lying - Lies can be told for many different reasons but when examined, they usually fit into one of four categories.
2. Types of Lies - People do not have to outright lie in order to deceive.
3. Lie Spotting - An introduction to spotting a liar and his lies.
4. Body Language Clues - A person's body language can often offer clues as to whether they are being truthful.
5. Verbal Clues - If you observe carefully, you may notice certain verbal clues that are indications of a possible lie.
6. Tricks for Determining a Lie - A couple methods that may help you spot a lie.
7. Lie Detector Test - Can you spot a liar? Test your lie detection skills and see how you fair.
8. Lie Detection Books - My personal picks.
9. Guestbook - Drop me a line. Do you have any comments, stories or suggestions? Please share.

Pro-social - Lying to protect someone's feelings or to assist them in some other way.

Self-enhancement - This form of lie is not aimed at hurting another but rather is orchestrated for the purpose of making oneself look better. When this type of lie is told constantly, it may indicate that the liar himself has very low self-esteem and/or purpose.

Self-seeking - Selfish lies told for the sole purpose of personally benefiting at the expense of another.

Anti-social - Harmful lies used with the intention of damaging another.

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Misleading Lies

A misleading lie would be when a person tells an account that isn't an out-and-out lie, but still has the deceptive purpose of making someone believe in a falsehood.

A good example of such a lie would be a women who accidentally scratches the family car while parking and when asked, states that "the neighbour's kids were playing by the car." The neighbour's kids, in truth, were playing by the car but they were not the cause of the scratches on the car.

Lying by Exclusion

Lying by exclusion can be summed up as when a person tells the truth but leaves out certain details, leading the recipient to believe and know only a specific part of the truth. It is quite often classified not as a lie but rather as an act of deception.

For example, if a teenager goes to his first class and then skips the rest of his school day. When asked by his parent "Did you skip school today?" The teenager can plainly say "I was at school today," without actually lying, since he was at school, while omitting the fact that he was not at school for the entire day. Consequently, the parent would only know that the teenager was at school, not that he was skipping most of the school day. In order to get all the facts, the parent would have to purposely examine his child further.

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A person's make-up and the reason for the lie that they are telling will often shape how noticeable the signs listed below will be. Sometimes the signs can be very evident, particularly if the liar is the type of individual who will feel guilt-ridden about being deceptive.

Unfortunately, not everyone feels bad about being dishonest. More often than not a fabricator will have his story formulated long before actually telling it. Within their mind they have rehearsed their lie and as a result become at ease with it. Consequentially, their lie will be much harder to detect.

Therefore, do not simply look at the list of signs that is to follow and make a determination based solely on seeing one of them while your suspect is talking. Rather, try and determine if a few of the signs have occurred and in what context. With a little practice, astute observation and intellectual deduction, you may find that you get fairly good at determining when you are being deceived.

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- Although often stated, it bears being repeated: more often then not an individual who is lying will steer clear of making eye contact with you. However, occasionally, you may find the exact opposite with the liar never breaking eye contact.

- Seldom will you see a liar touch his chest area, especially with an open hand. However, their hands often may touch their face, throat or mouth. They may also appear to have sudden itches that demand to be scratched such as on their head, nose or behind an ear.

- Body movements are frequently rigid and restricted. There will be few hand and arm movements and those that do occur will be toward the liar's own body as opposed to, outwards and open.

- Fidgeting, fiddling and playing with the hands and fingers while talking. Note: This can also be attributed to nervousness.

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- Someone who is lying will often repeat the same words that were used when he was questioned. For example, when the liar is asked, "Did you kiss Beth?", his response is more likely to be "No, I did not kiss Beth" as opposed to a simple "No."

- It is commonly known among law enforcement interrogators that a statement that contains a contraction is much more likely to be a truthful statement. For example, the statement "I didn't do that" is much more likely to be the truth than the declaration "I did not do that". In general, the application of unusual words, completely accurate grammar and/or the use of words or phrases that would typically be shortened, may suggest a scripted story rather than an ordinary conversation.

- Often a liar will do more explaining than is necessary in an attempt to back up his lie with substance. You may notice that the suspect seems to have the need to substantiate every element of their story with an extended explanation.

- You may find that when the liar is casually questioned about their story that they get noticeably defensive. You may find that they continue to repeat protests of innocence, in an attempt to get your approval of their story.

- If the liar is not working from a script, in other words, they are put on the spot, they may hesitate and/or stumble over their words while they try and come up with their story. You may find noticeable disparity between their tone of voice and facial expressions.

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Silent Technique

After someone lies, they are often not comfortable with silence but rather want some kind of assurance that their lie was accepted as truth. If you suspect that someone is lying, do not reply to their lie and see if they look uncomfortable and/or if they add additional details to their story without prompting.

The Conundrum Technique - Simply ask one question!

If you suspect that someone is simply telling you a story when questioned about a specific matter you may want to use what is called the conundrum technique to determine if they are being truthful. It simply involves introducing a piece of evidence and seeing how the suspected liar handles it.

For example, lets say that a women suspects that her husband may not have stayed late at the office as he claims. After he states that he had to work late she might simply ask the following:

"Oh Geezz, no wonder your so late, I heard about the accident outside your office building. Was the traffic as bad as they claimed on the radio?"

Now all she has to do is wait and see how he responds. If he quickly answers that there was no accident, she has a good indication that indeed he was at the office as he claims. However, should he hesitate in his answer and/or simply agree that the traffic was terrible, she has caught him in his lie.

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Can you spot a liar? It's not as easy as waiting for someone's nose to grow, but there are certain signs that can tip you off!

Test your lie detection skills now... CLICK HERE

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