Are you bad at spotting a lie?

Well, most of us are not perfect in this. Our instincts for judging liars are actually pretty strong,
but our conscious minds sometimes fail us.

Luckily, there are signs we can look for when trying to detect a lie. To detect lying, watch for
signs of stress in body language and facial expressions. The following are the most common
body language signs of lying. All of them could also mean disagreeing with what you are saying,
or simply being insincere with you.

1. The mouth cover

This is an instinctive gesture that first appears in early childhood. A lying person covers his
mouth with his hand, as if he is trying to prevent the deceitful words from being said. It could be
just a few fingers covering the lips, or the whole fist – the meaning doesn’t change.

One thing that you should remember is not to forget to interpret this gesture in conjunction with
other signs and movements.

If the person who is using this gesture of covering the mouth is the one who is speaking, it means
he might be lying. However, if you are speaking and the listener is the one who is using this
gesture, it might mean that he feels that you are not being totally honest and sincere with him.

2. The Nose Touch

The nose touch is probably one of the most recognised lying gestures, this gesture should be read
in clusters and in context, someone may simply have an itchy nose caused by a cold or hay-fever.
A person may touch their nose several times whilst talking, or they may simply touch it once in a
quick, imperceptible manner. The reason that people may touch their nose when lying is because
when we lie we begin to feel more stressed, particularly if that person is lying to get themselves
out of trouble. This causes blood pressure to rise which can cause the nerves in the nose to tingle.
This gesture is often seen in adults more than children, and is thought to develop after the
“Mouth Cover” gesture because it’s much more subtle.

3. The Eye Rub

The Eye Rub is the brain’s attempt to block out the deceit also, The eye rub is a subconscious
attempt of the brain not to see the person who is being lied to. Rubbing one’s eyes could be one
of the many signs of lying, if the person who does it is the speaker, or a sign of blocking doubt or
distasteful thing it sees. Men usually rub their eyes vigorously, while the women’s way to do it is
more gentle and more brief.
This gesture can be used in combination with others, such as the speaker avoiding the listener’s
gaze and looking away, or clenching his teeth with a fake smile.
 4. The Collar Pull and Change in Breathing

Desmond Morris was one of the first to discover that lies cause a tingling sensation in the
delicate facial and neck tissues, and a rub or scratch was required to satisfy it. Increased blood
pressure from the deceit causes sweat to form on the neck when the deceiver feels that you
suspect he’s not telling the truth. Also when someone is lying to you, they may begin to breathe
heavily, it’s a reflex action.

In summary, spotting lies requires paying attention to the body language of the person you are
speaking with. Observe if there are incongruities between the speaker’s body and facial gestures,
or an increase in the touching and rubbing of their eyes, ears, and mouth.