Lying Eyes: The Power of Knowing Body Language

The human animal is really no different than any other beast on the planet. We all use body language to convey our true feelings. Humans are notorious for saying one thing and having their body language clearly communicate that they are lying. Here are some body language signals that may raise a red flag to the observer:

1. The person appears anxious and may sweat or become red in the face. This is due to the fact that their heart is most likely racing and they are nervous about lying. They are trying to cover up something.
2. They may trip over their words and give explanations that do not connect or make rational sense. They may backtrack what they are saying and force the connection in desperation, but it makes no sense nonetheless.
3. The person becomes unnaturally friendly or goes out of their way to explain something that seems out of character and not believable. They give too many details in an attempt to justify their story.
4. They attempt to distract the conversation. They change or control the subject to try to sway the conversation back to a neutral topic that is their comfort zone.
5. The person gets angry when they are questioned and raises their voice. They try to intimidate the person questioning their story.
6. They have “no recollection” of certain specific areas. These areas might trap them in a mistruth or lie.
7. The person’s body seems stiff. They attempt to control movements that they would naturally make in conversation.
8. They may ask for the question to be repeated. Then they seem to take a longer than normal time to explain.
9. They have trouble making and keeping eye contact. They may look in the direction of the person who is questioning them, but they often look past the person and their eye movement increases. They may wear sunglasses to avoid making eye contact.
10. Sometimes the person seems overly relaxed as well. They act almost too smooth as though they are acting or selling used cars.

Watch carefully and observe the person you feel is not speaking truthfully. Is their body language in sync with their words? Do they appear nervous? Do they suddenly adjust their speech to make it faster or slower? Do they cross their arms as if they are defensive?