5 ways to detect if someone is lying


One of the many skills of human survival has been a person’s ability to tell a lie. We often lie to protect ourselves or others from being emotionally injured in some way. Of course lying has also got a darker side where deception is the main goal whther to commit and cover up inapporopriate actions or else to deceive and manipulate. However, there is one thing that will always be true and that is the fact that most people cannot help but give away their lie through the 80% of non verbal communication, which we as human beings are all hard wired for. You see you may be able to deceive through your words but there are always trails of deception communicated through other unconscious cues.

In a study of non-verbal cues that are signs of lying, researchers say rubbing, touching, or blowing the nose are all ways to tell if someone’s lying. When it comes to detecting a lie, scientists say ‘Stress causes an increase of blood to the extremities which causes tingling in the nose. This explains why people tend to rub their noses when they are feeling uncomfortable in some way. Of course other areas of our bodies are equally able to betray a lie, especially the eyes. Have you ever watched someones eyes? Sometimes people don’t realise how the direction their eyes move when done subconsciously can tell a great deal about whether what they are saying is created or remembered. You can learn more by watching this short video

Other common signs that someone could be lying to you:

o Tripping over words and using ‘um’ or ‘uh’ as filler words
o Long pauses before answering
o Evading the question
o Using ‘well’ at the beginning of a sentence
o Use of the words ‘no,’ ‘do not,’ or ‘cannot’
o Higher pitch/tone of voice
o Keeping eye contact longer than usual
o Folding arms
o Touching throat (for women this is a sign of lying)
o Holding something in front of them, like a piece of paper
o Clasping hands together
o Positioning feet towards the exit
o Hand gestures don’t match what is being said
o Not using any hand gestures
o Blinking often
o Moving the fingers

At the Cumbria Hypnosis Clinic we use some of the eye accessing cues you have just read about to deal with emotional blocks, anxieties and fears. If you would like to find out how an unconscious movement of the eyes which can be used to detect a lie can be equally effective at dealing with emotional problems then please feel free to Contact us following the link on this page.