5 Ways To Tell If Someone’s Lying, According To The Experts

Topline

Research shows most Americans aren’t good at pinpointing lies, but according to experts, body language, voice inflection and eye contact are good determinants of pinpointing a liar.

Key Facts

News Peg

The season finale of Peacock’s “Poker Face” aired Thursday and centered around main character and casino worker Charlie Cale (played by Natasha Lyonne) and her ability to sniff out a liar while solving crime. The show premiered January 26 and is a case-of-the-week mystery show, and the cast has included Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloë Sevigny, Dascha Polanco, Benjamin Bratt, Adrien Brody and more. Peacock announced the murder-mystery drama will be renewed for a second season.

Different Types Of Lies

The Pennsylvania State University College of Earth and Mineral Sciences places lies into three different categories:

• Lies of commission, which is the active use of false statements and telling a flat-out, untrue statement.
• Lying by omission involves passively misleading someone by “failing to disclose relevant information,” Todd Rogers, a behavioral scientist and professor at Harvard University told the American Psychology Association (APA).
• Character lies or lies of influence aren’t necessarily untrue, but they attempt to create a misleading or false impression. Vanessa Van Edwards, a behavioral investigator wrote in a LinkedIn article, when people tell lies of influence they’ll mention something completely unrelated to the truth in order to “cover up a lie.”

How To Tell When Someone’s Lying

1. The direction of their eyes: A 2012 study published in Plos One debunked the myth people look to the left when lying. A study by the University of Michigan found when participants lied, they maintained eye contact 70% of the time.
2. Self-reporting as a “good liar”: If someone labels themselves as a good liar, chances are they’re telling the truth. According to a 2019 Plos One report, people identifying themselves as a good liar were a better indicator they had lied than a lie detector test.
3. Covering of the eyes or mouth: In an attempt to cover up a lie, some people may literally cover their mouth or close their eyes as a distraction. In their book Spy the Lie, three former CIA agents reveal it’s a natural urge to want to physically cover a lie and to hide from the other person’s reaction, so these are physical cues to look out for.
4. Tone of voice: Dr. Lillian Glass, author of The Body Language of Liars, told TIME people use high-pitched voices when lying and might have a creak in their voice as well. They may also suddenly raise their voice, usually when they “get defensive.” However, a report from the APA shows cultural differences may be at play. In research, Chinese participants raised their voices when lying while Hispanic participants lowered their voices while lying.
5. Talking too much: Research from Harvard Business School found those who lie tend to say more words in an attempt to stretch the truth. This includes adding extra details to convince other people or themselves what they’re saying is true. The research also found liars speak in more complex sentences, use more profanity and spoke more in third person than truth tellers.

Further Reading

How to Tell If Someone Is Lying to You, According to Body Language Experts (TIME)

6 Ways To Tell if Someone’s Lying, According To Former CIA Officers (Parade)

Peacock Renews ‘Poker Face’ For Season 2 (Forbes)