Knowing how to catch a liar is important, especially if this skill is needed in your work, whether you have to interrogate people or you just have to ask people things that are important. It is also important in people’s daily life as to avoid being fooled by people, particularly the ones with bad intentions.

Tips on How to Catch a Liar

Here are some tips on catching a liar to help people spot the ones who are telling the truth or lies.

Body Language

The first thing that you should observe is the body language of a person that you are talking to. This will be a great indicator if the person is at ease or tensed, which could indicate if he is telling a lie or just being honest.

Eyes

If the person is not making enough eye contact or is giving too much eye contact, he is probably lying. A person who is telling the truth will casually look you in the eye and shift his focus from time to time. A lying person will evade your glance by looking down or would stay focused on looking at you to try to convince you that he is not lying because he is able to look you in the eye.

Hands and Shoulder

You can catch a liar by looking at the way the other person waves or moves his hands. If it is crossed or is always fidgeting, he is probably lying. The shoulders also often shrug when the person is detailing his lie to make it seem offhand.

Too Much Information

A lying person will provide too much information about the topic without being asked. This is a sign of being defensive; he is trying to prove that he is telling the truth by providing as much information as possible even when you did not show any sign of disbelief.

Over-Emphasis on Details

To catch a liar, observe how the person details the events that he is recollecting. A liar would often give too much attention over details to avoid the main topic of the conversation. They will also be too willing to change the subject of the conversation to avoid being questioned.

A person who is telling the truth will get confused to the sudden transition of topic and would try to get back to your previous subject.

Gestures

Just like in body language, you can catch a liar by their gesture. If you know the person, you would see the change in their normal gesture because of the tension that is building up inside them, which they want to ignore or hide from you.

The gesture and facial expression of a lying person will also contradict to what the person is saying.

To catch a liar, you have to be observant in his actions and words. Remember the list above and look for them while you are talking with a person whom you think is lying. But first, you have to assume that the person is telling the truth so that you will not make presumptions that could lead you to believe that the person is lying even though he is not.