Lies and Liars

To gauge a lie, people do not necessarily listen to what you say, but how you say it. Though a person may be able to lie through their teeth, body language will normally give him away.

The easiest way to spot a lie is to watch a person’s eyes. While a person talks and answers questions, his eyes will move involuntary. When remembering an event in the past a person’s eyes will dart up and to the left. This is because he is using the left side of his brain (the side that retains memories), and his eyes involuntary move to easily access the memory and correctly answer the question. If, on the other hand, a person’s eyes dart up to the right, then he is lying. This is because he is using the right side of his brain (the creative side), and making up a story.

Besides the eyes, watching a person’s face and his expressions as he says something will often show what he truly means. These signs include:

• Looking away to prepare answers or excessive eye blinking
• Avoiding eye contact, or excessive eye contact. Most people hold eye contact with the person they are talking to, but they don’t stare him down.
• Looking uncomfortable—touching feet, legs, arms, or the face.
• Shrugging shoulders after a statement show he doesn’t truly believe in what he is saying
• Shaking head “no” while saying “yes”, or vice versa
• Hesitating before speaking or repeating a question. Sometimes even answering too quickly shows a person is lying.

Keep this in mind as you watch some of the interviews back. You will be interested by what you find. Coming soon: How to spot a lie—Kenny Ortega