As much as you want to trust your partner, sometimes doubts sneak up from behind and make you wonder: Is he telling the truth? Can I believe what he says? It’s a good thing that lies don’t just have short legs but can also be exposed quite well by certain facial expressions and gestures. Here we’ll tell you eight signs that you can use to recognize potential lies.
We all tell friends from time to time. Women do it more often than men! A little white lie may be OK now and then, but if you are seriously playing with your partner’s trust, then you reach a limit that you should not cross. Do you have the feeling that your partner has already gone that far and is openly lying to your face about something? Then you should check the whole thing out in a subtle way. A lie detector is not necessary for this. You can often tell whether a person is lying by their behavior, facial expression, and other small characteristics.
Detecting lies: These 8 signs give it away
1. A defensive posture
Anyone who is lying and is afraid of being caught unconsciously distances themselves. This is also shown in their posture. It is not open and friendly, but visibly defensive. Crossed arms, hidden palms, leaning back, or even actually standing up and looking for a distraction to avoid confrontation can be typical signs of a lie. In general, it can be said that if the statements are delivered lovingly and innocently, but the gestures don’t seem to match, there could be something going on.
2. Frequent blinking
It is a misconception that a liar cannot look in the eyes. Those who have perhaps already had some practice are particularly good at withstanding a scrutinizing look. However, the blinking reflex is not so easy to control in such a stressful situation. So pay attention to whether the person you are talking to blinks noticeably often. If so, you should also be suspicious.
3. Conspicuous microexpressions
This phenomenon is very interesting to observe but requires a good eye, so you should pay attention. It’s about so-called microexpressions. These are brief emotional reactions such as joy or fear, which are often only visible on the face for a fraction of a second before they are masked by controlled statements and facial expressions. So if the potential liar says something flimsy with a serious expression, you believe him (or at least pretend to), and suddenly a brief smile or at least a brief look of relief flashes across your face, then he could be exposing his lie.
4. Nervous fiddling
Not at you, but at him, of course. Anyone who lies is nervous, no matter how practiced he is. Even if he tells his old wives’ tales in a calm voice, it gives him away if he fiddles around his face or neck with his hands or scratches himself. This restless behavior is the result of him not wanting to be caught and is therefore unconsciously trying to distract from his words.
5. A loud, high voice
Liars change their tone of voice unintentionally. However, you usually only notice this if you know the person well. Then the difference becomes clearer. If the voice deviates from the speaker’s normal tone and sounds a little shrill, this could be a sign of inner nervousness.
6. A lot of confusing talk
If you think that your partner cheated on you on a particular evening, for example, pay attention to how he tells his story about that evening. Does he talk around the issue a lot, jump around chronologically, and even contradict himself? Then he could be making something up out of thin air that sounds a bit confusing when you listen to him. Another sign of lying in this context: is if he uses very unnatural, embellished phrases that sound like they’ve been learned by heart. Then there are jokes or unnecessary embellishments. The main thing is that there are no awkward pauses in the conversation in which the other person would see his true face. You can also use this to your advantage if you doubt a story. Ask open questions that he has to answer in detail and pay attention to whether he might not be getting caught up in his lies.
7. Quick changes of topic
Of course, the liar doesn’t want to get into a bind and is therefore all the more keen to change the subject of conversation quickly. You can also do this consciously to recognize his intentions. Change the subject and see how he reacts. He might have been content to have avoided the lying situation if he appeared relaxed rather than surprised by the abrupt change in subject.
8. Believe me!
“To be honest…”, “To tell you the truth…”, “Believe me!” Liars are only too happy to embellish their statements with dubious statements of truth. They want to protect themselves and find out whether the person they are lying to is buying the lie. So if you notice that statements are repeatedly made to seem credible in this way, you should pay attention.
No matter how well a liar tries to portray himself as an innocent lamb, certain signs will still reveal the truth and let you recognize lies. However, you also have to be careful with hasty accusations. Not every conspicuous gesture or statement immediately indicates a lie. Just listen to your heart and your intuition to decide whether you can believe him.
