How to Spot a Liar: 5 Psychology-Backed Body Language Signs

One of the most important aspect for conquering the art of reading the human mind is understanding body language. We speak about things that we have formulated in our conscious minds. However, our subconscious thinking patterns, emotions and internal truths will come out in the form of gestures, facial expressions, tonal variations or a even a slight movement of the body. Therefore, psychology tells us that there are some clear signs that we can look for to understand if an individual is lying. If you observe closely for these expert-recommended patterns, you will be able to easily identify a liar. Curious to know know more? Read on.


If someone tells you that “I am so happy for you”, but you don’t see a genuine happy or delightful smile on their face, trust what we see. Our facial expressions are deeply intertwined with the emotional parts of our brains. You may have heard the old saying: “Eyes are the windows to the soul.” That’s very true. Observe their eyes keenly. If you are seeing no facial activation, a smirk, low energy eyes or a flat smile, you can confirm that they are not truly happy. They are just speaking what they want you to believe instead of the truth.

When someone is truly emotional, words and facial expression will flow together. That happens very naturally. However, if you observe a person saying “I am thrilled” and a happy smile is coming after they have said these words, pause for a moment. This is a subtle signal that they are consciously putting on a smile to make you believe what they are telling. Nature has build our system in such a way that real emotions come out spontaneously. On the other hand, made up emotions take time and effort to manifest.


Touching the face or hiding the mouth with hands is a subconscious gesture that signals the fact tha t an individual is anxious, feeling guilty or unsure. When they are doing this gesture, observe their eyes too. They’ll look away for a moment and then will bring their eyes back to you to confirm whether you are observing. This is a clear sign that the person is attempting to withhold or hide something from you.


When people lie, the phrases coming out of their mouth may not flow naturally. They might make unnecessary pauses, stutter or use ellipses. Observe if their tone is not matching with what they are saying. Secondly, when those individuals who are inexperienced with lying attempt to do the same, their body will trigger a stress response. Their breaths may become fast or shallow. In fact, some individuals will try to over-explain to hide their anxiety. They will give you unnecessary details and attempt to fill the silence to make you feel that there is nothing wrong.


When inexperienced people lie, they will have a hard time maintaining eye contact. They will constantly look away or even try to avoid eye contact entirely. But, if someone is prepared for lying, then they will keep eye contact for too long. There is a natural rhythm of eye contact that occurs during genuine interactions. People will maintain eye contact for sometime, breaks it and then will return it. On the other side, maintaining eye contact very intensely or for a longer period of time, signals a conscious attempt to portray oneself as trustable.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What do liars fear the most?
   One of the biggest fear of a liar is being caught in a lie. They are certain that everyone who looks at them can tell if they're lying, and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
2. What is a silent lie?
   A silent lie or lie of omission is a form of deception where someone deliberately withholds crucial information. This allows a false impression or misunderstanding to persist.
3. what is a grey lie?
   A grey lie is a form of deception that falls between harmless "white lies" and malicious "black lies," often involving ambiguity where the truth is presented in a misleading way.