Tuesday, May 12, 2009

How To Catch Him In a Lie

  1. Their Legs Say a Lot-If a guy wraps his legs around the legs of a chair or stool, it’s an indication that he’s purposefully holding something back — like the truth.
  2. They’ll Give You Pause-Ask a simple, straightforward question — say, “Where were you last night?” or even “Are you cheating on me?” If there’s a long pause or he repeats the question before answering, that’s trouble.
  3. Their Thumbs Betray Discomfort-If he’s standing with his entire hand in his pockets — in other words, his thumbs are in, not out — he’s feeling nervous. It’s up to you to figure out why.
  4. They Can’t Lie in Reverse-If someone is telling a story you find fishy, ask questions that force him to relate events in a different order. While a person who’s concocted a false story can tell it in a,b,c,d order, he’ll often find it almost impossible to tell it in d,c,b,a order.
  5. They’ll Shrug at Odd Times-If he’s saying something definitive — “I was with my buddies last night!” — while shrugging one or both shoulders, watch out. The movement indicates that he’s subconsciously remaining uncommitted to what he’s saying.
  6. They Have Big Buts-Listen for phrases like this: “I know you’ll think this is strange, but...” or “You’re not going to believe this, but...” Chances are, whatever comes next is a lie.
  7. Their Tongues Don’t Lie-If you ask someone a question and he momentarily flicks out his tongue or licks his lips before answering, he believes he’s about to get away with something.
  8. They’ll Hold Your Gaze-Sometimes a liar is so intent on proving his sincerity he’ll stare into your eyes for an uncomfortably long time, trying to prove to you that he has nothing to hide.
  9. They Can’t Adapt-Just as a liar is unable to reverse the order of events in a falsehood, he also has trouble adjusting when one component is disproven. So if you’re able to call him out on one facet of a lie and he still refuses to change his story, you can be pretty sure that the rest is B.S. too.
  10. They’ll Give You a Hand-A liar doesn’t want you to examine what he says too closely. And so he’ll often unconsciously bring a hand to his face — to scratch a nose, or rub an eye, or stroke a chin — in an attempt to “block” the words as they’re coming out of his mouth.