EXPERT ADVICE

CANADIAN INSTITUTE Of MANAGEMENT/ INSTITUT CANADIEN DE GESTION

12 ways to spot a liar

Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman
Your boss tells you that "this change is for the best",
but as she speaks, you notice her stiff body posture and
forced smile. Is she being honest with you?
Your co-worker says he'd be happy to help you with
your project, but he seems to pause a long time before
answering - and while talking, his eyes stay focused on his
computer monitor. Can you trust what he says?
Wouldn't it be great to know when we're being lied
to? And, wouldn't it be nice if exposing falsehoods were as
easy as it is portrayed on television shows like Lie to Me
and The Mentalistl But of course, those are entertaining
fantasies. In real life, human beings are more complex than
that. And, as commonplace as deception is, deception
detection remains an inexact science.
For the vast majority of the individuals you work with,
the act of lying triggers a heightened stress response. And
these signs of stress and anxiety are obvious, if you know
where to look. Basically, what we're finding is that the
mind has to work a lot harder to generate a false response.
One theory - posed by Daniel Langleben, a psychiatrist at
the University of Pennsylvania - is that, in order to tell a lie,
the brain first has to stop itself from telling the truth and
then create the deception, and then deal with the
accompanying emotions of guilt, anxiety, and the fear of
being caught.
Spotting deception begins with observing a person's
baseline behaviour under relaxed or
generally stress-free conditions so
that you can detect meaningful
deviations.
One
of
the
strategies that experienced
police interrogators use is to ask
a
series
of
non-threatening
questions while observing how the
subject behaves when there is no
reason to lie. Then, when the more
difficult issues get addressed, the
officers watch for changes in nonverbal
behaviour that indicate deception
around key points.
In business dealings, the best way
to understand someone's baseline

Fall 2012

behaviour is to observe her over an extended period of

time. Note her speech tone, gestures, blinking patterns,
etc. Once you've assessed what is 'normal' for a co-worker,
you will be able to detect shifts, when her body language
is 'out of character'. Just remember (and this is key), that
the atypical signals you detect may be signs of lying - or a
state of heightened anxiety caused by many other factors.
One of the biggest body language myths about liars is
that they avoid eye contact. In fact, many liars, especially
the most brazen, may actually overcompensate (to prove
that they are not lying) by making too much eye contact
and holding it too long.
My best advice is not to rely on any one signal. You'll
be more successful if you look for clusters of behaviours
(three or four body language cues that reinforce one
another). To increase your chances of spotting a falsehood,
watch for a cluster of body language cues that include:
1. A fake smile. It's hard for liars to give a real smile while
seeking to deceive. (Real smiles crinkle the corners of
the eyes and change the entire face. Faked smiles
involve the mouth only.)
2.
Unusual response time. When the lie is planned (and
rehearsed), deceivers start their answers more quickly
than truth-tellers. If taken by surprise, however, the
liar takes longer to respond - as the process of
inhibiting the truth and creating a lie takes extra time.
3. Verbal cues. When lying, a person's vocal tone will rise
to a higher pitch. Other verbal cues include rambling,
selective wording (in which one avoids answering the
question exactly as asked), stammering, and the use of
qualifiers ("To the best of my knowledge." "I could be
wrong . . . "). It's also been noted that liars use fewer
contractions: "I did not have sex with that woman . . . "
rather than "I didn't. . ."
4.
Under or over production of saliva. Watch for sudden
swallowing in gulps or the increased need to drink
water or moisten lips.
5. Pupil dilation. One nonverbal signal that is almost
impossible to fake is pupil dilation. The larger pupil
size that most people experience when telling a lie can
be attributed to an increased amount of tension and
concentration.

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EXPERT ADVICE

CANADIAN INSTITUTE OE MANAGEMENT / INSTITUT CANADIEN DE GESTION

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Change in blink rate. A person's blink rate slows down

as she decides to lie and stays low through the lie.
Then it increases rapidly (sometimes up to eight times
normal rate) after the lie.
Foot movements. When lying, people will often
display nervousness and anxiety through increased
foot movements. Feet will fidget, shuffle and wind
around each other or around the furniture. They will
stretch and curl to relieve tension, or even kick out in
a miniaturized attempt to run away.
Face touching. A person's nose may not grow when he
tells a lie, but watch closely and you'll notice that
when someone is about to lie or make an outrageous
statement, he'll often unconsciously rub his nose. (This
is most likely because a rush of adrenaline opens the
capillaries and makes his nose itch.) Mouth covering is
another common gesture of people who are being
untruthful, as is covering the eyes.
Incongruence. When a person believes what she is
saying her gestures and expressions are in alignment
with her words. When you see a mismatch - where
gestures contradict words - such as a side-to-side head
shake while saying "yes" or a person frowning and
staring at the ground while telling you she is happy, it's
a sign of deceit or at least an inner conflict between
what that person is thinking and saying.
Changes in gestures. Often times, in the effort not to
let their gestures 'give away' the lie, deceivers will hold

11.

12.

their bodies unnaturally still. At other times, especially

after being asked a searching question, you may
notice liars accelerate pacifying gestures biting their
lips, rubbing their hands together, fidgeting with
jewelry, touching their hair.
Micro-expressions. Difficult to catch, but if you ever
spot a fleeting expression that contradicts a verbal
statement, believe what you see and not what you
hear.
The quick-check glance. This may follow a less-thantruthful response: liars will immediately look down
and away, then back at you again in a brief glimpse to
see if you bought the falsehood.

One final caveat: If a person really believes the lie,

there is no way that they can detect the falsehood. But,
unless you are dealing with a pathological liar or a superb
actor, I know you can become better at spotting those who
try to deceive you!
Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. is a ieadership communications coach and
international keynote speaker at corporate, government, and association
events. She's an expert contributor for The Washington Post's 'On
Leadership' coiumn, a leadership biogger on Forbes.com. a business body
ianguage columnist for 'the Market' magazine, and the author of The
Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help - or Hurt - How
You Lead. Articie courtesy of Troy Media - www.troymedia.com.

Notice to Members
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As in the past, members can access the digital copy by visiting the Members Only page
of the Canadian Institute of Management website: cim.ca
Subscribers and authors wl receive an electronic copy of the Winter 2012 magazine.

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