Liar, liar, pants on fire. Is honesty what you desire? Then this channel will take you higher!
Ok, enough rhymes. Let’s be real. With too much cap and too many snakes in this world, it’s hard to find honest people. Here’s how to tell if someone is telling the truth with some psychological strategies.
1. Know their baseline.
There have been a ton of studies on lies and results vary. For example, in Asian populations, one study found that intonation got higher when they lied, but in a Hispanic comparison group, tone lowered. Another study a few years ago said that people tended to look to their left when lying, but a more recent one in Michigan found that one in four liars look their victims dead in the eyes. So, how can you tell?
The first and most important step is getting a baseline. You need to know how this person behaves when they talk normally about normal, truthful topics. That’s why you start with conversations about things they’re open with. Ask about their hobby, the weather, or their lunch. Notice their tone of voice, how they have their body positioned, and their eye contact. Now that you have a baseline of their truthful behavior, you can go to the next strategy.
Checking out: How to tell if a girl is lying to you
2. Ask for more details.
If you’re on the fence about this person’s honesty, try and get more details on the subject. If you simply stay silent, most people will add on more details to fill the silence. Look for consistency. Truthful people will include small details, like the time and location, because they aren’t worried about getting caught up in a web of lies – their memories are facts. They’ll also be open to talking more about any subject without getting defensive.
By the way, I’m going to ask for a bit more myself – could you do this channel a solid and subscribe to keep us going? You know I appreciate you!
3. Look at their hands.
Honest people will have open body language when they speak. Their hands will be at their sides or on their lap and they may lean in to you while talking. They won’t put their hands up to their mouths while talking, put their hands in their pocket, or slide them out of your sight, as this is a sign of someone telling a lie.
What are other body language signs you look out for when trying to spot the truth? Let me know in the comments!
4. Notice calm limbs.
Liars are often anxious and may fidget their hands or feet during an uncomfortable lie. Honest people, on the other hand, will appear relaxed and far from needing a massage. Not only that, but researchers have found that liars are almost twice as likely to gesture with both hands while speaking – honest people, not so much.
Check out: How to tell if a guy is lying to you
5. Listen for steady speech.
No matter your culture or background, honesty parallels with consistency. The same goes for how you speak. When you’re telling the truth, it’s easy, so your voice rises and falls as it does in any normal conversation. When you’re lying, your tone may pitch up or down suddenly, because your body is stressed and going through an anxious moment. Think of how muscles tighten when you’re nervous – similar things happen to our voice.
6. Look at their lips.
A significant amount of research has shown that honest speakers have open mouth language just like body language. Ok, that term may not technically exist, but let me explain. When you’re honest, you smile, you may have your mouth slightly open as you listen to others, and you speak normally. When you’re lying, you’re more likely to purse your lips or even retract them so that they’re not visible. It’s almost like you’re trying to keep the lie trapped in your mouth. If only it stayed there!
7. Do they repeat your questions?
Honest people will be able to answer fairly quickly and clearly because their response is natural – that’s the truth. Liars, on the other hand, tend to repeat questions to buy them more time to process and think of what they’ll respond.
8. Make sure they talk about themselves.
This strategy is one of the most interesting, in my opinion, because it’s not as well known. Let’s say you’re asking John about what he did yesterday and you want to see if he’s being honest. John goes into great details of his day and uses a lot of “I” statements. This is positive.
Now, you ask the same question to Dan. Dan tells you a little bit about his day but then he starts going on about his co-worker and other things, slowly removing himself from his own story. Liars will use fewer “me’s/I’s” as they psychologically distance themselves from the lies they tell.
Check out: 6 Types of liars
Remember, the best way to tell if someone is telling the truth is to first know what they’re like at their honest baseline. Don’t jump into the nitty-gritty details with them from the get-go unless you know them fairly well. I know you’ll solve the mystery, my fellow follower detective!