# How to spot a lie By [cola](https://paragraph.com/@cola-4) · 2022-07-21 --- A friend told you that he gave you a gift with a gift in it, but you opened it and found it was not there; a neighbor said she liked your new fence, but she actually found it ugly; a The sales clerk says there's a big sale going on in the store, but you'll find that only a few items in his store have been reduced in price. Small lies, while harmless, can also disrupt the pace of our lives, and the process of finding out what's really going on can be time-consuming, laborious, and even annoying. ​​ ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/aa65a2bef17b88763b262896958e4fcefd500f1d08f0be21b98ee0eff4560ef3.png) "Lies happen between friends, between teachers and students, between doctors and patients, between husbands and wives, between businessmen and so on," said Paul Ekman, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of San Francisco. Ekman has been studying human deception for more than four decades. "The problem of lying is widespread," he said. "It's been observed in many things people experience on a daily basis." ​​ So how do we find ourselves hearing lies, big or small? Experts told us a few tricks for spotting lies, such as noticing a change in the tone of voice the other person speaks to you? Do you breathe when you don't need it when listening to the other person talking? If so, the other party may be lying. "There is also the possibility that a liar's speech rate may suddenly speed up or slow down," Professor Sullivan said. In addition to the above-mentioned skills, the two professors also told us the following ways to see through lies. ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e47f6ab2d9d216a7fa579a9c27c9398f6d00b7c8efa064b775d2dbcdd343d916.png) ​​ Observation from the wording ​​ First, there will be less first-person pronouns in lies, which is "I". And there are more others. It seems that liars are trying to distance themselves psychologically from the stories they tell, that is, what they tell has nothing to do with "me". The sentence "The report was sent yesterday" is an example, as opposed to a direct and explicit statement, "I sent the report yesterday." Second, the lie uses less turning words, such as "But "Except" "Neither" "However" etc. Liars are reluctant to engage in complex thinking, which is a characteristic of their speech, Pennebaker said. ​​ Many people think that a pair of straight eyes or dodging eyes is a typical feature of lying, so what does this kind of eyes mean? ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/22699b27c6fd41584725b161b6652183ecc95aedbaf56fa591382c2288967170.png) ​​ "It's normal for a person to look away when he's thinking about a difficult problem," Professor Sullivan said, "but if he's doing the same when he's answering a very simple question, then you have to think about why. " ​​ Does a person's eyes have anything to do with what he says? The topic of the conversation is critical. "If people tell a lie that embarrasses them, it's hard for them to look at each other," Professor Sullivan said, "but if they tell a white lie or it doesn't embarrass them, Maybe they'll stare more at you when they're talking." ​​ Observe from body language ​​ When a person is lying, a single part of his face or body, such as eyes, nose, ears or hands, does not tell us the whole truth. It's not that simple. "You don't see a Pinocchio nose," Professor Ekman affirms. "On the contrary, you have to consider the other person's face, body, voice and words in order to understand the real situation." ​​ This means that you should observe as much of the "whole person" as possible. "There are usually clues in a person's ordinary demeanor," explains Professor Sullivan. "Small changes in hand movements, changes in the frequency of gesturing, shrugging when something is said should not be accompanied by a shrug." — these are suspicious, she said. The same goes for changing body positions in specific places during a conversation. ​​ Watch for "subtle changes," Sullivan says, "for example, a quiet person suddenly becomes more talkative, or a person who is talking a lot suddenly quiets down. This does not mean that the other person is necessarily Lying, just saying it's doubtful." ​​ Observing from mood changes ​​ Tiny expressions across a person's face often reveal what he's really feeling or thinking, which may be the opposite of what he's trying to convey, Professor Ekman said. But this look is fleeting, maybe only a quarter to a second, so it's hard to spot. Even those who specialize in lies — police officers, judges, lawyers — can't guarantee they'll be detected every time. Also, veteran liars may overlay other expressions on their faces, such as a smile, to cover up a lie. ​​ Even so, the lie will not be invulnerable. "It doesn't matter how often a person smiles, it's the type of smile that matters," Ekman said. "If it's from the heart, a smile will not only lift the corners of the mouth, but the muscles around the eyes will follow. This is not the case with fake smiles, such as those made to cover up fear, anger, sadness or disgust. If you're a careful observer, you can see clues in a person's expression." ​​ Hope next time someone disturbs our audiovisual with lies, we can know how to catch it. --- *Originally published on [cola](https://paragraph.com/@cola-4/how-to-spot-a-lie)*