How To: Spot A Liar

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verbal clues

While body language can be a good indicator that someone is lying, unconscious mannerisms aren't always reliable. It's your job to play detective and put the pieces of the puzzle together by analyzing their verbal clues.

Repeating the question

If you're dealing with a bad liar who was caught off guard, they may need to buy time in order to ad-lib the lie or excuse. If you hear, "What did I do last night? Oh, I went to a movie. Who did I go with? I went with my mom," you might want to keep probing for the truth.


Unless they're professional actors, liars tend to stutter and hesitate out of guilt and the inability to improvise.

Giving more info than you asked for

On the other end of the spectrum, liars might be so paranoid about being untruthful that they'll offer much more information than you asked for. So when your colleague goes off on a tangent about how he never got your message, but he did get a weird message on his voice mail that made him laugh, and that made him think of the other night when... you might have to ask him to revert back to the topic at hand. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Being defensive

You could be dealing with a paranoid guy, but if he starts to get defensive about why you're asking questions — "Who wants to know? Why are you asking me these questions? I've never let you down!" — then you'd better keep asking.

Being inconsistent

If parts of the story don't add up, just keep asking for clarification. Don't badger the person; simply ask for explanations.

your gut is never wrong

Sometimes you don't need clues to tell you someone's lying — your intuition can be enough. If you have a funny feeling, give the person the benefit of the doubt until you have proof, but don't be afraid to find out the truth for yourself.

Spotting a liar is easy if you know the person well. Look at what they're telling you with their body and gestures, and listen to what they're saying and want you to believe.

But before you yell out "liar, liar, pants on fire," play along. Once you've caught on to their lying ways, you'll know the truth every time.

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