Words can deceive, but body language is the ultimate truth serum. Micro-gestures always slip through the cracks.
Research shows that liars often reveal themselves through distinct verbal and non-verbal patterns. But as with all people-reading, context matters: look for clusters of signs, not one-off gestures. A single cue doesn’t prove deception — body language can have many explanations besides lying.
That said, studies (ten Brinke, MacDonald, Porter, & O’Connor, 2012; Porter & ten Brinke, 2010) highlight clear linguistic patterns that liars are more likely to display.
The devil is in the details:
- Liars often speak at a slower pace and provide less detail in their stories. They make vague references, or simply repeat the same details over and over.
- They exaggerate details. When people work out a detailed story to support their lie, they might offer an unnecessary amount of information in a desperate attempt to persuade you to believe them.
- They may repeat themselves, restating their carefully rehearsed story verbatim.
Their timing is often off:
- If someone answers eagerly and without any delay with what seems like a rehearsed response, it’s a red flag.
- It’s also a telltale sign if they hesitate when telling their story or when answering questions about events, using words like “uhm.”
- Stalling tactics are common when someone’s lying. They might ask you to repeat the question, try to flatter or challenge you, or divert the conversation altogether. Some will crack jokes to dodge the topic, while others go on the offensive—acting confrontational or slipping into the classic “I’m the real victim here” routine.
- Liars are often uneasy with silence. They’ll rush to fill the gap with extra details, repeat themselves, or fish for reassurance that you believe them.
They’ll use diversion tactics:
- They may jump mid-sentence to another topic, as if they suddenly remembered something that might catch your attention and distract you.
- They may use convoluted sentences that don’t really make sense to confuse you.
- Instead of answering the question directly, they answer with another question, such as “I’m a good person; why would I do something like that?”
It’s all semantics:
- Liars use fewer first person pronouns and references to other people. They also tend to avoid contractions (“I do not recall anything in particular” instead of the usual “I don’t recall”).
Studies have documented a range of body language gestures associated with deception (ten Brinke et al., 2012; Pease & Pease, 2004; Porter & ten Brinke, 2010; ten Brinke & Porter, 2012). Here are some of them:
In a study by ten Brinke and Porter (2012), researchers analyzed video footage of people making emotional pleas for help in finding a missing loved one. Out of 78 cases, half of those heartfelt appeals turned out to be performances—the speaker was later convicted of killing the very person they claimed to be searching for.
But why? Here’s how the researchers summed it up:
“Failed attempts to simulate sadness and leakage of happiness revealed deceptive pleaders’ covert emotions. Liars used fewer words but more tentative words than truth-tellers, likely relating to cognitive load and psychological distancing.”
I don’t have much patience for televised court proceedings like Judge Judy, but there’s something important to point out here: What makes her quite effective at her job is her ability to read body language. Have you ever seen the way she conducts herself when someone is pleading their case? It’s almost as if her piercing gaze can see right into a person’s soul.
What she’s really doing, however, like police officers investigating a homicide, is paying close attention to a person’s body language. The defendant or plaintiff may be able to put together a rather convincing story, but their body language will almost always reveal more—much more than they want it to.
and WINT-R3 (Work Integrity Test).
References
Dolcos, S., Sung, K., Argo, J. J., Flor-Henry, S., & Dolcos, F. (2012) The Power of a Handshake: Neural Correlates of Evaluative Judgments in Observed Social Interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24(12), 2292-2305.
Pease, A., & Pease, B. (2004). The Definitive Book of Body Language. Australia: Pease International. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://e-edu.nbu.bg/pluginfile.php/331752/mod_resource/content/0/Allan_and_Barbara_Pease_-_Body_Language_The_Definitive_Book.pdf
Porter, S. & ten Brinke, L. (2010). The truth about lies: What works in detecting high-stakes deception? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15(1), 57-75.
ten Brinke, L. & Porter, S. (2012). Cry me a river: Identifying the behavioral consequences of extremely high-stakes interpersonal deception. Law and Human Behavior, 36(6), 469-477.
ten Brinke, L., MacDonald, S., Porter, S., & O’Connor, B. (2012). Crocodile tears: Facial, verbal and body language behavios associated with genuine and fabricated remorse. Law and Human Behavior, 36(1), 51-59.
Willis, M. L., & Palermo, R. (2011). Judging Approachability on the Face of It: The Influence of Face and Body Expressions on the Perception of Approachability. Emotion, 11(3), 514-523.