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  • What if you didn't need a lie detector?

  • What if your knowledge of psychology and human behavior was enough to tell if people were

  • telling the truth?

  • Some people are inherently born with the ability to spot a liar.

  • Others study and practice for years before they can call people out on their dishonesty.

  • Well, we're about to give you a crash course on how to spot a liar.

  • Here are ten of the most obvious signs: evasiveness; one study on lying, found that evasiveness

  • was one of the biggest signs of dishonesty.

  • But what is evasiveness?

  • Basically, when people are lying, they are less likely to be specific.

  • They might say "I don't know" or "I don't remember".

  • In terms of lying, this is a massive red flag.

  • Inconsistency; Liars can't keep their story straight.

  • That's basically what psychologists mean when they say inconsistency.

  • And studies have proven it's a big sign of lying.

  • This is a common tactic used by police during interrogations.

  • They ask the suspect to repeat their story again and again hoping to poke holes in it

  • when certain details are inconsistent.

  • Simulated facial expressions; although this is another huge sign of lying, it's very hard

  • to spot.

  • Why?

  • Because some Liars are just really good at acting.

  • One study showed that only certain facial muscles are activated when people are experiencing

  • genuine happiness.

  • These muscles are called the orbicularis oculi, otherwise known as cow's feet.

  • But, you'd have to be a serious expert the spot which muscles are being activated in

  • the face.

  • They can't tell their story backwards.

  • If you ever doubt that someone is telling the truth, ask them to tell their story backwards.

  • Studies have shown that when people are lying, they have trouble telling their false version

  • of events in Reverse.

  • When people are lying, they have an increased cognitive load.

  • This basically means that liar's brains are working much harder than those who are

  • telling the truth.

  • When you ask a liar to tell their story backwards, this might push their cognitive load over

  • the edge leaving them unable to keep their story straight.

  • Not maintaining eye contact; this has to be one of the most obvious signs of a liar.

  • Eye contact is linked with truthfulness, and multiple studies have linked lying with the

  • inability to look someone in the eye.

  • Although this has been explored by research, it only takes a little bit of common sense

  • to see why this is true.

  • Once again, it goes back to evasiveness.

  • They can't handle unexpected questions; like we've mentioned previously, Liars are using

  • their brains much more than those telling the truth.

  • Honest people don't have to think too hard about what they're saying, they're simply

  • telling the truth.

  • Liars on the other hand are inventing entire stories and situations clearly out of their

  • own imaginations.

  • Sometimes, they plan out their responses and stories long in advance.

  • That's why when we ask them unexpected random questions, it often catches them out.

  • It's another technique that police often use; simply asking them what they were wearing

  • or what they ate could be enough to leave a liar stuttering.

  • Micro-expressions; this is another sign which is incredibly hard to spot.

  • Research has shown that facial expressions linked with genuine emotions might only last

  • a few milliseconds.

  • As a general rule, shorter expressions are usually real.

  • Longer drawn-out expressions have a higher chance of being fake.

  • A liar is essentially trying very hard to show everyone what they're feeling, as opposed

  • to genuinely feeling these emotions.

  • The problem is that these genuine micro expressions are very hard to spot.

  • Sometimes, they're impossible to even see because they're so quick.

  • Blinking; but there might be an easier way to spot what psychologists refer to as masked

  • emotions.

  • Just take note of how often someone is blinking.

  • Research has shown that frequent blinking is linked to masked emotions, a clear sign

  • of lying.

  • Their facial expressions and their emotions don't match up.

  • This is something most of us aren't familiar with.

  • Sometimes, people just give us a strange vibe.

  • Often, this is because their emotions and facial expressions seem totally disconnected.

  • They might be smiling when their body language seems sad or vice versa.

  • Studies have shown that this is a major red flag when it comes to lying.

  • Play devil's advocate; now we're getting into expert territory.

  • This might be hard to pull off but it's a great way to spot a liar.

  • Let's say someone says that they love roller coasters, but you have a sneaking suspicion

  • that they're actually terrified of them, all you need to do is play devil's advocate.

  • Talk about how scary you think roller-coasters are and situations where you've been terrified,

  • they'll probably agree with you on some level.

  • Now, all you need to do is compare that statement with what they initially said about loving

  • roller-coasters.

  • Which statement seems more genuine?

  • The answer should be pretty obvious.

  • This is a technique which has been backed up by quite a few studies.

  • Tell us about your stories of when you caught a liar.

  • What were some of the signs that made it obvious?

  • We hope this helps you in getting the truth out of people in the future.

  • What did you think of this video?

  • Does it help you spot a liar?

  • Comment below and tell us which of these tactics you use to catch a liar in the act.

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