Body language expert reveals 15 common traits of a liar to watch out for

A poll of 2,000 adults found 34 per cent of Brits reckon they have an ace ‘poker face’ while 25 per cent are confident people can rarely tell when they aren’t being honest

A body language expert has unveiled the subtle signs that could indicate someone is fibbing to you. This comes after a study revealed that Brits conceal their true emotions as frequently as three times a week. A survey of 2,000 adults discovered that 34 per cent of Brits believe they have an excellent ‘poker face’, while 25 per cent are confident that people rarely detect when they’re lying.

Conversely, two thirds reckon they can spot when someone else is telling porkies, with excessive or insufficient eye contact, nervous giggles and fidgeting being the main giveaways. This is regularly followed by a change in voice tone, blushing, and sweating.

While these align with the tell-tale signs Brits admit they are most likely to exhibit when they’re lying. However, expert Judi James, who has partnered with Lottoland, has revealed that these signals don’t always imply dishonesty. In fact, it could be quite the opposite.

She said: “Body language is not a precise science and it’s important to be aware of what is called The Othello Error, where what we believe to be lying traits are actually symptoms of a truthful person feeling under pressure to be believed.

“Both lying and proving your honesty can produce a stress response that can emerge as identical non-verbal signalling. “

She added: “TV programmes like The Traitors showcase this perfectly. People trying to prove they’re genuine Faithful’s to the other contestants will often look more guilty than the lying traitors.”

Two thirds of Brits believe it’s crucial to keep their emotions under wraps in public to dodge conflict and sidestep awkward situations.

While some do this to spare others’ feelings, many want to maintain a professional façade, with 28 per cent most likely to conceal their true emotions in a work environment.

A spokesperson for Lottoland.co.uk said: “The ability to deceive does make an excellent poker player – it’s all about not giving anything away in your facial expressions.

“A lot of the tactics they use to hide their emotions, for example fidgeting and avoiding eye contact, does also appear in the list of things people look out for to catch a liar. This is why we partnered with Judi, to see what a real expert makes of this.”

JUDI JAMES’ TOP 15 COMMON TRAITS OF A LIAR:

1. NON-VERBAL DEVIATION: To unmask a liar, watch them tell the truth first to use as a baseline, so you can spot changes and deviations
2. EYE-DIRECTION: We often look to our left to remember and to out right to make things up.
3. COMPOSITION TRAITS: Liars often take a long pause before answering and paused during speaking; repeat your question; repetition during the answer; exaggerated swallows or coughs
4. PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES: The heart rate speeds up which can cause a breathless tone; sweating; blushing; fidgeting; an accelerated blink rate, and a rise in vocal pitch.
5. INCONGRUENT BODY LANGUAGE: Hand and feet movements are at odds with the words can signal a lie
6. GRANDIOSE RESPONSES: A liar will often fight back by creating a state of authoritative, self-important aggressive arousal to try to intimidate including inflating to full height, using an index finger to point and rolling their eyes.
7. FORCE-FIELD RITUALS: A liar will often try to defend themselves, which could emerge as barrier rituals like arm-folding, one shoulder-shrugs or head-shaking denial rituals.
8. SELF-COMFORT GESTURES: Auto-contact gestures like face, hair or neck-touching can show a desire to cope with the awkwardness of being under pressure by the lie, or you could see more fiddling or foot-shuffling.
9. RICTUS SMILE: Many liars put in extra effort to overcome the muscle tension, leading to a rigid overkill, mirthless smile.
10. EYE-DANCING: If there is a moment of panic as they try to form the lie the eyes can begin to dance about the room in a darting movement.
11. HONESTY CLAIMS: Verbal fillers will often also increase during a lie, like ‘Um…er…’ or ‘You know’ ‘Basically’ or ‘So….’
12. THE HAND FAN: A liar will fan their hands out from their elbows in a display of acted openness or honesty, often the shoulders are shrugged too.
13. THE POKER FACE: Stillness is often an option for a liar, who might adopt a neutral, deadpan expression and try to keep all movement to a minimum to avoid looking guilty.
14. ‘DELIBERATE’ REVEAL: While they lie to you, they will also be giving the game away via a cheeky, asymmetric smile or smirk that suggests you should enjoy the bluff too.
15. GESTICAL DELAY: In a normal conversation the gestures will occur just before the words but when someone lies that order will often be reversed.